How to ~ A Beginner’s Tutorial for Amigurumi & Crochet

Hi everyone,

I thought that as I had a few tutorials already on crochet stitches, and also a crochet project coming up that I want to share with you, that I would put together a guide of the resources that I used to start doing crochet and amigurumi. 

If you have been following my blog for a long time, you might find that some of this information is a repeat of what you have already read, so I apologise if this post is slightly boring!   I still hope that you find it useful though, and maybe you will be inspired to take up crochet and make amigurumi or something else with your new skill.  ^ U ^

What are amigurumi? ~ A helpful description from Holly of Berrysprite

Amigurumi  ~  (pronounced ah-me-goo-roo-me) is a craft from Japan that makes an excellent hobby or passion; you should be forewarned that making amigurumi is very addicting. Luckily, it is a relatively inexpensive craft that does not take much time to complete. In recent years, amigurumi have become increasingly popular and trendy, due to the handmade revolution.  {…}

Amigurumi utilizes crocheting in-the-round, meaning stitches are worked in a circle/spiral (and not joined) to build shapes. The result of crocheting in the round is sculptural yarn pieces that can then be stuffed, joined and embellished to form dolls. Most amigurumi utilize only a few basic concepts of crochet, and most use only the single crochet stitch (sc): increasing, decreasing, and slip stitch, are also vital things to know how to do before starting to crochet.

Although there are many different styles (usually influenced by the individual preferences of the crafter), amigurumi are usually characterized by their large heads and small limbs in proportion to their bodies. These seemingly bizarre proportions often give amigurumi a kawaii (“cute” in Japanese) appearance, and are a distinctive feature that is common to Japanese illustrations and amigurumi designs. Although there are so many inspirations for amigurumi, the most common themes that appear are animals/creatures, people, and food…

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Crochet ~ A guide to the abbreviations & Tutorials on the basic stitches.

I have complied a pdf guide on the different crochet abbreviations and a how~to on the stitches to carry around with my crochet.  I find this guide very helpful if I come across a new term I don’t understand, or if I forget how to do a stitch and want to check that I get it right {this happens a lot…  > . >; }.

Download Crochet Abbreviations and Stitches:

If you someone who prefers to watch something rather than read about it, here are a few basic stitch tutorials that you can use.   Bear in mind that amigurumi doesn’t use most of the crochet stitches so it is a really easy beginner project! 

How to do a Magic Circle

The magic circle is an easy, alternative way to starting an amigurumi project.  It is the alternative to crocheting a chain of stitches and joining them together by crocheting back into the end of the chain.

If the amigurumi pattern calls for a chain of 6 stitches to start with, you would do 6 stitches on your magic circle and visa versa if you wanted to start with the chain and not a magic circle.

How to do a crochet chain

If you do not want to do a magic circle, you use a chain instead, as explained above.  You also use chains for other things in amigurumi, so it is a good idea to know how to do a crochet chain.

The basic crochet stitch ~ single crochet

The single crochet stitch is the most basic crochet stitch.   All other crochet stitches are a variation of this stitch and are also relatively easy to learn.

Most amigurumi patterns only use the single crochet stitch, so if it is amigurumi you want to do, you don’t need to learn any other stitch!

Increasing your crochet

Because amigurumi is worked in “rounds” ~ i.e., you crochet in a circular manner, each row building on the last, that means that to make a shape you need to increase or decrease the number of stitches in a row.  

Decreasing your crochet

So to make a ball shape, you start increasing your stitches until you have the diameter you desire, and then you decrease back down again.   Once the crochet is stuffed, you will then have the ball.

This ball can be a head, or a body; it all depends on the pattern.  You can also do more complicated shapes simply by increasing and decreasing, like a cone or a pear shape.  The pattern will tell you what to do to achieve the right shape.

How to slip stitch ~ another basic crochet stitch

 

To finish off your amigurumi, there is often a slip stitch to end the pattern, so you will need to used this stitch as well.   Now you are ready to crochet your own amigurumi!

Your First Amigurumi Project  ~ A Strawberry!

Pattern curtsey of Leanne Fairweather; lyra1 ~ posted on Crochet Me

 

Materials List:

• 4 ply Red Yarn
• 4 or 3 ply yarn in green
• 4.0mm/US G6 hook
• beads for eyes (optional)
• black thread (optional)
• sewing or tapestry needle (optional)
• tiny amount black wool(optional)
• polyester fiberfill or stuffing of choice - smelly stuff, catnip, beans, natural fibers etc.

Finished Size:

Approximately  5cm / 2" without stalk, about 6cm/ 2.5" with stalk straight up

Notes:

The body is worked in continuous rounds, so place a marker in the first stitch of each row throughout to help you keep track of what round you are up to.

Abbreviations:

Ch  = chain
Rnd  = Round; sometime called Row
sc  = single crochet
sl st  = slip stitch
st  =  stitch
*  =  repeat until you have the right number of stitches

The Pattern:

Body (in Red):

Rnd 1:   Ch 2, work 6 sc in ring (6) or make a magic circle with 6 sts

Rnd 2:   2 sc in next sc, * (12)

Rnd 3:   *2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc* throughout (18)

Rnd 4-6:   1 sc in each st around (18)

Rnd 7:   *sc 2tog, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc* throughout (13)

Rnd 8:   sc in each st around (13)

You may want to start stuffing here. 

Bonita’s Note:  You can leave the stuffing until the body is finished,  just don’t forget to stuff before you sew the top up.

Rnd 9:  same as Rnd 7, continue to do this until you have only 6 sc left, ending with the last sc, 2 together (so once you sc 2 together and there is 6 stitches left total).

Continue stuffing.

Next Rnd:  work 1 sc, sc 2 together, fasten off leaving a tail for sewing.

Make sure you have desired amount of stuffing, flatten edges of remaining stitches at the top and sew together. Weave in end.

Leaves and stalk (green):

Ch 4, sl st in 2nd 3rd and 4th ch from hook.

Rnd 1:  In same 4th ch, work 6 sc, join with a sl st to 1st sc.

Rnd 2:  *Ch 3, sc in 2nd and 3rd ch from hook, sl st in next sc of 6-sc ring* around, making six leaves, join with sl st to beginning leaf. Fasten off with long tail for sewing onto body.

Stick your crochet hook through the middle ring and pull the stalk through if you would like it to be right side facing up (strawberries in picture are).

Finishing:

Step 1:  Sew or glue eyes onto body (can be beads like my berries shown or knots in wool etc) , create mouth with either thread or yarn.

Step 2:  Sew leaves and stalk onto the top of the strawberry, varying angles will create different personalities.

Step 3:  You’re done!  You can attach a keychain, ribbon, magnet, string, anything.  One of my friends even suggested filling it with smelly stuff instead of polyester and using it as a car air freshener!

And if you don’t want to do a strawberry ~ how about an acorn in its cup instead?  These cuties are another super easy beginner's pattern to do.   Find the pattern HERE.

 

Free Amigurumi Pattern Websites

Berrysprite  ~  Cute and easy amigurumi tutorials; I did the takochu tutorial for my very first amigurumi ever.  And I enjoyed it so much I made four more and now have a family of takochu sitting on my desk!

Crochet Me  ~  A huge resource of crochet patterns contributed by

Crochet Pattern Central  ~  An amazing resource of crochet patterns ~ some are amigurumi; some are not; but I am sure you will find something cute to make on this site!

Free Amigurumi Patterns  ~  I love this blog; there are so many cute patterns just waiting to be made up! 

Squidoo  ~  Some of these patterns in this link are knitted and some are not technically amigurumi {so they are not worked in rounds} but there are a bunch of patterns for you to browse through and decided if you want to make them up.

Wolfdreamer  ~  These patterns are harder to do and require more than your basic single crochet stitch.  There are some easy ones to try though, so they are worth looking out for.  Otherwise, you might want to save these patterns for later.  Any Mario and Pokémon fans will love this site!

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you do make anything please show me!  I would love to see your finished pieces.   > ω < 

xox,

bonita