Amigurumi

I discovered the world of amigurumi last summer when I was pregnant with my little guy. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. Typically they have big heads and small(er) bodies. They are adorable. I was looking for something to make for my then impending baby and these seemed like just the right thing. They are super simple (I had only crocheted straight things, like scarves, before attempting my first amigurumi. You only need to know how to crochet a single chain to get started.) and very quick to complete; the perfect project for this procrastinating crafter. They're also pretty darn cheap to make which is fabulous because babies and all their gear are ridiculously expensive. I have been able to find tons of free patterns online (bless the internet) but I have a few favorite books too.

Vanna's Choice easy crochet critters is full of adorable amigurumi animals to make. I love this lion.

Ana Paula Rimoli's book Amigurumi Two! is fabulous. I love her patterns as well as the cute little introductions she has for each of them.

(I have not been paid or asked to recommend these books; I just love them that much.)

Here's my lion (from the Vanna book; the elephant above is also from this book). He's so adorable. In the last month or so my little guy has become very interested in stuffed animals. The lion is a big hit. The bunny is from a pattern called best bunny that I downloaded from the Lion Brand Yarn website. (You can get the pattern here.) I adore this pattern. I have made several of these in all different colors as baby gifts. 

Here's the one I made for my nephew at Christmas. I had to take a quick picture before I stuffed it in the box.

 The octopus was my first crocheted toy. I still love him. My little guy loves him because there are so many baby-sized legs to grab hold of. He likes to shake this guy all over the place. I made a smaller version with a jingle bell inside. (Well, a jingle bell inside of a plastic egg, inside of the octopus; the stuffing muted the jingling so I had to give it a space to roll around in.)

I made this cute little bird (and a few others) for my son and nephew as Easter presents. I put a little rattle inside so they could shake them around. This little bird is small so it crocheted up super quickly. This is good for when you've decided to make way to many toys for your niece and nephew in the four days preceding your visit to see them. I found this pattern on Ravelry.com. (If you belong to Ravelry I have an account as Sordidsox.) It comes from the blog Bitter Sweet.

All you really need to make some amigurumi for your own little one is some yarn, a few crochet hooks, and some stuffing. I like to add a little extra to mine to make them even more fun for my little guy. I bought a bunch of rattles from National Artcraft.com. since I couldn't find any in my local craft stores. I also bought some squeakers on Amazon that are actually replacement squeakers for dog toys. I found the little musical button at Hobby Lobby. It plays Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I still haven't decided what I want to put it in. The purple stuff is metallic tissue paper that I found at a party supply store. It works great for adding that crinkly sound babies seem to love. It even washes and dries well inside the toys and keeps on crinklin'.

 

It is so gratifying to see my little guy playing with all the creatures I made for him while he was growing in my belly and kicking me in the ribs.