Wednesday 6 October 2010

What is "Amigurumi"?


Okay...basics first I'd better explain what the long word means. We all love Wikipedia and here is what it says...

Amigurumi (編みぐるみ?, lit. knitted stuffed toy ) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features.

There is no real reason to them other than being there to look cute...generally with a head much bigger than "normal" proportions with a tiny body and limbs. Inanimate objects often get made too, carrots,cakes,clouds,raindrops...the list is endless...and all with eyes and mouth to add to that massive cuteness factor. If an amigurumi makes you thing "aaawww" then it has generally produced the right response.
They are usually made in single crochet, using a hook a size or two smaller than would normally be used for the yarn thinkness.

If you are reading and would like to learn but don't know how there are loads of great tutorials on the internet, You Tube has some great video tutorials. As an example of instuctions that i think are quite clear to follow I can recommend a fellow Blogger user The Art of Crochet by Teresa

I have been able to knit and crochet since i was about 5 years old...Granny taught...which is now into 30 years worth now, altho I probably didn't do too much over the years it was about 4 years ago when i was pregnant with my first that i got back into it regularly, and in the past year my Husband and I stopped smoking which has made me even more prolific LOL. I've always liked making small and colourful things so gravitating towards making amigurumi is no surprise.

There is an almost unending amount of free patterns online, and many great books filled with far too many cute things to be allowed :-). If I've followed a pattern I'll try and link to find it into the posts.

Anyway...that's enough heavy blethering (scottishism for nonsense talk) for the moment. Next some pics of my recent makes

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