Hello all! Today is a quick, cute little post. I asked my friends what I should write about and then it dawned on me, WHY NOT WRITE ABOUT WHAT I’M CURRENTLY DOING (and not studying!). By the title, it’s a little obvious that I’ve been either crocheting or knitting small, adorable little objects and so have my friends. So, Here’s some insight that I’ve gained while working on my projects! This will focus on crocheting although I am a knitter at heart.
Tools:
1) Crochet hoks. Be sure to choose a hook that allows you to maintain the proper gauge. Don’t know what gauge is? Read on!
2) Yarn needle. It’s a plastic needle that tends to be larger and thicker than a regular embroidery needle. It has a large eye to allow you to thread yarn. Yarn needles are used to sew arms, legs, and whatever else together to the body.
3) Polyfill- (or other stuffing) gotta keep that Amigurumi nice and fluffy!.
4)Yarn markers: Used to keep track of where your rounds begin.
5) Light source!
6) Yarn of course.
7) eyes (safety eyes or buttons)
Tips:
1) Start off with a middle color yarn, such as pastels, light colors, and tans. If you want to start off with black, be sure to crochet or knit with plenty of light. Light will help you see the stitches easier.
2) Practice your basic stitches (Single crochet SC, double crochet DC, chain, CH, increase ( 2 stitch in 1), decrease (2tog)) on basic amigurumi or other basic projects. You could go the scarf route but I know from experience that you get a little burnt out on it. Here’s some easy, fun projects!
Triple and Chain crochet project:
Single Crochet in the round, increase, decrease:
You may say, Wow panda, thanks for the lack of arms! Well, the ears on the bunny is to practice how to sew on some attachments. Arms and legs mean more crocheting! So, would start off with head and body shape only.
3) rest when your arms ache, and boy will they ache in the beginning!
4) Gauge is not always important as long as you have a consistent tension and use the same size hook for all parts.
5) I write or print out the pattern and mark off where I am.
Getting Patterns:
1) Make sure you’re getting it for your craft, Crochet or knit. It’s harder to find amigurumi in knit, but they are out there! Ways to find it is to use pinterest, google, etsy, lion heart brand. I tend to search Amigurumi, Crochet, (object that I want).
2) See if it’s been tested or not. This is when someone has crocheted it already and provided feedback. Some people crochet and then create a pattern and don’t always test the pattern out again. If you want to be the first, go ahead and try any and every project you come across. However, if you’re like me and have limited patience, be sure to use ones that have been tested. It helps if there’s a lot of comments and questions already answered if it’s a complicated project.
3) Be sure your project gives clear instructions of where parts go/contains a lot of pictures. I personally prefer a ton of pictures!
4)If you’re creating a character that is popular (say My little pony) be sure to look at real images of them to make comparisons.
Do you sew? If so, share some projects!
