5 Amigurumi tips: how to crochet the perfect doll

Amigurumi

Amigurumi are great fun to make!

Are you struggling to make your amigurumi (crochet animal) look as good as the inspiring examples you see online? These cute little crochet dolls are often easy to make, but tricky to perfect. Don’t give up! With a few simple tricks, you can make your amigurumi look picture perfect!

 

Banish gaps in the fabric 

Amigurumi dolls have beautiful, even stitching with no stuffing peeking out. But that’s easier said than done! It’s important to keep your tension nice and even, and not to crochet too loosely. Also, we recommend using a smaller hook than recommended for your selected yarn and casting on using a magic loop. 

 

5 more tips to make sure your amigurumi turns out perfect!

1. Choose the right yarn

Hoooked YarnsHoooked Yarns

If your amigurumi is only for decorative purposes, you just need a yarn that’s easy to work with and looks the part. There’s more to keep in mind if the dolls will actually be played with, though. Then you’ll want yarn that’s durable, easy to wash, and will hold its shape when wet. Recycled cotton, like Soft Cotton DK and Eco Barbante are safe bets. Another great alternative is Somen, a recycled-cotton linen mix. These Hoooked yarns are not additionally dyed, not chemically treated and adhere to important safety standards, such as REACH and Ötotex. These are safe yarns for small children. 

2. Work in spirals

Something you might have noticed about amigurumi is that there are no joins where rounds end. This nice, smooth finish is achieved by working in spirals. Instead of joining and chaining for a new round, just keep crocheting — but make sure to use a stitch marker to keep track of where the round ends!

Amigurumi DIY KitsAmigurumi DIY Kits

3. Choose the right side!

When crocheting amigurumi most right-handed people will have the “right side” of the crochet work on the inside of the project. So, make sure to flip it before finishing the par you are working on. But if you love the stitch definition of the “wrong side” of the crochet work that is not a problem either!

4. Use invisible decreases

We already mentioned avoiding gaps in the fabric, but this is easier said than done with decreases. A regular dc2tog is the most used way to decrease.
But it might not give you the look you want. Instead, try the invisible decrease:

1.      insert your needle through only the front loops of the stitches, yarn over,
2.      pull through both loops, yarn over,
3.      and pull through the final two loops. And there you have it: an impossible-to-spot decrease!

5. Make your amigurumi kid-proof

Amigurumi safety eyesAmigurumi safety eyes

If you’re making amigurumi for children to play with, you don’t want to add anything that can be a choking hazard: sewn-on details, glass eyes, pellets, and so on. The crochet doll also needs to have good, sturdy stitching: it could be facing months or even years of wear and tear, and small pieces that are pulled off could also be a choking hazard. Use safety eyes that cannot be removed or be tampered with. Also, make sure to use a safe filling component avoiding acrylics and pfas.

Hoooked recycled cotton filling is sturdy, but also safe to use for amigurumi and children’s toys as it has the same certifications as our recycled cotton yarns.  There are different shades of Hoooked recycled cotton filling available, so you can always perfectly match your amigurumi and avoid see-throughs.

Recycled cotton fillingRecycled cotton filling
2 years ago
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