Crochet Spree!

Ever since I posted about exploring new hobbies, I felt an indescribable urge to crochet again. Lo and behold, with a little bit of google-fu and the use of the skills that my late grandmother taught me, I was able to teach myself to make Amigurumi.

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of crocheting or knitting small stuffed animals. The word is derived from the combination of the Japanese word Ami which means 'crochet' or 'knitted' and Nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll.

I became interested in creating these cute collectible toys when I downloaded a Japanese craft magazine about the Amigurumi. To tell the truth, I thought that crocheting was just about making scarves and hats. I never knew that I could create cute teddy bears out of crocheted yarn.

My first Amigurumi creation was this cute brown bear that I had made using the pattern I got from the Jmagazine that I downloaded. At first, I was confused at reading Japanese patterns. With a little bit use of Google and common sense I was able crack the code. It's really quite easy to understand once I understood what the symbols meant. I can even read Japanese patterns better than English ones. (^3^)/

I even made a little pink scarf and a flower clip to make the bear even cuter than it already is. I love how it turned out. I substituted felt with plain white cloth to create the mouth though since I didn't have any white felt available at the moment. It still looks good even if the edges are a little bit frayed. I embroidered the nose and used little black beads that I extracted from one of my bracelets for the eyes.

My second Amigurumi creation was a Black Vampire Lolita Teddy Bear. Since the only yarn color I had left was black I wanted to make something creative out of it. Thus the concept was born. I used the same pattern as the brown bear. It's amazing how a bit of lace and ribbon can turn a boring black bear into something cute and presentable. I used some left over lace for the skirt and the head piece, a black ribbon for the bow and white pearl beads for the eyes. I used white cloth once again and embroidered the nose, mouth and fangs by hand.

So here are my first two Amigurumi babies. It's surprisingly easy to make as long as you have patience and if you really follow the pattern. I made these two bears in one and a half days. Talk about spending my idle time well. I'm planning to make more soon. I want to create a Domo-kun amigurumi and a Pink Bear for my sister in law.

Since I'm going to visit Australia this July, I also crocheted a bonnet for the cold winter season. This bonnet was harder to make. It took me three spools of yarn and two days to finish it. I even made a cute flower as an accent.

It's quite warm when worn and multi-colored blue yarn was perfect for the bonnet. I'll be wearing this when I go out to explore the streets of Melbourne. I'm excited already!

So that's it for now! I'm going to finish my portfolio first before I make any new Amigurumi creations.