Amigurumi making basics, things to know to make amigurumi

According to Amigurumi Today, amigurumi is “the Japanese word which describes small knitted or crochet stuffed toys, often in the shape of characters, animals, mini foods, household objects, and scenery.”

I first started crocheting amigurumi almost 10 years ago. I had just started college and was looking for a creative stress reliever. I’m not even sure why I thought to pick crochet up again, but I’m glad I did!

The first amigurumi I made were these little penguins. This was before I realized the internet was an amazing sourcer for patterns, so I freehanded the design once I learned how to create basic oval and circular shapes.

These little guys are not very good, but I was proud of them and even gave them to my now husband. I didn’t even have stuffing at the time, and instead of buying some, I remember using things like plastic bags and paper towels to fill them .

After I had some practice, I finally decided to try finding a pattern, and I made these cute little penguins for some friends! I do not like crocheting eyes, so these guys had googly eyes instead (before I knew of safety eyes).

What I love about amigurumi is the flexibilty. I’ve found that once you have the basics of amigurumi making down, you can tackle a lot of projects. Whether you’re following someone else’s pattern or trying to create your own, these are techniques and skills you’ll use constantly.

Another great thing is that you can create so many different shapes with a few basic stitches and how they’re combined. Shaping body parts is primarily done with increases and decreases. Less rows of single crochet (sc) between sections of increase and decrease will give you a squat shape. More rows will give you more of an oval.

Left shape is 6 single crochet in magic ring with 6 rounds. Right shape is 6 single crochet in magic ring with 1 round.

Magic Ring

The magic ring is how body parts are started. While there are other ways you can start a circle, the magic ring has become my favorite. It’s a very clean start to making a circle.

When making amigurumi, many of the body parts you’ll be making are circular in nature, and that’s where this technique comes in! If you’re making a circle or more of a cylinder, this is how you’ll most likely start.

Experiment with how many stitches you start with in the ring, as that can affect the shape.

You can also visit my magic ring instructions.

Increase (inc)

As the name suggests, this technique is how you will increase the number of stitches in a row. This is used in nonamigurumi crochet too, so this is an important technique to learn!

When you increase a stitch, you will put 2 stitches in the same space (where you would normally only put 1). You’ll notice that these are done incrementally within each row and potentially for rows after it to create a gradual increase. For example:

For the 1st row: Increase every stitch (2 stitches in every stitch of your previous round)

2nd row: Increase every other stitch (2 stitches in 1, 1 stitch in the next, 2 stitches in the next, etc.)

3rd row: Increase in every 2 stitches (2 stitches in 1, 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches, 2 stitches in the next, etc.)

And so on, until your circle is the width you want it to be.

You may also notice your stitch counts will go up in multiples of the stitch count you started your circle with. If you started with 6 stitches in your magic ring, then each row will increase by 6 stitches. This can be a helpful way to make sure you’re not missing stitches. Just do a count at the end of your row, and if the count doesn’t match what it should be, you will need to go back through the row to see where you missed or added an extra stitch.

Tip: To help keep track of where each row begins, use a stitch marker! You can purchase actual stitch markers either online or from a craft store, use safety pins, or use a piece of scrap yarn!

You can also visit my increase stitch instructions.

Decrease (dec)

The decrease stitch is the exact opposite of the increase stitch. Like the increase, it’s also used in nonamigurumi crochet too. Where an increase puts 2 stitches into 1, a decrease turns 2 stitches into 1.

Decreases are also usually spread out evenly within the row like the increase. If you’re looking at making a circular or oval shape, you’ll want to decrease at the same rate you increased. This is also done in reverse order.

For example, if you increase over 3 rows, where the last row had an increase every 2 stitches (2 stitches in 1, 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches), you’ll start your decrease every 2 stitches too (1 decrease, 1 stitch in each of the next 2 stitches). You’d then work your way up to a decrease in every stitch.

You can also visit my decrease stitch instructions.

Safety Eyes

I’ve never been good at stitching details, and I don’t like the way my crochet eyes look, so when I discovered safety eyes, it was a game changer! You can find them in all sorts of styles now too.

They’re essentially a round half dome with a threaded prong. The prong part is slid against the row of stitches, and then you crochet over it. The video will definitely be most helpful in showing you what I mean.

Sewing Pieces Together

When it’s time to sew all of the body parts together, you can use the ladder stitch! Align the parts you want to sew together, and then you will stitch back and forth from one part to another.

As you’re stitching, make sure to pull it tight.

Hiding the Yarn

One of the wonderful things about crocheting amigurumi is that you only have to weave in ends if you’re crocheting 2D pieces. This method is so easy for finishing off body parts.

The string you leave at the beginning of the magic ring will be hidden in the amigurumi as you crochet, so this will apply specifically to the yarn leftover at the end of the amigurumi.

When you’ve finished crocheting, use a slip stitch to finish the row, pull the string all the way through the loop, and then we’ll bury the string in the stuffed amigurumi!

Tip: Did you know there’s a right side and a wrong side to amigurumi? This is always the case with crochet, but it’s more noticeable with amigurumi. In regular crochet, you have a mix of right and wrong side rows. In amigurumi, the wrong side is all on the same side. Early on, you’ll be able to flip it right side out. The right side is the side you can see the “v’s” of the single crochet stitch.