Crochet guide
Sewing amigurumi together
Most crocheted toys are made in parts: a body, a head, legs, arms, ears. Each part ends with a long yarn tail, and that tail sews it on. The work is mostly in the placing. Mark where each part goes, pin it, look at it from every side, and only then sew.
On this page 7 parts
Before you sew
- Leave a long tail. When you fasten off a leg, an arm or an ear, leave a long yarn tail. It is the thread that sews the part on.
- Stuff first. Stuff the body and each part that needs it before anything is joined.
- Mark the place. A pattern usually places a part by rounds and stitches of the body. Count the rounds and mark the place, with locking stitch markers or a disappearing-ink marker.
- Pin and look. Pin the part in place and look at the toy from every side. If it looks wrong, move it.
Sewing an open part to the body
A leg, an ear or a muzzle is an open part: its last round is left open. The body or the head it goes onto is closed. The stitch that joins them is a whip stitch.
- Thread the part's long tail onto a yarn needle.
- Pass the needle through a stitch of the part's open edge.
- Pass it under the stitch of the body that lies just below, and pull the yarn tight. The edge is drawn down to the body and the sewing all but disappears.
- Go on round the whole edge: one stitch of the part to one place on the body.
- To end, make a small knot. Run the needle through the body and out somewhere else, pull the tail taut and cut it at the surface. The cut end draws back inside.
A head on a body
A head is sewn to the body in the same way, round the opening where they meet. Stop a few stitches before the end. Look at the toy from all sides to see that the head sits in the middle. Then push more stuffing into the neck, so that the join is firm, and close the last stitches. Too little stuffing at the neck lets a head flop.
Limbs that match
- Mark both sides the same. Count the same rounds and the same stitches on the left and on the right before either limb goes on.
- Check before you finish. Sew a few stitches, then look. If the limb is off, pull the stitches out and try again.
- Turn the part. The place where a part's rounds began, or where its color changed, shows as a small step. Turn the part so that the step faces down or to the back.
Flat parts: ears, wings and feet
Many ears, wings and feet are worked in the round as a small cup or cone and then pressed flat. Press the two sides of the open edge together, and sew the part on by that flattened edge.
With nothing to sew
Some patterns join parts as they are worked. Two legs are made first, then crocheted together into one round, and the body is worked up from them. Small parts such as fingers and toes are joined into one round in the same way. There is no seam to sew.
Where to go next
- Amigurumi basics, for the stitches, the shapes and the stuffing.
- Eyes for amigurumi and Faces for amigurumi, which are planned before the head is closed.
- Whip stitch, step by step.
- Using stitch markers, for marking rounds.