Crochet guide
Amigurumi basics
Amigurumi are small stuffed figures, crocheted in tight stitches worked round and round in a spiral. The word is Japanese and means a stuffed toy that is knitted or crocheted. One stitch does nearly all the work, and a handful of moves shape it. This guide names each move and links the page that teaches it.
On this page 8 parts
What it is made of
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets.
Amigurumi is worked in single crochet (UK double crochet), in rounds that spiral upward with no joins. The stitches are tight, so the fabric is dense enough to keep the stuffing in. Most figures are made in parts, which are stuffed and then sewn together.
The moves
| Move | What it does | The page |
|---|---|---|
| Magic ring | Starts a round piece with no hole in the middle | Magic ring |
| Single crochet | The stitch of the whole fabric | Single crochet |
| Continuous rounds | Rounds that spiral, with no join at the end of each | Continuous rounds |
| Increase | Two stitches worked into one stitch, to widen | Increases |
| Invisible decrease | Two stitches made into one, to narrow, without the bump or gap an ordinary decrease leaves | Invisible decrease |
| Stitch marker | Marks where one round ends and the next begins, because a spiral has no join to show it | Using stitch markers |
| Fastening off | Ends a part, with a long tail if the part will be sewn on | Fastening off |
Hook and yarn
A small hook. Use a hook a size or two smaller than the yarn's label names. The stitches come out tight, and tight stitches hold the stuffing in. The hook size by yarn weight chart gives the usual hook to step down from.
A smooth yarn. Cotton and acrylic are the usual choices, because their stitches show clearly. A fluffy yarn hides the stitches.
Any thickness. The same pattern in a thicker yarn, with a larger hook to match, makes a larger figure.
The shapes
Most figures are built from balls and tubes. A ball is increase rounds, then plain rounds, then decrease rounds: it starts as a flat circle and closes the same way in reverse. A tube is plain rounds, and Tubes shows it. How to crochet shapes gives the rules of the flat shapes.
The right side
Single crochet worked in rounds has two faces. The right side shows a V for every stitch. The wrong side shows short bars. A piece often starts by curling with the wrong side out: flip it after a few rounds, so that the Vs are on the outside. This is a convention, and Right side and wrong side has more on it.
Stuffing
- What with. Polyester fiberfill is the usual stuffing.
- How much. Stuff firmly, and stop before the stitches stretch and the stuffing shows between them.
- How. Makers differ. Some pull the stuffing into many small pieces and add them one at a time. Others put in one large piece. Both do it to avoid lumps.
- Narrow parts. Push the stuffing down an arm or a leg with the back of a hook.
- When. Stuff a piece before its opening is small, and check that it is full before you close it.
Closing a piece
When only a few stitches are left, fasten off. Thread the tail onto a yarn needle, run it through the last stitches and pull, so that the hole closes. Then run the tail through the piece to hide it.
Before you close a head, decide on its eyes: plastic eyes can only go in from the inside. Eyes for amigurumi explains.
Where to go next
- Eyes for amigurumi and Faces for amigurumi.
- Sewing amigurumi together, for joining the parts.
- How to crochet shapes, for the flat shapes that parts begin from.