Crochet guide
Faces for amigurumi
The face is a few stitches of thread on the head, and moving one of them a little gives the toy a different expression. So the face is planned before anything is fixed. Mark the places with pins, look, move them, and stitch only when the face looks right.
On this page 7 parts
Plan the face first
- Mark with pins. Put a pin where each eye and the nose will go. Look at the head from the front, then move the pins until the face looks right.
- Draw the shape, if it helps. A marker whose ink disappears can draw a line or a triangle to stitch over.
- Start the eyes halfway up. Eyes about halfway up the head are a sound start. Lower on the face and wider apart reads as cuter. Eyes for amigurumi covers the kinds of eye and how each is fixed.
Thread and needle
Use embroidery floss or a fine yarn, and a needle with an eye large enough for it.
Noses
| Nose | How it is worked |
|---|---|
| A bar | A few stitches worked over one another across one or two stitches of the head. More stitches make a larger nose. |
| A triangle | A triangle filled with stitches laid side by side (satin stitch). |
| A plastic nose | A plastic nose on a post, locked from inside the head with a washer, like a plastic eye. |
| A muzzle or a beak | A small crocheted part, worked apart and sewn to the head. |
A plastic nose has to go in before the head is stuffed and closed. A muzzle is sewn on like any open part: Sewing amigurumi together shows how.
Mouths
A mouth is a line of back stitch. Curve the line up for a smile, curve it down for a frown, or leave it straight. Mark the line first, with pins or a disappearing-ink marker.
Hiding the ends
Bring the needle in a little way from the feature and out where the first stitch starts. When the stitching is done, knot the ends, pull the knot inside the head and cut the thread close to the surface.
Before or after the head is closed
Makers differ. Some embroider the face before the head is stuffed, when the inside is still in reach. Others stuff the head first and stitch onto the finished shape. Only plastic eyes and noses decide it for you: their washers go on from the inside.
Where to go next
- Eyes for amigurumi, for plastic, embroidered and crocheted eyes.
- Embroidery on crochet, for the stitches.
- Hair for crochet dolls, for what goes above the face.