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Reported by Amanda Talbert
I'm a knitter. If you are, live with, or know a knitter, you understand that means that I have a huge closet full of yarn. My favorite way to use up the little odds and ends of all of that yarn is to crochet amigurumi. According to Wikipedia, amigurumi is the Japanese art of crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures.
When my 8 year-old daughter saw the cover of Amigurumi Two! by Ana Paula Rimoli at the book store, she made me buy it on the spot. It took her 3 minutes of book perusal to determine that she needed me to make her one of everything in the book. I asked her to start by picking the thing she liked the most. It had to be the rabbit.
Dexter anyone... anyone??
All of the small animals in the book start with the same pattern called "little toys" and then are made into specific animals through the addition of small details like paws ears or tails. I found the pattern for the little toys to be very detailed and easy to follow and when I forgot how to form a stitch or two I turned to the back of the book and had a look at the General Guidelines section. The illustrations for the basic how-tos are wonderful but the photos of all the cute little creatures are even better.
There are patterns for amigurumi tools, birthday cakes, even a full amigurumi tea set. I can hardly wait to start on an amiguruni mushroom. As with most of the crochet books I have read, this book doesn't give detailed instructions on how to assemble the pieces once you have crocheted them. I don't find this to be much of a problem.
Most of the projects require yarn, a crochet hook, fiber fill, thread or embroidery floss for their little mouths, and toy eyes. The book has patterns that would make great gifts for adults, kids, and babies. Now that I own the second in the series of amigurumi books by Ana Paula Rimoli I will have to look into buying the first. I have a feeling it will be worth it!
Are you an amigurumi guru? Have a book suggestion? Leave us a comment and let us know!
9 Crafters have opinions about this post:
I'm a big fan of Ana Paula's. As a matter of fact, I won the first book from her website and that's what got me started crocheting. I've always been a knitter and it's a family thing. But, once I started crocheting, there's no going back.
Another book that's worth looking into, Crobots, it's all crochet pattern of Robots, they're super cute. Then, there's Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow, who also is very talented.
Frankly, most of my pattern books are Japanese, simply because they are so creative, and not only are they cute, but they are definitely intricate. Worth checking into.
Those are all books I don't have Lindy, thanks. My kids love to sew things from Aranzi Aranzo, do you have any of those? I agree that the Japanese craft books are adorable.
That is an adorable bunny! great review.
I love Ana Paula too! (Two!) I agree, crobots is great, and I don't have Tami Snow's book but I have nearly all of her patterns from her Roxy Craft Website (http://roxycraft.com/)
Other great books I have and love are Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden (she updates and expands her patterns on her blog http://needlenoodles.com/home/) and Super Cute by Annie Obaachan (brand new and I am LOVING it).
Another great resource is Etsy. Ana Paula has a great shop with even more patterns there (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=9639). Another really great crochet artist on Etsy is Owlishly (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5347491&ga_search_query=owlishly&ga_search_type=seller_usernames) she also has great tips on her blog (http://owlishly.typepad.com)
One last tip, Lion brand yarn has really great free crochet patterns from flowers and afghans to amis, if you sign up for the newsletter they send it right to your email inbox so you can download the pdf.
I have bought several of these from Etsy and loved them - never really got what the name meant. Thanks for the educational post.
oh how cute!!
I have her first book and it's fantastic! Her blog has some free patterns and everything is way cute.
I actually learned to crochet because i had to make amigurumis. I have no idea how many i've made in the two years i've been doing it.
I also love Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute by Elisabeth Doherty.
These are the cutest little crocheted animals! I've never heard of amigurumi. Thanks for the info.
Amanda, what a wonderful review. You created such an adorable little creature.
xoxo, Christine
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