Making amigurumis require some basic equipment in addition to the usual crochet hook and yarn. First-off, with amis, there are often many colour changes but the quantity required of each yarn is often not much.

In this particular case, to make Bob in a swimming trunk uses up the 3 above colours – only about 4.6 yards of beige, 2.8 yards of blue and 2.8 yards of yellow, which is why amigurumis are great for stash busting!

Apart from the crochet hook, which I often use 2.0-3.0mm sizes for mini amigurumi, a darning needle and some recycled scrap yarn for stuffing and 4.0mm glass eyes for the face. That’s all you really need!

What does the process of making amigurumi look like?

To make Bob in his swimming trunks using the small balls of yarn above works up pretty fast and simple and takes less than an hour! In this case, I’m doing it seamlessly, meaning there are no additional attachments. Some crocheters choose to attach on the limbs separately after completing the body but for simplicity here, I decided to do everything in one continuous stitch!

To make Bob, some knowledge of simple crochet stitches is needed, which are really just starting with a magic ring, single crochet, increases and decreases in stitches, changing colours and bobble stitches.

Step 1 involves starting off with a magic ring in yellow. Step 2 shows the formation of a sphere with a colour change from yellow to beige to make the head. Step 3-4 shows the extension of the body downwards with the addition of bobble stitches as arms. Step 5 continues into a blue yarn and his pants. Step 6 finishes off with his blue pants and beige bobble stitches as his legs.

After stuffing his body at the end, I ended off the last round of 5 stitches by inserting the darning needle into the all the front loops and closing them shut. Insert the glass eyes into the second beige row of the face and there you have it, a simple amigurumi with just 3 short pieces of yarn and some imagination!

What use would I have for amigurumis?

The whole act of crocheting not only involves creativity but some dexterity too! Making blankets and garments is definitely no mean feat and these have obvious uses for them at the end of the project. For some of us crocheters who love making amigurumis, it really is an avenue for expressing creativity, which can often turn into ornamental objects at the end.

Amigurumis can be made into home décor items like the little baby mobile I made, even fashion accessories like earrings if the yarn and patterns are small enough. If you choose to scale them up, they can be made into plushies for children or even odd-shaped pillows.

Most of all, they make great gifting ideas, which could include seasonal gifts like cake toppers (like how I did for Halloween) or homemade Christmas ornaments.

After learning how to crochet basic amigurumi shapes, whether it be for humanoid figures or animal figures, just simple customization can lead to amazing little creatures of different shapes and sizes! That’s really where it gets exciting because you can really let your imagination take flight!