Introduction to Amigurumi. Presentation on the history of how Amigurumi became a world wide craft, and how to get started making these tiny cute toys. With a simple Octo pattern included.

1. How to say it phonic style- ah-me-goo-roo-me.
It comes from the words ami, meaning crocheted, or knitted; and
nuigurumi, which means stuffed doll.
Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic
renderings (like DOMO), or inanimate objects endowed with
human like features, as is typical in Japanese culture. This craze
started in Japan, but has slowly taken root across the world as an
art form.

3. Where does Amigurumi come from?
Knitting and crochet were not indigenous to Japan, even though they have a rich
history of textiles, like their stunning kinomos fabric. So how did amigurumi
come to be?
Amigurumi style comes from animism, a philosophy in the foundations of many
Japanese traditions and customs the belief that gods belong to everything:
water, food, nature, buildings and houses, even technology. In Japanese, this is
called “Yaoyorozu no Kami” roughly meaning 8 million gods. Amigurumi really
popularized in the 1950’s in Japan, when they made a push to change the way
the world viewed its culture and people (just after WWII).
We have the samurai warriors to thank for introducing knitting/crochet to Japan.
They took it up to create toe socks for better freedom of motion. In the
western lands knitting and crochet were well known and thought of for
making cloths, gloves, hats, and blankets it was kind of set in stone that is all it
was used for.
Japan did not have this set structure of what knitting and crochet was or was not.
They were able to take it and create a whole new art form and purpose.
It wasn’t until 2007 that amigurumi worked its way to the USA main stream with
amigurumi books being published.

5. I am a crocheter so my whole discussion will slant towards crocheting, I can and have knit
but my preference is for crochet. It is also the more popular method you will see ami
worked in and patterns written for. Its easier to learn to crochet ami with out having a lot
of crochet skill, the same can not be said for knitting.
Even if you have never crocheted before, with a little bit of effort and practice you will be
able to make kawaii amigurumi for yourself. All you need is 1 hook and yarn to start
crocheting ami.
If you have never knit before, you cant just jump straight to ami. You need 3 or more
(depending on the size) double sided knitting needles, and yarn. You also need to know
how to knit in the round, all of this is more complex to pick up and really requires you to
learn basic knitting first.
That being said Crochet is more forgiving and easy for a beginner to pick up. If you are
not a beginner and have some skill in knitting in the round you might want to do the
knitting route.

7. oYarn – I like using acrylic. Its hypoallergenic, cheap, and comes in a large selection
of colors. Its also easier to clean.
oCrochet hook (or knitting needles)- The size depends on your yarn and what
you plan on making. Typically in crochet ami hooks range from D for small items to G for
large items.
oScissors or implement to cut yarn.
oStuffing. I prefer polyfill again its hypoallergenic and fairly cheap. If your toy is
very small you could use scrap yarn, half the time my legs/arms are stuffed with the tail
ends left over from finishing the piece. If the toy is for a baby/toddler I use a nylon to
ensure the stuffing can not leak out
o*Optional* but extremely handy darning/yarn needle. It makes sewing items together
easy, and hiding all your yarn tails.
o*Optional* Pattern. No seriously its optional. Once you get the basic shapes down you
can make almost anything.
o*Optional* Safety eyes/nose, buttons, felt, contrasting yarn for embellishing the face. I

9. You can get started with Amigurumi by making simple basic shapes
that you whip stitch together.
Most every ami starts with a simple sphere. Other shapes like
cylinders are commonly used for arms and legs , and egg shapes for
some body's. Master these three shapes and you will be well on your
way to amigurumi obsession.

11. .
Ch- Chain
SC- Single Crochet
HDC-Half Double Crochet
DC-Double Crochet
SLST- Slip Stitch
SM-Stitch Marker
MR-Magic Ring
Inc-Increase
Dec-Decrease
These abbreviations are very common in crochet.
Patterns will often say things like
R2- *Inc, sc repeat from*
Its easer for pattern makers to write in this
crochet version of shorthand. What that line is
telling us is ‘Row 2, work an increase, work a
single crochet, repeat the directions starting at
the * mark’ this means you will alternated
between increasing (adding a stitch) and doing a
single crochet.
Often times people new to crochet get confused with Single, Half Double, Double crochet.
To simplify things think of the stitches as heights single being the smallest and double
being the tallest. I like to think of it in terms of how many times I have to pull through
when working the stitch. A single crochet, once you have worked into the stitch and pulled
up a loop it leaves you with 2 loops on the hook, so you wrap the yarn over the hook and
pull through both a single pull. A double crochet is worked by wrapping the yarn around
the hook once before you pull up a loop, which gives you 3 loops on your hook, you wrap
the yarn again then pull under 2 loops, wrap again and pull through remaining making it a
double pull.
The Half Double, you start like a DC BUT work the pull like a SC by doing one pull threw all 3
loops.

12. This little Octo is so simple. Its just a
sphere and 8 spirals. I wrote this pattern
so there are minimal pieces to sew,
actually zero if you use safety eyes.
Some people see the tentacles and get
scared off but they really are simple to do
you just need to know how to make a
chain, and work 2 stitches into the same
stitch (increase).
Special terms are sometimes used in Amigurumi. Magic Ring, it’s like a slip knot
that you work your starting ring around. This way you can work comfortably then
tighten up the first round closing off the starting round. Invisible decrease- if you
have crocheted before this decrease is worked differently then normal to
minimize any space left by working the decrease. This is done by slipping the
hook under just the front loop of the next two stitches and working it as if it was
one.

13. R1-Magic Ring 8 sc
R2- Increase (Inc) in each stitch (16)
R3- Inc, sc repeat all the way around (24)
R4- Inc, sc2 repeat (32)
R5-R10 SC all (32) (you will repeat this round till you have 10 rows)
R11- Dec, sc2 (24)
R12- Dec, sc (16) If using safety eyes you should add them now.
R13-Legs row- Dec in the front loops only, chain 14, Dc 3 in the 3 chain from hook, dc2 into
each chain back up (Your leg length will be about 1/2 to 2/3 of the size of your chain, so if
you want smaller/longer leg's just chain less/more stitches, with ch 14 my leg's will be short)
Repeat 7 more times leaving you with 8 legs and 8 sc. sl st into the first dec. (8)
R14- Dec all in back loops of R 13(8)
FO leave a long tail. Weave tail threw 8 stitches, stuff firmly, and cinch the bottom close and
secure weaving tail threw the body.
Crochet Eyes make 2-
MR Sc 6 FO, leave long tail for sewing and embellishing the eyes.

14. Some times this is what a pattern will look like.
Instead of writing it all out, its charted. Japan
is where diagram/chart’s originated from.
This chart is for the Octo pattern above its
unfinished, just worked up till the firs 2 legs.
Charts are fairly easy to read if you know what
your looking at and pay attention. I like
working with charts because they are
universal, if a pattern has a chart I don’t even
need to be able to read the language to make
it. Crochet terms are not standard
across all languages but charts
symbols are nearly universal.

15. Shown by Crochet-gifs.tumblr.com
I prefer starting with a magic ring, once you get the hang of it, it’s the cleanest looking
start that leaves no hole at the start.

16. There are other ways to start working in the round. Most patterns will call for the MR
(magic ring) to start.
The second most common start would be to chain 3, then slip stitch into the first chain,
forming a ring. So you work your first round of stitch's around the chain 3 ring.
The third, and for me most complicated to learn, is doing a chain 2 then working all your
stitch's into the first chain stitch.
This also brings to me another point. Some patterns are
worked in a spiral, where others are worked with all the
rounds joined at the end. Depending on what I am making I
use either method. Spiral is faster but can make putting a
‘face’ or limbs on look slightly off as the rows are all slightly
tilted down. Also spiral work can be easy to lose your start if
you don’t use a stitch marker.
For heads I like using the joined rows so my faces look
symmetrical, but for limbs I tend to do them in a spiral unless
I need to switch colors often. That’s the downfall to spiral
VS joined, when you change colors at the end of a row its
noticeable in spiral where its cleaner in joined.

17. Shown by Crochet-gifs.tumblr.com
This is my preferred
method of decreasing
in Amigurumi it is
slightly different from
a normal crochet
decrease.
Compared to a normal
decrease this one is
not as noticeable. A
normal decrease can
leave a small hole in
the fabric, which can
be noticeable when
you stuff your finished
piece unlike the
invisible decrease.

18. Besides Ami you can make
anything you can dream up.
Twinkie Chan another amazing
fiber artist allowed me to show
off some of her work as well.
She makes a lot of yummy
wearable ‘food’. If you
like her stuff check out
her shop:
twinkiechan.etsy.com
Or her website:
twinkiechan.com

20. The following is worked by
people who just enjoy crocheting
for relaxation and fun. All of this
work is from the wonderful
people on Reddit

22. The Character blankets you see are all made with granny
squares. It’s a great way to make 8-bit characters into
blankets.
The Batman, Gotham cityscape is an example of tapestry
crochet. Which is a way crocheter’s mimic tapestry's only
in yarn. Its typically worked all in single crochet, working
all the colors at the same time. Depending on the
crocheter they yarn could all be held on the wrong side, so
if you flipped it over one side would look unfinished with
tails of yarn or just strands strung across while the other
side looks finished. Some crocheter are good enough they
can ‘carry’ the yarn inside the stitches so both sides look
finished.

24. This is work by Su-ami. Its all micro
amigurumi, most of these pieces are the size
of a quarter. This amazing work is done with
thread instead of yarn, and often under a
magnifying lens so you can see the stitches
clearly.