Soft, Squishy Love: on crocheting amigurumi.

I fought it for a while – I already make felt animals and have sewn some really cute dolls, not to mention all of the other zillion crafty pursuits I dabble in. But I just keep seeing these books with charming titles like “Mr Funky Crochet Wonderful,” and seeing the enchanting critters that Roxxy from the 4th Ave PacFab has been crocheting, and I felt compelled to learn.

I learned to chain and single crochet from my beloved late grandmother Mom-Bee, but I was too young when she died, so I never learned more. I thought I needed a better handle on crocheting before trying my hand at amigurumi (the japanese word for crocheted stuffed animals,) so I took home a simple how-to book and a bunch of acrylic yarn – Vanna White, who apparently crochets when she is not flipping letters, has a really nice acrylic yarn in a pretty range of rich colors that happens to be crazy cheap, so I started there.

In 2 hours, just from following instructions in a how-to book, I went from chaining to making lace trim! Crocheting turns out to be really easy! In the next two weeks, I made a whole granny-square afghan and a baby blanket, and decided I was ready to try my hand at amigurumi.

I learned when I began my first pattern from my new favorite book, Amigurumi World, that I didn’t really need much more than chaining and single crochet, so all of my preparation wasn’t really necessary, but now I feel like I could crochet anything, so I’m glad I really learned. My first critter was an owl, since I love them and I was raised by a bird-watching mom. I finished it in about three hours. By the next night, it had an owl friend, and now there is a turtle and a pair of octopi too.

They are enchanting – I feel like a kid and want to carry them everywhere. All of my friends seem to want one - I think I’m even going to teach my non-crafting best friend to crochet, so she can make a menagerie of her own.

I need help naming them, though – anyone have any good suggestions?

-Anna-Beth