| Originating in Japan, and hugely popular worldwide, | | | | as Hello Kitty were overnight hits and the Japanese |
| amigurumi are crocheted or knitted stuffed toys, | | | | obsession with all things cute really began. In the late |
| usually worked in the round. Amigurumi is a compound | | | | 80s, Japanese national broadcaster NHK ran a show |
| word made up of the Japanese words 'ami' (knit, | | | | titled 'Ami', and the amigurumi craze was born. In 2002, |
| crochet or braid) and 'nuigurumi' (literally 'sew and wrap' | | | | the Japanese Amigurumi Association was founded, to |
| - refers to many kinds of sewn stuffed toys). | | | | share information and promote amigurumi design. |
| Amugurumi are most often dolls or animals, but can | | | | Nowadays a search for 'amigurumi' on Amazon Japan |
| also be made in the form of inanimate objects of all | | | | returns nearly 200 pattern books and almost 300 |
| kinds, often with cute faces and features added. | | | | pattern kits, and that's just in Japanese. This doesn't |
| Amigurumi are cute, which goes a long way to explain | | | | include the hundreds on hundreds of patterns available |
| their appeal, but they are also very quick and easy to | | | | in all languages online, mostly by indie designers. |
| make, especially compared to more traditional crochet | | | | Amigurumi Construction |
| projects. They use very small amounts of materials, | | | | Amigurumi are usually made up of combinations of |
| making them both inexpensive and portable. The | | | | spheres or part-spheres and tubes, worked in the |
| techniques are easy to learn, as the toys are usually | | | | round. Some favour working in a spiral, others prefer |
| worked in just single crochet, meaning they are great | | | | joined rounds. Simple amigurumi are often made in one |
| beginners projects. | | | | piece, with stuffing added as they are worked. More |
| They also make fantastic personalised gifts. | | | | complex designs may have extra tubes or flat shapes |
| The History of Amigurumi | | | | such as arms, legs, and ears, which are worked |
| The history of amigurumi is quite vague. The technique | | | | separately and then sewn on with yarn. |
| may have been brought from China, where crocheted | | | | The basic stitch for amigurumi is single crochet, as this |
| dolls were made since ancient times, but there is not | | | | results in a firm fabric with fewer holes. |
| much evidence of them being popular up until ten or | | | | Sounds interesting? Why not learn to crochet an |
| twenty years ago. The 1970s saw the explosion of | | | | amigurumi? |
| 'kawaii' (cute) culture in Japan, when characters such | | | | |