Amigurumi
This little guy is Scuttle the seagull from "The Little Mermaid". I made him as part of a "Little Mermaid" set for El.
Amigurumi (編みぐるみ?, lit. knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features. Wikipedia
How I Got Started with Amigurimi
After sewing some doll clothes for my then 4 year old granddaughter Em, for Christmas in 2009, I decided to crochet an outfit for her "baby". Then, of course, I just had to make something for my grandson, 10 month old Gray. While looking for an appropriate pattern I discovered the wonderful world of Amigurumi.
My first project was a large (18") Toy Soldier pattern that I found on the internet. It took a long time, but I had a lot of fun working on it.
When Emilie saw it she wanted me to make something for her. I made her a couple of little mermaids from patterns found on the net. She liked them, but, let me know she really wanted a big doll like Grayson's. So I modified the soldier pattern on the fly and after much trial and error came up with the mermaid.
She loved it and used to carry it around with her.
And, so it began...
Beastie the BSD Daemon.
Beastie was an interesting project. After seeing a little penguin I made for one of the grandkids, my son-in-law, Chuck, showed me a picture of a little daemon and asked if I could make one for him. I told him I'd do my best. This was on a Sunday evening and Chuck was leaving to start a new job in Seattle on Wednesday. I decided he needed to take Beastie with him. So I set to work. I found a bunch of pictures on the internet, gridded one up and started crocheting.
I had to find a pattern for the horns - I just couldn't seem to make them come out right. They still aren't quite right, but acceptable. Long story short, I finished the little guy on Tuesday and he flew to Seattle with Chuck the next day after playing with Gray.
He now resides on Chuck's desk right beside the window where he can watch the world go by.
He seems happy!
Boots the monkey from Dora the Explorer
When Em asked me to make her a monkey, I hit the internet again and found a bunch of patterns and ideas. Since she loves Dora, I decided to try and copy a Boots from a picture I found. Again, much trial and error. But I was pleased with the results.
Unfortunately the Swiper didn't turn out as well, but Em recognized him as who he was supposed to be, so mission accomplished!!
The Cowardly Lion
The lion started out as a critter for Gray. The mane and tail are he story here. After painstakingly attaching hundreds of little pieces of yarn on his head, I didn't like the way it looked. I decided to separate each strand to give him a "curly" look. Pure drudge. There had to be an easier way than untwisting each piece! So... out came the hairbrush. and Voila!! A mane that was fuzzy and soft and actually looked 'lion-like'. So I repeated the process to give him a nice liony tail tip.
After completing the lion, I decided to make a complete set of "Wizard of Oz" Characters.
Soft Fuzzies
Building on the success of the lion's mane and tail, I decided to see what other applications I could dream up to use the "Soft Fuzzies" technique.
Check out the hair on the wicked witch I made for Naomi, the "hair" on Scuttles at the top of the page, and the Tutu for a ballerina doll for Em.
AMIGURUMI PORTFOLIO
Pink leotard and tights, two toned pink tutu and head piece, silver trimming, bright pink toe shoes, blond hair, grey eyes.
close up of two toned pink head piece with silver trimming,
close up of Pink leotard and two toned pink tutu with silver trimming,
close up of Pink tights, two toned pink tutu and bright pink toe shoes
Lilac leotard, pink tights, two toned pink tutu and head piece, gold trimming, lilac toe shoes, red hair, blue eyes.
1.) Red tutu, leotard, and toe shoes, with brown hair and eyes. 2.) Black leotard, pink and black tutu, pink toe shies, blond hair, blue eyes.
Black leotard, pink and black tutu, pink toe shies, blond hair, blue eyes.
White leotard, tutu, tights, toes shoes, brown hair, brown eyes.
close up of White leotard, tutu, tights, toes shoes, brown hair, brown eyes.
Purple leotard, pink tights, two toned pink tutu and head piece, gold trimming, bright pink toe shoes, brown hair, blue eyes.
