Many years ago, before I even heard about amigurumi, I decided I wanted to crochet a doll. After searching and searching online, I found a free pattern for a little teddy bear and I started with that. It didn’t turn out as well as I thought and I ended up scrapping the project. But , it was from that one pattern that I learned how to crochet in spirals and I learned how and when to increase/decrease to make different shapes. I found it mildy interesting but after that attempt, I put my crochet hooks away and didn’t touch them again for a very long time. It was only after I saw some amazing characters in a magazine (amiguru-what?? I couldn’t even pronounce the word) that I realized what incredible things could be made with the few skills that I had! I was completely inspired to try making my own dolls.
When people see my dolls, they might say things like “Oh my goodness! You are so talented! How in the world did you make these?” Well, here’s the secret that many of you already know…making amigurumi dolls isn’t hard at all! In fact, it’s really quite easy! You need only know the very basics to be able to create something really cool and adorable! (Of course if you want to embellish your dolls and make them really REALLY cool, then you need to have some extra skills. I myself am working on this)
Apart from the basic single crochet, one of the most important skills to master is definitely the magic ring. I start almost every piece of my dolls with this technique. I learned years ago from an online picture tutorial of how to make this. Unfortunately, I have no recollection of which site I visited! So I will be posting my own pictures of how to make the magic ring in the near future. I feel that I should pass along my knowledge to someone who is starting out, just like I was those many years ago! Stay tuned!