The art of amigurumi

Amigurumi ( 編みぐるみ ) is literally "knit" (amu) and "together" (gurumi) and is the word for the Japanese art of crocheting, well, a lot of stuff. And when I say "a lot", I'm pretty sure one make almost anything out of yarn.
      I've always wanted to learn how to make amigurumi and I even bought a few books on it while in Japan, though, as a complete beginner I found them too difficult for poor me. Therefore I had to start with the basics of crocheting. I learned only by looking at books and youtube. I'm not good but I can do it, so if you want to learn how to make amigurumi I can only say two things: "patience" and "passion". You need to be patient about it - no one is born with the skill and therefore it takes time to learn how to knit and crochet. And you have to be passionate about it - the strong desire to learn will help you go forward despite the mistakes and time it takes. :)

     So for those who would like to start, I suggest this video on how to make a magic ring. A lot (if not most) amigurumi start with a magic ring (mr) with a different number of single crochet stitches marked as (sc). All patterns are written in abbreviations and therefore here are some basic things one needs to know:

• mr, n - magic ring - crochet n single crochet stitches in to the loop
• sc - single crochet stitch
• inc - increase - make two single crochet stitches in to the same stitch 
• dec - decrease - crochet two stitches together
• (10) - number of stitches in a round after finishing the round

Photo from SIDRUN owl pattern with some modifications ^.^

So if the pattern says:  *Sc 1, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times. (18 sts) it means you have to do 1sc then increase (2sc in the same stitch), then again 1sc and again increase or 1x6 + incx6 = 18 stitches. It could be easy to follow it like this (1sc / inc / 1sc / inc / 1sc / inc / 1sc / inc / 1sc / inc / 1sc / inc). If it says (sc, inc3x 2) x 2 = (14) what you need to do is make 1 single crochet and then make two increases that consist of making 3sc in the same stitch. Then you repeat the whole thing another time and you get 14 stitches. How do you know what a stitch is?  Look at the photo - these are stitches and you need to count them carefully or you'll get lost in the pattern. You can also check All About Ami's instructions on how to read patterns. Trust me,it's really bad when you lose the count, I know from personal experience with different size of legs and ears and...ah..it's bad...
      Hooks and yarns are also important, but if you are a poor student like me, you wouldn't care much on what the quality of the yarn is. Just be careful on the size of the hook. I use 2, 3, 4 and 6mm (almost always 4) and usually use washable wool yarn. For example I often use superwash wool yarn + hook No:4. (check the photos in case you are wondering what the size of the thread and hook look like). I bet you know that the bigger the string of the yarn is the bigger hook you'll need.

superwash wool

      Unlike most patterns which require fiberfill, I stuff with cotton, which is really bad, as it makes the amigurumi impossible to wash, keep this in mind while making them.
      And now patterns...You can find many patterns on the internet, being free or not. I gather mine in pinterest so if you want to have a look at my own collection of amigurumi patterns it is here.
      For example I tried the koala pattern by All about Ami and modified it a little bit due to lack of some materials. This is what I got. Looks a little bit different from the one on the photo, doesn't it. I decided to put a ribbon instead of muffler. Spring is coming, I want to keep it positive :D And you can also see the pattern written on the sheet of paper under the koala - this is how I keep track of the stitches. I'm not a smart woman ^.^''' One can also see that I sewed one of the ears higher than the other, so yeah...Making amigurumi is not as easy as it seems. When sewing the parts together, always keep in mind to leave a tail as you need to sew them together with the same yarn (no need for threads that could be visible).
       So I wish luck to everyone who is interested in making amigurumi ^.^/