Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Amigurumi Patterns for Knitting

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According to [tag]Wikipedia[/tag], [tag]Amigurumi[/tag] is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small animals or anthropomorphic creatures. Amigurumi are typically cute animals (such as bears, rabbits, cats, dogs, etc.), but can include inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features. Amigurumi can be knitted, but the vast majority of amigurumi are crocheted. They are also worked with a smaller size needle in proportion to the weight of the yarn in order to create a very tight-looking fabric without any gaps through which the stuffing might escape. Amigurumi are usually worked in sections and then joined (some amigurumi have no limbs whatsoever and the body and head is worked as one piece). The extremities are often stuffed with plastic pellets to give them a life-like weight, while the rest of the body is stuffed with fiber stuffing.

The pervading aesthetic of amigurumi is cuteness. To this end, typical amigurumi animals have an over-sized spherical head on a cylindrical body with undersized extremities.

Pattern for a little spider or Kumochan is found on Katies blog, [tag]All in a day’s . . .[/tag]

Knitted patterns are hard to find, but [tag]PlushYou[/tag] has a page full, both regular knit and felted, and where to buy them. Many are sea creatures and don’t really look overly anthropomorphic.

Holiday season is right around the corner and maybe someone on your list would enjoy one of these cute animals. This is also a good way to use up those left-over bits of yarn from larger projects.

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Comments

  3. And all these years, I was crafting “pocket-toys” for my daughter who just turned 42 years old! Now we have a new – very impressive – name for them. They now will be going to my grandchildren!! Imagine that!!!

  4. And all these years, I was crafting “pocket-toys” for my daughter who just turned 42 years old! Now we have a new – very impressive – name for them. They now will be going to my grandchildren!! Imagine that!!!
    Thank-you.

  5. I must have the pattern for this cephalopod!! How or where may I order it?
    Thank you!

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Felted Bag Knitting Patterns

I feel like felting is a knitting genre that deserves a resurgence. My first knitting book (which came out in 2008, eek!) was all about felting, but I don’t feel like there are a lot of felting knitting projects out there these days. I really like the technique as an easy way to make a thicker, more durable knit fabric, and it’s actually perfect for knitting bags.

The ZZ Bag from yamagara recently caught my eye and got me thinking about felted bags, and maybe remaking one of the bags that was in that book. This one has a fun zigzag pattern and is worked in worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

A lot of the other knit and felted bag patterns I could find were older, but that doesn’t make them bad patterns. I’ve always loved the booga bag from Black Sheep Bags (the pattern is on their website but the photo is broken so you can also check it out on Ravelry). This is a fun one because you can use all your leftovers or a self-striping yarn (the original was made with Noro) to give it a colorful look that’s super easy to knit. 

An envelope purse is another easy shape to knit, and this version from Lavender Hill Knits on Etsy comes in different sizes for younger girls and teens or adults. The small version is worked with one strand of worsted weight yarn, while the larger uses two held together.

The Japanese knot bag is a classic, and a felted version is a lot of fun. You can find this pattern from Cindy Pilon on Ravelry and knit one for yourself using bulky yarn. I also love her bag The Curve, which is also on Ravelry and has a fun rounded shape and contrasting handles.

And there’s also the amazing stained glass bag from Knitting Dream, which also uses a Noro yarn, but you could use wool scraps on the different fans to give it a unique look. There are two size options to choose from and it’s not as tricky as it looks.