From selecting yarns and learning the basics of crochet to assembling your projects and adding whimsical details, The Complete Guide to Crochet Dolls and Animals makes any amigurumi project possible! Hundreds of photos demonstrate the best crochet stitches to use, along with lessons on how to assemble amigurumi figures correctly and give them more personality. All the basic stitches and steps are explained in detail, including extra directions for left-handed crafters. This is the official guide created by The Japan Amigurumi Association—whose thousands of members are found all over Japan, the original home of amigurumi. It provides an authoritative overview of techniques and includes all the information that amigurumi enthusiasts need to know to start creating. This indispensable book shows you how to: Shape and proportion expressive heads, limbs and tails Assemble all the pieces together in a way that makes your toy come alive Add armatures so your toys can bend and stand on their own Create facial features that give your toy attitude and personality Make cute little accessories (zakka) like mittens, scarves and purses The Complete Guide to Crochet Dolls and Animals includes 3 sample projects to practice the skills you learn. With over 1,500 color photos and detailed diagrams instructing more than 100 crochet stitch techiniques—this is a reference you'll refer to again and again as you create and style your own amigurumi for years to come!

Make adorable crochet dolls with over fifty unique patterns for clothes and accessories. With a range of clothing and accessory patterns, dress up your doll for home and abroad, from basic underwear and shoes to dresses, dungarees, sweaters, coats, and hats. As well as wardrobe essentials, you can create accessories to match each outfit, including a teddy for bedtime, a bucket for the beach, cakes for the kitchen, and even a penguin for the North Pole! There’s a range of dressing-up costumes, with an adorable bear suit and a fun superhero mask and cape. The cute mini suitcase pattern is the perfect for storing all of your dolls belongings and it doubles up as a bed too! Be aware that crochet terms in the United States are different from those in the U.K. This can be confusing as the same terms are used to refer to different stitches under each system. All crochet patterns in this book are written in U.K. and European terms. U.S. crocheters must take care that they work the correct stitches. One way to tell which system is being used in other patterns is that the American system starts with a single crochet, which the U.K. system doesn't have; so patterns with “sc” in them can be identified as American patterns.

Create a suave high-flying rhino, a lovesick elephant who knows her way around a kitchen, and a seriously chivalrous tiger . . . With just two weeks to go before her baby Edward’s due date, yarn enthusiast Kerry Lord picked up a crochet hook for the first time, and a new obsession began. Over the next twelve months, the collection of crochet animals expanded week by week until Edward’s Menagerie was complete—with forty unique patterns. These cute animals with larger-than-life personalities are made using simple crochet techniques, and the step-by-step instructions enable a complete beginner to get hooking straight away. Each animal also has a universal pattern, allowing crocheters to change their hooks and yarns to create four different sizes, making for 160 different possibilities. Be warned—these unlikely characters, made using a super-soft yarn in a sumptuous natural color palette, will become your new best friends as you hook your way through the whole menagerie!

Ami Ami Dogs 2: More Seriously Cute Crochet is the second installment in a new series for dog lovers, crafty folk, and people who just love cute stuff. Complete with detailed instructions and full color pictures of stuffed puppies and patterns, this is the perfect project for anyone who likes to crochet (or just pretends to)! Amigurumi (which means knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed animals. The technique results in animals with large heads and small bodies, upholding the super cute aesthetic of amigurumi animals. Jam-packed with four-color photographs of seriously cute dogs, as well as patterns and step-by-step instructions on how to make them, Ami Ami Dogs 2: More Seriously Cute Crochet will inspire you to pick up the needle and thread like no other craft project. The book teaches crocheters: 1. Basic crocheting techniques (perfect for beginners!) 2. Spiral techniques to ensure stuffing will not come out 3. Patterns and detailed directions for 12 kinds of dogs (about 3” long) including: -Chihuahua -Jack Russell Terrier -Toy Poodle -Shih Tzu -Dalmation -Papillon -Bernese Mountain Dog -Hokkaido -Shiba -Bull Terrier 4. Plus: Tiny dogs as magnets! Tiny dogs as cell phone accessories!

Crocheted sisters Amelie and Mako and are ready for anything--a day at the beach, a birthday bash, a visit to the library--and their outfits are, too! In this book, popular Japanese amigurumi designer Miya takes you step-by-step through the doll-making process, showing you how to create two charming doll companions, their teddy bear pal Marron, and 63 miniature wardrobe additions--ranging from warm winter coats to delicate ballet slippers. This book is a pattern diary of outfits and accessories that you can make to dress up the two crocheted sisters and their small bear friend--Try out all the different kinds of dress-ups and have fun with style! Clear visual instructions provide a pattern for each clothing item and accessory. A basic guide to the crochet stitches used in the book is included as a refresher to the symbols and stitch execution. Projects are given in both graphs and charts, as well as pictorial instructions. Mix-and-match doll clothing and accessories, including: Cozy, cold-weather wear for looking great on chilly days Chic pants, tops, berets, or straw hats for a market-day-in-Paris vibe Charming little tops, like a colorful ruffled tunic--great for a day at the beach Clothes for ballet, cheerleading, and dress-up (be a flight attendant--or dance a hula!) Tote bags, evening bags, and shoulder bags--you can never have too many! And much more! But you don't have to stop here! Handmade toys open up a whole new world for creativity. With this book as a guide, you can create crochet dolls whose colors and features celebrate diversity or design wardrobes based on specific interests. With the inspiration provided in this book, you can do it all. Let it be your springboard to fostering many hours of gentle, creative--and fashion-forward--playtime. Best suited for those with some foundational crochet experience, or ability to follow a pattern given in graphs, charts, and pictorial instructions.

Have fun at the farm with this new collection of minis from Kerry Lord and her Edward’s Menagerie animals. This is one of the new gift series from TOFT (Kerry’s yarn company), which contains four books, each with 25 crochet patterns on a different theme: Ocean, Wild, Farm and Pets. These mini animals are quick and easy to make so they are perfect for the beginner as well as giving the more advanced crocheter an afternoon’s fun. The books are practically organised so you start with the easiest pattern and, as you grow in confidence, you continue through the book, mastering the art of crocheting animals, from the humble mouse to the angora rabbit, producing high-quality collectibles to keep or give as thoughtful, homemade gifts. This range of mini animals are totally new patterns for fans, new and old, to get hooked to. Sitting at 8cm (3 inches) tall, you can make your own cute collection, which could be used to create a nursery mobile, a board game, key rings and much more! Whether you’re in front of the TV, commuting to work or having a relaxing afternoon, these projects are perfect for bringing mindfulness and creativity into your day. Patterns in the series will include: Pets: Cockapoo, Iguana, Angora Bunny, Tabby Cat, Tarantula Farm: Pony, Alpaca, Sheep, Goat, Pig Ocean: Whale, Shark, Lobster, Starfish, Manta Ray Wild: Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo

The popular Japanese amigurumi style of adorable crochet animals is captured in this thorough how-to that features eight whimsical critters. Instructions on crocheting a bear, bunny, cat, dog, elephant, giraffe, hippo, and monkey delve into how to assemble the animals, and notes and tips on the crochet techniques used are included. These fun, intermediate-level projects are created with worsted-weight yarn and stuffed with fiberfill. The book details how to add finishing touches, such as 12- or 15-millimeter safety eyes, and the finished dolls range in size from 12 to 18 inches tall.