Amigurumi Animals: 15 Patterns and Dozens of Techniques for Creating Cute Crochet Creatures [Paperback]

Annie Obaachan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of making knitted or crocheted stuffed animals, and it is taking the world by storm. These toys can be a simple or as complex as the maker likes--ranging from a tiny fluffy chick to an elaborate textured elephant. This book provides all the information you need to get started, with tips on choosing yarns and needles, and instruction in core techniques.

 

All of the animal characters can be created using key shapes such as spheres, eggs, cylinders, and flat circles, which are quick and easy to stitch and put together.

 

Includes clear step-by-step instructions for making 15 adorable animals, including a frog with webbed feet, a lion with a crocheted mane, and a cuddly mohair rabbit, plus ideas for creating your own unique designs.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting small animals or toys, is currently popular, but as a textile art has been around since the 1950s. Most amigurumi are animals with proportionally large, round heads. This colorful and well-organized book includes an overview, an explanation of materials, a guide to reading patterns, and several pages of crochet techniques. For those with more experience, a section on designing animals from sketches is included. Fifteen patterns are offered with detailed instructions of varying degrees of complexity for items such as a pig, sausage dog, and monkey. Photos and drawings add additional support. A wonderful gallery of items made by a variety of creators appears at the end of the book. With at least three photos per page, this volume provides a host of ideas for those who want to pursue the art of amigurumi. There are many, many Web sites available with free patterns, but this book would be useful not only for beginners, but also for those who could use technique refreshers or who need to be inspired by the great variety of photographs of completed projects.—Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312378203
• ISBN-13: 978-0312378202
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,423,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for beginners and those interested in design, April 8, 2008

By 

Genevieve Hayes (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amigurumi Animals: 15 Patterns and Dozens of Techniques for Creating Cute Crochet Creatures (Paperback)

"Amigurumi Animals" (titled "Crochet Animals" in the Australian edition and "Amigurumi" in the UK edition) is an excellent book for beginners with no experience in crochet. In this book, Annie Obaachan (who helped Rachel Matthews with her books "Knitorama" and "Hookorama"), provides patterns for making 15 simple Japanese-style crochet animals. Each animal is made out of simple shapes, such as spheres, eggs and sausages, which are among the simplest things to crochet, and instructions are given as both charts and in words. No prior knowledge of crochet is assumed and illustrated instructions are given of all crochet techniques. If I was teaching a child or young adult how to crochet, this would be the book that I would choose.

For more experienced crocheters, it is likely that the patterns in this book will prove to be overly simplistic. I consider myself to be an intermediate crocheter, and I felt that the patterns in this book weren't challenging enough and seemed to be a bit amateurish, too. However, for people such as myself, this book is not a complete waste of money. From my point of view, the best part about this book was a chapter on designing your own Japanese-style/amigurumi animals. This chapter is the sort of thing that I have been looking for for a long time. In the past, when I have wanted to design my own toys, I have taken existing patterns and made attempts (with varying levels of success) to adapt them to my needs. This book removes that necessity. It provides tips on the initial design process; instructions for making the components of the toys to your own measurements (that is, sausages, eggs, spheres etc); and advice on giving your animals facial expression. I also found the gallery of photographs of amigurumi animals, provided at the end of this book, to be inspiring.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars useful simple guide, April 28, 2008

By 

M. Poller (Israel) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amigurumi Animals: 15 Patterns and Dozens of Techniques for Creating Cute Crochet Creatures (Paperback)

I hesitated about ordering after reading the previous review. She was exactly right in her opinion. The toys look pretty simple and almost ugly and the yarns are very heavy compared to the other books I own on this topic. But the information on designing your own is not available elsewhere and makes the book worthwhile as does the gallery of other peoples' toys available online. Instructions are given in words and in charts using x's as in the Japanese books. Not a first purchase for this topic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy it for the patterns, July 14, 2008

By 

sara (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amigurumi Animals: 15 Patterns and Dozens of Techniques for Creating Cute Crochet Creatures (Paperback)

I own a few books now about amigurumi, and when I picked this one up, I definitely hesitated.

It is not a BAD pattern book. But I do not find the patterns in it particularly appealing. The colour and yarn choices, even the shape and style of some of the animals aren't my cup of tea when it comes to amigurumi. So I know that I will not be making a single one if these patterns, but the thing that makes this book worthwhile is, as others here have pointed out, the remainder of the book's features.

The section on planning and designing your own amigurumi, which I do, was pretty interesting. The rough drawings and eye/nose placement suggestions seemed very basic, but I can appreciate this would motivate some people into being inspired to design. When it comes to pattern books on this subject, I mainly look for inspiration, and I'd think this section would be helpful to some crocheters in this way.

The gallery at the back is really what inspired me the most in this book. A crocheted "Pac Man" and ghosts? Incredible. There are some examples of some very beautiful and creative amigurumi at the end of this book, which is why I ended up bringing it home. Was it worth the cover price for just this end section? Probably not, but I enjoy adding to my collection of knit/crochet books, and I know I will reference that back section.

I highly suggest you flip through it first and see if something in it appeals to you before buying. If it is patterns you are looking for, I do not think this book will prove as inspiring as others may to you. Take a look at it for its other features.