Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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.

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.

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.

I'm new to crochet and have been disappointed with other amigurumi pattern books. The instructions in this book are terrific! Annie gives two different patterns to follow (USA/UK and Japanese) and for a beginner like me (and a visual artist) it helped the instructions make a lot more sense! I also like that the author offers methods for designing/creating original amigurumi's -- and doesn't want the reader to follow a formal or strict pattern to get from Point A to Point B. It seems to me that the author wants people who read her book to be as creative and original as possible -- and that was an essential element I found lacking in other amigurumi books!

Amigurumi Animals is an interesting book. It doesn't have the greatest amigurumi patterns (my current favorites in that department are Crocheted Softies: 18 Adorable Animals from Around the World and Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute). It doesn't have all of the tips and tricks for making your amigurumi look "polished" (that would be The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amigurumi (Complete Idiot's Guides)). So why then does it get 4 stars? Because this is the best book I've seen for providing an understanding of how to design your own amigurumi.

Annie Obaachan opens with a history of amigurumi and Japanese doll making. The book then reviews the standard beginner information (supplies, techniques, etc.).

The real value of this book is in the next 12 pages, in the section called Design Your Own, which includes information about how to design your own animals from sketches, how to create different shapes with crochet, and how to add finishing touches, especially facial expressions and eyes.This section uses a combination of sketches/illustrations and text to describe the techniques required for shaping, construction, and finishing amigurumi.

Obaachan then includes 15 patterns. Each pattern is written with both US pattern abbreviations and international stitch symbols. While the patterns are a mixed bag (and none are in the overly cutesy, yet extremely popular, style of enormous heads and tiny bodies), each project includes an illustration demonstrating how the various pieces join together to create the finished creature. These illustrations really reinforces the lessons from the Design Your Own section.

Finally, Obaachan ends with a gallery of amigurumi from various bloggers and Etsy sellers. It is kind of interesting to check this book out now (it was published in 2008), since many of those designers have since taken off quite a bit.

While I haven't been motivated to make any of the patterns in this book, it is the only amigurumi book I've seen that really explains the creative and technical process. Most other amigurumi books just have you repeating the author's patterns or focusing on tips for executing their patterns well. If you'd like to pick up the hook and design your own amigurumi, this is the book for you.

Product was as shown. This book was exactly what I was looking for. Very happy. I will be using this for plenty of projects in the future.

I expected more from this pattern book by Annie Obaachan. The animals are not as cute as in her prior book of patterns. Had I a chance to review the book before purchasing, I would not have chosen this one to buy.