Originally written in Spanish.
Amigurumi is a Japanese word that means crocheted (or knitted) stuffed animal, and it has become part of crafters’ vocabulary.
Many people learn to crochet by making these adorable toys, including myself. They’re quick projects with varied difficulty levels. Magic ring, single crochet, increase, and decrease are the basic techniques to make a small amigurumi. When you master these stitches, you realize the many possibilities that exist by combining them in different colors.
The possibilities are endless: animals, objects, people, and cartoon characters. You can create an amigurumi of anything—from the most realistic to those that have totally come out of the imagination. Any trending character quickly gets an amigurumi pattern. According to Ravelry sources, there are 115,509 amigurumi patterns in its database at the time of writing this article— 94,134 are crocheted, and the rest is knitted. Either technique can make cute amigurumis.
They’re loved by everyone, making them perfect gifts for babies, kids, and adults alike. They’re ageless and bring a smile to anyone's face. For all these reasons, amigurumis have their international day on April 25th.
One of the most famous amigurumi designers is Yan Schenkel, who has been creating them under the name of Pica Pau for 14 years. She has already published three books dedicated to these adorable animals in Spanish, which have been translated into English, Portuguese, French, German, and Danish.
Each book has 20 amigurumi patterns. Yan shows great taste when combining colors and creating volumes. Each animal is a character with a name and a little story to tell. That’s Yan's proposal, but you can give them your own. Gifting an amigurumi, an object created with our hands, already tells a story. A story that is born from the moment you choose the pattern, buy the yarn and dedicate your time to making it with love and care. The best pattern and the biggest secret of amigurumis come from the heart.
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