Hoffman - AmiguruME pets: make cute crochet animals

Sure theyre sometimes messy, dont listen, and chew up our shoes, and nobody likes emptying a litter box or cleaning a fish tank, but something in us is drawn to their innocent and loyal nature. As a crochet toy designer, I get as many requests for custom pet dolls as I do for custom people dolls. AmiguruME Pets finally lets you make a custom crocheted amigurumi of your best animal friend. This book will give you seemingly endless options to create a little replica of your furry (and some not-so-furry) friends. Well start with the basics. If youve never crocheted before, you can learn in the How to Crochet section.

Starting with materials and tools, I explain step by step exactly what youll need to make your pet. The first section of pets is Dogs. By selecting a Head, Ears, Body, Legs, and a Tail, youll have the ability to create pretty much any breed or mutt you want. Cats are next. Choose from different parts to create your feline friend. Next is Small Pets.

These patterns are very short and simple, and include rabbits, hamsters and mice, birds and reptiles. Fantasy Pets, the last section of animals, includes patterns for animals that we all wish we could have. It runs the gamut from a slightly more attainable monkey and pony to the fantastic unicorn and dragon. For a fun element of play, make some things to go with your pet from the Accessories chapter. Here youll find patterns for collars and tags, beds, tiny toys and bones, and other things your pet needs. This will enable you to personalize the pets even more, especially if youre giving a pet as a gift.

The animals in AmiguruME Pets are written to scale with the human dolls in my first book, AmiguruME: Make Cute Crochet People. We all know people who are just never without their animal companion, so using AmiguruME Pets, your AmiguruME doll doesnt have to be either! If youd rather, make the pets bigger by increasing hook size and yarn gauge. Theyll be bigger and more huggable. After youve made these sweet animals, there are lots of things you can do with them! Crochet and display your family pets along with crocheted people in your family for a unique family portrait in a shadowbox frame. The tiniest pets can be used as keychains if you attach a short cord and split ring. Make Christmas tree ornaments by attaching a short length of ribbon to the top. My favorite thing to do is to simply arrange them on a shelf.

They make unique home decor as they are, and what better way to memorialize a pet than with a miniature version you can love forever? I hope you enjoy using this book to make your own pet. I love our family dogs, Kona and Bear. The truly unconditional love they show, even when Im in a bad mood, or if Im having a bad day, stressed out, or just too busy, is unlike any other relationship. They are still always excited to see me, ready for a good ear scratching, belly rub, or just to cuddle up next to me on the couch. I wrote this book in honor of that special bond between pet and pet lover.

Basic tools and some fun yarn are all youll need to create a full menagerie of pets for everyone you know! That is one of the greatest things about making amigurumi. The small amount of yarn needed and the relatively short amount of time it takes to make them, makes amigurumi a great gift sure to please even the most hard to shop for person on your list! Crochet Hooks For the patterns in this book, I chose to use a smaller than average hook. Because the animals you will be making will be pretty small, to get a lot of detail, you need to use a small hook. My favorite hooks are the ones with ergonomic handles. Because of the small detail work involved in many of the AmiguruME Pets patterns, youll probably also enjoy using a crochet hook that is comfortable to use on tiny stitches. If using a small hook presents a problem for you, by all means, feel free to increase the size of your hook.

When you increase the size of your hook, the stitches will increase in size, and therefore, your animals will too. Going up in size with your hook necessitates using slightly thicker yarn, or the holes in your stitches will be too large and stuffing will show through. As long as you can get a tight, solid fabric, your hook and yarn combination should be fine. Below are several examples of what you can expect when you choose to increase hook size and yarn gauge. The dog on the left is made using lightweight yarn and a C hook, as called for in the patterns in the book. The dog on the right is made using worsted-weight yarn and an E hook.