Heirlooms in Progress



6 January 2019





Revolutionize the Way You Stuff an Amigurumi Project



Amigurumi, as I'm sure you know already, is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting stuffed yarn creatures. It has become a huge trend in America and knitters and crocheters alike are creating patterns that are not only animals, but also inspired by every other imaginable object or person. I have definitely jumped on the high speed train as well. I love creating toys for my nieces and nephews. I am known as the book Aunt, which besides crocheted gifts are the only other gifts I bring. So I've loved that so many crocheters are coming up with Amigurumi patterns for characters from some of my favorite books. A couple great examples are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Pete the Cat by Kristel Koevenig.





Here's my problem though, every patterns says to stuff with poly fiberfill stuffing. In all my experience though the stuffing starts poking through and coming out. This happens regardless of how much or little I stuff the project or how tight my stitches are. Don't get me wrong, not stuffing too much and tight stitches definitely help the issue. But then it's time to crochet or sew the different pieces together and inevitably the hook or needle and yarn catch the fiberfill and pull it through to the outside. This just drives me nuts, probably (read: definitely) more than it should.





The Fix



Instead of using poly-fiberfill, I've been using quilt batting that I've cut into strips. The quilt batting is just as soft and stuff-able (it's a valid word in this instance :) as the poly fiberfill. For smaller pieces that I'm stuffing, I use short skinnier pieces. If I'm stuffing a body or larger piece, I use larger pieces.





Here's my problem though, every patterns says to stuff with poly fiberfill stuffing. In all my experience though the stuffing starts poking through and coming out. This happens regardless of how much or little I stuff the project or how tight my stitches are. Don't get me wrong, not stuffing too much and tight stitches definitely help the issue. But then it's time to crochet or sew the different pieces together and inevitably the hook or needle and yarn catch the fiberfill and pull it through to the outside. This just drives me nuts, probably (read: definitely) more than it should.



Jessie Spehar


2000 Old Stage Road, Florissant, Colorado 80816