How to make (amigurumi) stuffed toys?

As I wrote it before I have no clue about crochet patterns. I learned how to crochet from my grandmother when I was 9 years old. And I experienced most things for myself. I didn't even know these were called amigurumi until I started using pinterest.

So now, I am going to talk about some of the main steps that give the typical cute form of amigurumi toys (in my opinion).

1. Forms

Spheres: No matter what kind of animal it is you can always start the head with a simple sphere. It is the easiest for me if I start with the widest ring of the sphere and reduce it to both sides.

Disks: Similar to how you would start a sphere (just it has to be flat) but you need to multiply the eyes more. (You have to stitch every eyes two times)

Cyliders: After you have got the disk as the base of the cylinder you just need to go round and round on its edge. This makes the perfect body for basically anything.

2. Make it legit

You might ask, what make a sphere and a cylinder a cute animal? Well... The additional parts. They have tails, eyes, ears and legs. And these are all typical for each animal. I recommend you to use original pictures of animals as an inspritation because patterns are usually simplified and you can make something different if going back to the roots. I usally search for "(name of the animal) wallpaper" on Google to get some new ideas and sake for the project.
Moreover, you can simply cover an ugly join with a crocheted scarf or something. My newest creation, Joan Deere looks very okay but I accidentally made her neck too long so now it is a bit like the extinct link between horses and giraffes. So she got a scarf.

3. Materials

The good thing about crocheting that you don't need to spend much money to get some beautiful balls of yarn. As amigurumi requires little amount of yarn you can just borrow some left-overs from your grandma or mother if they do such crafts. Or buy some new ones for about 2-3 dollars. The ones from acrylic are usually cheaper and they are just as good as natural ones. But mixed and natural yarns are also affordable. I would recommend brands but actually I haven't met any so far which was bad. I usually prefer the "baby yarns" which are antibacterial and skin-friendly (and soft <3 ) but this is just a preference and most of the bigger brands have such collections. Also, I use very thick yarns (the ones that go well with 4-5 mm hooks) because I want to spend more time on the creative part rather than the boring basics.

Don't be afraid of using other materials such as glass paint, glue, threads and more. Glass paint is good for eyes or dogs' nose because it gleams mindly. Hot glue or decoupage glue can be used for making a part solid. You just go along the edges of the body part and let it dry. It will be flexible but more true to life. In case of antlers, tounges or tails it can be essential. Now, I avoid using wire because I wish to sell my products as baby toys and I want to make sure they are safe. Lastly, sewing counts too.

That's all. See you soon! :*