What I love about amigurumi (a knitted or crocheted toy) is its incredible versatility. If you can create a magic circle, perform a single crochet, and do some counting, the possibilities are endless! There are countless patterns available, both free and paid, and they all adhere to the same basic formula (yes, there's some math involved—apologies!). My main challenge when creating amigurumi is sewing the parts together and achieving evenness. Hopefully, that will improve with practice over time.

I’m currently preparing for my very first December Market and want to create a variety of smaller items for stocking stuffers. However, crocheting with a size G hook for hours on end is taking a toll on my arm, neck, and shoulder! Since before my last market, just before Halloween, I’ve been exploring different options. Unfortunately, this has led to a lack of multiples, which isn’t ideal from an inventory standpoint.

For this upcoming market, I'm excited to create some genuinely "Christmas-y" items because, quite frankly, I find them adorable. I'm also focusing on popular items that sold out last time, like my sparkly rainbow bee! Fortunately, it's incredibly easy to make, requiring only a minimal number of parts to sew on. Additionally, the bee pattern can be easily adapted to create a variety of other creatures, bringing me back to the fundamentals of amigurumi. Let's take the bee as our example.

It begins as a magic circle, gradually expanding to the desired size. Next, you crochet several rows of single crochets until you achieve the length you want, followed by a few rows of decreases to form your basic shape. From this foundation, you can add eyes and wings to create a bee, or reposition the eyes and add ears and arms to transform it into a bear, for example. Personally, I find that the quickest projects are made with bulky yarn; however, I wonder if using regular size 4 yarn might be easier for beginners to learn with. Some bulky or fluffy yarns, like Bernat Blanket yarn, can make it more challenging to see your stitches.

~Mary