Amigurumi!! {AKA Cute Crochet Animals}

I'm guest posting at Funky Polkadot Giraffe Today!! Go check me out :)

I'll be posting my own tutorial for the week for tomorrow. In the mean time...I want to share with you some cute creations my college friend Caitlin has made!!

Caitlin lives on my hall here at school and she is pretty much the cutest thing ever. She's beautiful inside AND out and so adorable...she signs her emails with cute little taglines like "hugs and cupcakes, Caitlin" or "rainbows and kitties, Cailtin" It always makes me smile. 

Caitlin is a super good at crochet!! Check out this adorable coffee mug she just made this weekend:

Can you look at that and not smile???

Here's what Caitlin has to say about her crafting!!

The Japanese art form of crocheting small animals or food (or basically anything with a cute face) is called “amigurumi.” To find a pattern for a cupcake, for example, I would just search Google or Google images for “crocheted cupcake pattern” or “amigurumi cupcake pattern.” Some websites require payment, but there are plenty out there that are free!

Cupcakes are her favorite to make. Just look at how cute these are and you will understand why!!

Once you get the hang of basic crochet stitches, you can make pretty much anything using a variety of colors and a little creativity. For help with crochet stiches, check out YouTube videos. After I had made a few other things with patterns, I made the Ponyo (fish shown below) without a pattern! A basic sphere or cylinder is fairly simple to crochet, and you can make so many things with those shapes.

I stuff the little critters with basic cotton filler from a craft store, and use beads or safety eyes for eyes, and embroidery floss for other features. When I first started they took a while to make, but now I can churn out a cupcake in a few hours :) It is a fun craft to do while watching a movie or listening to music. Note: it is usually important to count stitches, but when you are simply single-crocheting around, you can put in a stitch marker so that you do not need to count each stitch. This makes the process a little more mindless ;)

Thanks Caitlin for sharing!!! Does anyone else totally want to learn how to crochet now?? I do... I think I would just die of crocheted happiness if I could make this little guy

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I kinda have a thing for squirrels :)