My Very First Amigurumi : Blue Elephant

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(Edited)

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Hello, NeedleWorks Friends! I missed you yesterday. ๐Ÿ˜„ I was hoping I could finish my crochet project in time for #needleworkmonday, but as you can see, I failed. LOL.

If you don't already know, I am a crochet newbie trying out this wonderful craft inspired by this wonderful community. So I won't really be sharing any patterns or such, but instead, I'd love to share my learning experience with all of you (and perhaps get a free tip here and there! ๐Ÿ˜).

Feeling Confident

So yeah, I already finished my first project last week, and while still working on that sling bag, I already had a new project in mind. No - I was determined to start on the new project, I already had the yarn for it even before I finished my bag.

The new project would be a gift to a new baby (due anytime now) of my goddaughter. So basically, this baby is my grandson. Yes! I'm a grandma who wants to crochet for her grandson. ๐Ÿ˜ I really think it's sweet and thoughtful to give/receive a handcrafted gift.

What's more, a new project would help me improve on this new craft that I am really starting to love!

Amigurumi

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures.

Source

First, I tried to search for some baby boy gift inspirations and where else do we go but to Pinterest! Haha. So I got a pattern from this link but at the back of my mind, I still had no idea where to start.

This is where my new found BFF comes into play - YouTube. Looking there, I found that most (if not all) amigurumi's start with the same stitch pattern - the magic circle. My first day working on the this project was mostly devoted to learning the round.

As you can see in the photo at the right, I still failed to tightly close the first circle ๐Ÿ˜Œ so I ended up stitching around to close it.

Increase / Decrease

I can't tell you how many times I had to pause/replay the YT video tutorials to get this right, and how many times I had to unstitch my work because I do not end up with the correct count after a particular round.

To help me visualize it, I even made an illustration of where I need to make the increase at each round.

Okay, I have to say that I really did not understand what increase meant whenever they mention it in the video. Haha.

So when I got the idea, it became easier as I went along, provided that I do not get disturbed by my kids while stitching. And of course, as @romeskie mentioned in her Mushroom Amigurumi post, it is really important to mark the beginning of the round unless you would like to get lost in the universe!

So we go to the decrease. Just when I was already getting the hang of the increase, of course, I reached a point where I had to make a decrease. Again, YT to the rescue!

However, as I was following along, I noticed that my project was always at "the other side" in every tutorial I watched.

Invisible Very Visible Decrease.

Whilst I tried to follow along an "invisible" decrease tutorial, it became apparent when I finished the piece that the points where I made the decrease were not invisible at all. They were hideous that I decided to re-do the head after I completed the rest of the pieces.

Apparently, when the round was curling on its own while increasing, I should have inverted it. Good thing, I was able to do this with the rest of the pieces.

Hideous decrease
Invisible Decrease done right(?).

Done, not done. Get the pattern right.

One night, I tried to finish a piece of the arm before bedtime. I was so happy. It looked great. I finally got the hang of the increase and the decrease. I slept happily, proud of myself for being able to see the progress in my project.

So I continued the other pair of the arm the next evening. After I finished, I took out the first arm I finished the other night for a "photo op".

To my horror, they were not identical!

The first arm I did the previous night was way shorter than the other one! Dang! I missed the part where I had to repeat the same number of stitches 10 times! ๐Ÿ˜–๐Ÿ˜ญ

We are not a pair.

Needless to say, I had to redo that arm. And needless to say too, that I finished all of them - head, body, arms, legs, tail and ears!

Assembly Time

All right. Now, here's another challenge for me. Putting together all the pieces that I have lovingly crocheted.

Below, you will see them on their would-be places.

Striking a pose with the hideous decreased head.

And here they are, ready for the operation.

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I tried, I really tried to finished stitching them up together last night but since I had to re-do half of the head, that ate up much of my time. It was already past bedtime and my youngest was literally dragging me to bed, so I had to stop.

This afternoon, I continued sewing them together, and here's how the little guy looks like. I still have to add the final details, i.e., eyes and mouth, but rummaging through my threads, I was heartbroken to find that I don't have black. ๐Ÿ˜” It would have been finished, really finished by now.

Still faceless.

Nonetheless, I'm still happy at how it turned out all in all. I got to practice and learn new stitches through this project while I hand-crafted my gift for my "god-grandson".

Next up, boxing this little guy, along with the card which my daughter has made for the new baby.

I am honestly thinking of going beyond and making a set of booties and cap, I don't know. What do you think? Is adding a booties and cap to the gift box a great idea?

Also, since I am going to gift this to a newborn, I am thinking of washing it first. Do you guys wash your crocheted materials first, before gifting or sending to clients? Please let me know in the comments.

Thank you!

โค๏ธArlyn

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25 comments
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Manually curated by blacklux ๐Ÿ’กHurricane Rider ๐ŸŒช from the Qurator Team. Keep up the good work!

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Pretty cool! I wanna try this too. It is awesome to be able to do this by yourself. Good job :)

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Yes! It's really cool, especially seeing your work taking shape. ๐Ÿ˜

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Di ka rin daredevil, mamsh? Saklap kapag kinailangan magtastas nang dahil lang sa nalito sa beginning ng next row. Haha.

Good job ka dito mamsh! Ang ganda! Masasabi ko talagang next level ang talent mo sa arts and crafts.

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Haha. Hindi ko keri magpa ka daredevil Kung maraming oras ang nawawala saken. ๐Ÿ˜‚ Sakit kaya sa bangs mag ulit.

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Oh wow!!! This is the CUTEST blue elephant EVER!!!!!! Impressed. What a beautiful handmade gift for a baby. I don't have the patience to crochet, but I admire people who do! Isn't YouTube amazing for instructions? Well done for learning a new skills. You should make a crochet zoo!!!!

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Thank you! I never held a crochet hook in my life until last monhh I think? This community inspired me to try the craft. Glad I did. ๐Ÿ˜Š

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Hi...I enjoyed reading your post, I imagined every moment described, I identified when one arm got bigger than the other, it happened to me. In my experience, when weaving amigurrumis, concentration must be at its maximum, any mistake is notorious.

I think it's an excellent that you adding a booties and cap to the gift box.

When I knit baby clothes before handing them over, I wash them with a mild soap. The amigurrumi, you can also wash them, they are resistant toys.

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Oh thanks for the tip! I'll wash it then.
BTW, the baby was born last night! ๐Ÿ˜Š I really need to hurry get the face done. ๐Ÿ˜

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Congratulations grandma...Welcome baby

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Thank you for sharing this amazing post on HIVE!
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Stay creative & hive on!
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Hello, welcome to the world of amigurumis. I loved your publication.
Actually, a well-made magic ring is key. At the beginning it's important to concentrate (especially if you follow a pattern), and then you weave it by heart (haha), it's something like learning the vowels.
Good rumbling vibes for you and your family!

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Haha. Thanks! โ˜บ๏ธYup, we really need to put our heart into this craft, else it will feel like a chore to make.

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Hello @arrliinn! Your post was selected by our staff on behalf of the OCD Community Incubation Program and has received an OCD upvote! Congratulations!!! Please keep sharing these quality posts :)

I invite you to continue sharing anything needlework related directly to the NeedleWorkMonday Community. On Mondayโ€™s we use the #needleworkmonday tag and on all other days the #needlework tag.

Written by @crosheille for the NeedleWorkMonday Community ~

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You did such a fine job on your first amigurumi project! I love how you shared your failures along with your victories. Thatโ€™s all a part of learning is knowing why it was a failure. I loved how you didnโ€™t leave it at that but instead redid parts to make sure they were perfected.

It is fun seeing your crochet journey coming along. He is such a cutie pie elephant, really great gift for a baby to grow up with. Keep up the great work!!

Will you show us the final finished product?

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Aww, thank you so much @crosheille! It really takes heart to make these crafts and I am loving it all the way.

I know I have to re-do the parts that didn't look good as it would just ruin the hard work given to the project.

I sure will show you the finished product very soon! <3

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Youโ€™re welcome :)

So glad to hear you are having fun crafting!

Looking forward to seeing it :D

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(Edited)

Wow! and Wow! That's what I like about you. You are not just a creative person but you have this experimental instinct in you. I love your amigurumi elephant. Thanks for sharing.

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Hehehe.. There's always a room for learning. :D Thank you for coming over.

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Yeah, and practice makes it perfect in due time when you are used to it. Crochet will always test your patience and tolerance. The good thing is that you can redo your work without wasting the materials you use that is why I love the craft ๐Ÿ˜Š

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