Amigurumi Doll Pattern -I altered the pattern below for each of my girls... Here is the original Amigurumi Doll Pattern Link

Materials

I used rowan wool cotton (which is dk weight) on a 3mm hook for the body. The dress and shoes are worked in the same yarn on a 3.5mm hook. i had 6 50g gram balls and used a full ball of beige for the hair, approx. 40g of the cream (face, hands, legs) and 30g of the remaining colors (light green, dark green, turquoise and yellow). The finished doll is 14″ tall. You can use any yarn you like but remember to use a smaller than usual hook to keep the fabric tight and stop the filling escaping or showing through.

Rows and spirals

I worked the striped sections in rows as it prevents the jog at the end of the stripe. Amigurumi is usually worked in spirals and the fabric thus created looks different to that worked in rows. Since I prefer the traditional amigurumi look (but hate the jogs) I worked the solid color sections in spirals - it’s easy to switch back and forth - but you can choose to work it all in rows or all spirals if you prefer.

To start: use the magic adjustable ring. You may find it helps to use a larger hook for the first row as amigurumi is worked pretty tightly and i find it can be fiendishly difficult to get into this first round of stitches.

To work in spirals: place a marker in

the last stitch of the round and continue around sc into the top of each stitch (move the marker up into your current round when you reach it).

To work in rows: ss into first stitch of current round, ch1, turn. Make sure that you then sc into the first stitch (not the chain). It’s easy to miss the first stitch which will make your start/end row seam wonky.

Working from charts

This is the format I first encountered amigurumi patterns in, and i find it much easier to follow

than directions written out long hand. The chart gives the total number of stitches (all sc) in each row. To make life easier increases and decreases are usually made in multiples of 6, distributed equally around the row. You will find that as you work this creates an easily memorized pattern. (inc1= increase by 1 - work 2 sc into the top of one sc of the previous round)

You can calculate how many stitches between the increases by dividing the previous and upcoming row totals by the difference between them (the number of increases in the next round). e.g. 36 stitches up to 42 is an increase of 6. 36/6=6, 42/6=7. This means you want to turn every 6 stitches of the previous round into 7 in the next. You would make 5 stitches between increases (as the increase turns that 6th stitch into stitches 6 and 7).

Decreases are usually worked in the same pattern. If the increase/decrease is les

s than 6, spread the increases/decreases evenly around the row (using the calculation above). Alternate where I place the increases/decreases every other row

tip: i find a handy way to keep track of the increases/decreases is to count to myself in 2 different languages, using a foreign language for the increases. e.g. one, two, three, un, deux, one, two, three, un, deux etc. then if i get interrupted i know exactly where i was. i find this comes in particularly handy if you’re working greater than inc1 increases. if i stopped at quattre i know i’m 4 stitches into an increase. cunning, no? i feel it makes for a rounder finish if the increases/decreases aren’t all stacked above each other but it isn’t essential.

LEGS: make 2
row	stitches	yarn	note
1	6	(lg) brown	6 sc into ring (6 sc total)
2	12		inc1 all around (12 sc)
3	18		1 sc, inc1 around (18 sc)
4	24		2 sc, inc1 around (24 sc)
5	30		3 sc, inc1 around (30 sc)
6-8	36
9-10	36	(y) pink	ch and turn to work in rows
11-12	36	(lg) brown	sc around (36)
13	33	(y) pink	10 sc, dec1 around (33) stagger decreases around the circle
14	30		5 sc, dec1, 9 sc, dec1, 9 sc, dec1, 4 sc (30)
15	27	(lg) brown	8 sc, dec1 around (27)
16	24
17-18	24	(y) pink
19-20	24	(lg) brown
21-22	24	(y) pink
23-24	24	(lg) brown	stuff feet now!
25-26	21	(y) pink
27-28	21	(lg) brown
29-30	21	(y) pink
31-32	21	(lg) brown
33-46	18	cream
47-48	18	(lg) brown	You can use dk brown

Body
row	stitches	yarn	note
1	6	(lg) brown	You can use dk brown
2	12	(lg) brown
3	18	(lg) brown
4	24	(lg) brown
5	30	(lg) brown
6	36	(lg) brown
7	42	(lg) brown
8-10	48	(lg) brown
11-12	51	(lg) brown
13-14	54	(y) pink	ch and turn to work in rows
15-16	54	(lg) brown
17	54	(y) pink
18	48	(y) pink
19-20	48	(lg) brown
21-22	42	(y) pink
23	42	(lg) brown
24	36	(lg) brown
25-26	36	(y) pink
27-28	30	(lg) brown
29	30	(y) pink
30	24	(y) pink
31-32	24	(lg) brown
33-34	18	(y) pink

Head
row	stitches	yarn	note
1	6	cream
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6	36
7-10	42
11-15	48
16-19	42
20	36
21	30
22	24
23	18

arms: make 2
row		stitches	yarn	note
1		6	cream
2		12
3-4		18
5-7		24
8		18
9		inc2, inc4, inc2; sc around (26)
10		sc in each of first 3 st, inc1 in each of next 5 st; sc around (31)
11		sc in each of first 3 st, dec1 in next 10 st; sc around (26)
12		dec2, dec4, dec2; sc around (18)
13		18
14		12
15-16		12	(lg) brown	ch and turn to work in rows
17-18		12	(y) pink
19-20		12	(lg) brown
21-22		12	(y) pink
23-24		12	(lg) brown
25-26		12	(y) pink
27-28		12	(lg) brown
29-30		12	(y) pink
31-32		12	(lg) brown
33-34		12	(y) pink
35-36		12	(lg) brown
Shoes: make 2 (change hooks -work on 3.5mm hook
row	stitches				yarn	note
1	6				(lg) brown
2	12				(lg) brown
3	18				(lg) brown
4	24				(lg) brown
5	30				(lg) brown
6-12	36				(lg) brown
13	30				(lg) brown
-	ch20, ss into 7th ch from hook, sc into all 13 ch, ss into first stitch of previous round				(lg) brown
14	reverse sc all around				turquoise

Finishing

Stuffing: I weighted the legs and body of my doll, to a height of about 1/3. In future i may not bother to weight the feet, although it does help her to stand up well. The weights i use are called poly pellets and i bought them on eBay. the remainder of the legs/body etc is stuffed with fluffy stuffing. if you plan to machine wash the doll it is worth working circles the diameter of the leg/body at the top of the pellets and sewing these inside, which is very easily done if you remember in time, before you make too many decreases. Stitch it in with matching yarn from the outside following the pattern of the crochet stitches and it doesn’t show at all. this prevents the stuffing and pellets mixing inside the body/limbs during the wash, which they will do otherwise. if you prefer you could sew a little bag to contain the pellets instead. Always put in more stuffing than you think you should, then put in a bit more, the crochet fabric will stretch over time and you don’t want her to end up too floppy.

Hair: knot and thread through from wrong side. do this when you have worked up about 2/3 of the head, so that you have a good idea of the shape but still have room to get inside easily.

Dress: I started by following the increases for the top of the body (from about row 28 backwards, to allow arm room)