Crochet dolls for beginners - create an alternative to the factory-made toys with their own hands

The modern world offers our children a huge selection of beautiful, bright, interesting toys made in a factory. But do we often pay attention to their quality, composition and safety?

Uniqueness is out of the question. It is believed that about 75% of the toys that hit the shelves in stores in our country, produced in China, where their production is put on stream, and they are engaged in the whole city.

Crocheted dolls - an alternative to manufactured toys

Fortunately, there is a great alternative to the factory toys - toys that have recently become very popular, made by hand. Particular attention is paid to knitted toys.

These can be cute little animals and amazing dolls connected by hooks or needles. Their main features are individuality, sincerity and warmth.

And each of them can be used not only for baby games, but also as a unique piece of furniture.

Varieties of crocheted dolls

A special niche among the toys, made by our own hands, occupy crochet dolls, which are of great variety. The most famous of them are amigurumi: interior, soft, frame, dolls-beasts, puppets, fairy tale and cartoon characters, etc.

Each of these types has its own descriptions and ways of making.

Amigurumi

Amigurumi is one of the newest trends in modern needlework, which came from Japan. The literal translation from Japanese is "crocheted-wrapped. And in general, it is a very small toys, miniatures, which are knit with a hook, because their size does not allow to do it with knitting needles.

The popularity of amigurumi due to their cute and funny kind, because some artists manage to knit them the size of about 1 cm. As a rule, the average size of dolls amigurumi is 5-10 cm. Distinctive features of amigurumi dolls are:

• Miniature size;
• Cute appearance, causing only positive emotions;
• Disproportionately large head - about 2/3 of the size of the whole doll;
• Absence of stitches. This technique involves knitting in a circle, and in the process of knitting is stuffed with filler.

Knit amigurumi is not difficult. The main skills you will need to master are:

1. Learn how to knit an amigurumi ring, because it is the basis of this kind of dolls;
2. Have the skill to knit spirals without lifting loops, because lifting loops create a stitch effect, and this is not professional;
3. Decide how you will do the eyes. This can be done in several ways: sew on beads, glue store-bought eyes, draw in a special technique or embroider yourself;
4. Learn how to handle the wire in case your doll will be frame.

What yarn to knit amigurumi with? The most popular are cotton and acrylic. Cotton yarn is dense and stiff, acrylic is smooth and soft, but a toy made of cotton yarn will look neater.

The number of hook is chosen from 0.7 to 2, depending on the chosen yarn and the preference of the master.

The filler can be regular absorbent cotton, but it is better to use more modern materials, such as balloon hollofiber. It does not cause allergies, does not roll up, perfectly endures washing. In order to weight it, glass balls are used.

Amigurumi doll is made according to the following scheme:

1. First, knit two legs;
2. Details of the legs are attached to each other and move to the body;
3. For the head replace the yarn with light pink or beige;
4. Separately linked parts of the two arms are sewn to the torso;
5. Sew on the eyes;
6. Knit a headdress, scarf, clothes and dress the doll.

Barbie doll.

Yes, you can knit her too! But to make this popular beauty will require experience.

It is, without exaggeration, jewelry work. The main difficulty is to knit a body that is anatomically correct. A rigid frame must be used in order to shape it.

But the most important thing is the face. It is necessary to embroider with threads eyebrows, eyes, lips, achieve relief of the face, attach hair (by the way, they can be bought in handicraft stores or made from yarn).

In addition to the knitted Barbie doll, you can make a boy Ken doll. This would be a great idea, as pairs of dolls always look winning.

Pair of dolls.

It can be not only Barbie and Ken, but also just a couple in love, made in the style of amigurumi. As a rule, these are interior dolls. Very cute looking tandem consisting of a doll mother and child. And the bride and groom will be a wonderful gift for the newlyweds.

A pair of dolls of the same soldier can be given to a man-military officer or a boy-cadet of a military school. A good idea would be to associate a doctor doll with a patient. An interesting pair will make a doll-girl and a doll-beast (dog, cat, bear).

Knitted dolls-beasts can be not only a toy for your baby, but also a wonderful gift, made with love with his hands. Such toys are also convenient to knit with the amigurumi technique.

What yarn to choose for animal toys? If you are not an experienced craftsman, it is recommended to choose a thick acrylic yarn.

Cotton will be more difficult to handle for a beginner, and wool is not suitable for games (it is better to use it for decoration). In addition, wool tends to change shape after washing.

Here are some tips for making beast dolls:

• The scheme for knitting any toy you like can be found on the Internet;
• Learn the basic abbreviations beforehand, so you can read the scheme;
• Do not knit too tightly;
• To fill the limbs use weights: plastic or glass balls, groats;
• Do not stuff the body too densely. But stuff the head just enough to a little spring;
• Use beads for eyes and nose.

Multicolored dolls

As a rule, these are animal dolls. Examples are zebra, striped or spotted puppets. Making multicolored dolls takes a special approach. Any toy made with this technique begins with an amigurumi ring of any color and continues with the following recommended steps:

• Begin knitting with the body;
• Knit in one color until the row in which you need to change the color of the yarn;
• If you need to start spots or stripes, pick up in the yarn of the new color and knit a few loops.
• Knit a few colored stripes or spots, alternating the colors of the knitting yarn to your liking;
• Fill the body with filler;
• Move on to knitting the head: start with a spout, using a black skein of thread, proceed to the muzzle and, almost finished with a part, fill it with filler (absorbent cotton, sintepon, Holofiber), finish knitting the head;
• Make the rest of the details of the toy: paws, ears, neck and tail;
• Sew all parts multicolored toys;
• Glue or sew on the eyes and nose.

Puppet

Crochet puppies have won the special love of many needlewomen and mothers. They want to admire, touch and cuddle them.

Particularly popular in recent years, the puppet Yo-Yo, which ranges in size around 15-16 cm. The head, torso and legs of this toy are knitted in one piece. In the feet for stability put cardboard. In order not to bend the head, in the area between her and the body can be inserted cotton swab.

Naked puppet knit using beige or light pink yarn. Be sure to knit him clothes: a hat, scarf, overalls, booties.

Crochet clothes for dolls

Crochet can be not only dolls, but also clothing for them. Crocheted clothes will undoubtedly become an ornament for any doll. Moreover, dresses and skirts are easier to knit by crochet, and pants - by spit. Knitted clothes for Barbie are especially popular.

Among the in demand models of crocheted clothing for dolls can be distinguished:

• pants;
• breeches;
• skirts;
• skirt shorts;
• sweaters;
• pullovers;
• dresses;
• sundresses;
• berets;
• slippers;
• booties.

It is important to note that when choosing yarn for clothing, you should choose a thinner version.

Advantages of crocheted dolls

When it comes to a toy for a child, in the first place we think about his safety.

Toys crocheted are absolutely safe, because they are made of environmentally friendly materials.

An important role is played by the fact that they can be washed, they are soft and almost weightless, which helps to avoid possible damage and injury.

If we are talking about interior dolls, their biggest advantage is the ability to create a unique comfort and a special atmosphere around, because each of them enclosed a piece of the soul of the one who created it.

Pictures of crocheted dolls