Intro to Ge-Ami-try: Jumping in to amigurumi design
Written by Freddy
Hello there, fellow crocheter!
Welcome to the first installment of Ge-Ami-try —a blog about math, cuteness, yarn, amigurumi design, and…who knows what else! I am a first time blogger, so thanks for your patience while I get my feet under me. Here we go!
I had been making amigurumi for nearly 15 years before Goat and I started designing our own patterns together. For some time I had been inching my way toward design–changing colors, adding or altering clothes, making modified snouts or paws—but I was hesitant to go off book completely.
I was hanging back waiting for some secret permission or foundational knowledge I would need in order to design. In fact, if Goat hadn’t been prodding me forward, I might still be stuck in that liminal space. However, as far as I know, there is no accreditation program out there handing out certificates to let you know you are ready to design amigurumi—so what was I waiting for?!?
However, as far as I know, there is no accreditation program out there handing out certificates to let you know you are ready to design amigurumi…”
On one hand, I am glad I took my time to begin designing amigurumi.
I learned so much about construction and shaping from making the patterns of other designers. I learned about what I like in a pattern and about what will keep me from ever finishing a project (please don’t make me sew it alllllll together!) After so many hours spent making, I also developed a more intuitive understanding of amigurumi construction. As crocheters, we are forming fabric stitch by stitch. How we increase and decrease, how much tension we use, whether we incorporate multiple colors or use textured stitches—all combine to impact the shaping, the curvature, the cuteness of the final product, and all take time to get familiar with. So, in a very real sense, I spent that 15 years building up my repertoire of skills and instinct, though I hadn’t realized I was adding to my future amigurumi design toolbox at the time. (If you are still in the early stages of building your crochet toolbox, we encourage you to check out Crochet 101, where we teach you basic stitches and techniques of the trade! You can also download our Terms and Techniques pdf for help on the go.)
On the other hand, I really wish I hadn’t waited so long!
The creative problem solving involved in moving from idea, to sketch, to pattern, to fully formed ami is more fulfilling than I ever imagined. There are moments of absolute glee when an idea works up quickly and just as we imagined it. And, of course, there are the slumps of any creative practice that can only be overcome with ice cream, a bottle of wine, and a video call with Goat (or, according to Goat, between 24 to 72 hours of continuous sleep).
Time honored Freddy Goat coping mechanisms
More importantly, the creative challenges Goat and I have set ourselves as designers have actually pushed me to become a better technician of crochet with a more robust toolkit of stitches and techniques and a better understanding of the foundational concepts of amigurumi crochet and… dare I say it… math!
Not MATH!!!!
I have two hopes for this blog…
First, I hope you will see it as an invitation to design if you have any curiosity or desire to do so at all! Don’t wait for the universe to send you a sign (or a Goat) telling you that you are ready—consider THIS your sign!
Nobody: …
Goat:
Second, I hope you will join Goat and I as we explore some basic shape making with the aim of getting a deeper understanding of what we are doing as we design amigurumi and why it either works or… does not.
The first blog series–Ge-Ami-try for Beginners: Life in 2D–will focus on geometric shapes in two dimensions. Each post will give you simple templates for geometric shape-making that you can use, scale, and adapt as you embark on designing your own amis, as well as discussion of what is really going on in the crochet. We may also occasionally indulge in some nerdiness by exploring mathematical concepts as they apply to amigurumi design (like in our recent YoutTube short about shaping).
Don’t worry, we won’t get too technical because, to be honest, we aren’t mathematicians, just enthusiastic nerds who will probably get some things wrong now and then.
Finally, we want to see what you are up to and learn from you too! So please get in touch with questions, observations, or ideas of your own in the comments below.
Written by Freddy
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