Amigurumi-Yarn Broke

[Lynda Fey]

I am in the process of making my 1st amigurumi. Here is the website Sleepyhead | Lanas y Ovillos I am using 100% cotton yarn to make it. Last night when I was closing up the body, my doggone yarn broke!!! I was so mad!! I had to wing it closing it up. It looks awful. The video I watched said when you are closing it up to insert the hook from back to front in the front loop only around all stitches then pull to close. When I was pulling to close is when my yarn broke. What should I do when my yarn breaks like that? Any help is appreciated and thank you so much! Hugs and Kisses, Lynda Fey

[imalefty]

Hi Lynda Fey! How frustrating for you! I have been there,more than once. I take the yarn I was closing with and remove the stitches til I have enough length to knot it off and hide the end. Then I start with a new strand and continue on. Is the closing sewn or crocheted? I also squish my edges together when closing. You can reshape after finished. Hope I helped! imalefty

[Lynda Fey]

Hi imalefty, thank you for answering me and helping me out. The closing is crocheted. I already crocheted it closed and it looks bad, but now I know what to do next time. Hopefully the head will cover up the top of the body and not show. I think I know what happened, I think when I got back around that I used a slip stitch to connect the last row of stitches with the beginning stitch. Like you would on a granny square.

Do you have any tips on connecting the hat to the head? And connecting the head to the body? And connecting the arms to the body? One last thing, how do I crochet eyes on the head and tie them off so they won't come undone? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Hugs and Kisses, Lynda Fey

[imalefty]

Sorry I did not reply sooner. Family stuff going on,it has been rough here for a while. Attaching heads can be tricky and frustrating. I sometimes use a curved needle. Attaching any part my best trick is to not work with the edge of the stitches of the arm,leg etc. I put my sewing stitches thru the back of the edge stitches. This helps hide the joining. With heads I use the back of the body stitches. Concerning eyes - I make a knot to start them. Then tug it thru and then embroider. To finish it off I try to weave among stitches of the head that are under the eye,then pull the yarn out of the body some where far from the eye. When you cut it off the end will easily push into the body where it won't be seen. Just a hint from me-I gauge my amount of stuffing needed by how firm I want my project. Some say keep stuffing and stuffing. This is not always necessary. Even though I have been told that you can't overstuff I have found that sometimes less is better. I hope all this helps. Please ask if you think I can help in any way. Good Luck!

[Jean Marie]

Hi,
I thought I read somewhere that when sewing on the face you start from the bottom of it and when finished sewing the eyes, etc. you go through to the bottom.

[imalefty]

Hi again! Just looked at the doll again. Attaching the hat should be fairly easy. A regular running stitch all around close to the edge. As the pic shows the tops of the stitches frame the head. Take smallish stitches and they will practically disappear. One stitch at a time,just making sure you "catch" the head underneath. That's the way I do it but someone else may have a better way.

[gypsyfeet]

Thanks for all the help in joining amigurumi parts. I do a lot of them, but the hints are awesome.

[imalefty]

gypsyfeet,you are welcome. I learned by making mistakes,still do. But I passed on what I find have worked out for me. I have to laugh at times at the pattern directions! They just say sew parts together-not much help there. Glad if my ideas have helped. imalefty

[Lynda Fey]

Hello again imalefty, I was wondering what kind of thread do I use to sew the amigurumi parts together? Do I use a regular sewing thread doubled with a regular sewing needle or do I use yarn with my darning needle? I hope to hear from you soon. I would like to have this done by this Friday night. I have the shower on this Saturday and would like to give it to her then with the teddy bear blanket I made. Hugs and Kisses, Lynda Fey

[imalefty]

I use yarn and a yarn needle. It is stronger than thread. Kids can be tough on things. Hope you make it in time. Replying as soon as I saw your email. Good Luck!