Welcome Crochet-Alongers!
Today marks the first week of our Fuzzy Panda Amigurumi adventure together. I’m Tamie Snow of Roxycraft.com and I’ll be your guide for the next month while we learn some fun new techniques for your amigurumi.
So if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s never too late. Just comment and introduce yourself and you’re in! We’d also love it if you would join the Flickr group so you can share pictures of your finished projects with us and other CALers!
This week we’re going to start with the basics. I have some fun video tutorials on youtube that should help you get started. Read on for today’s lesson!

Amigurumi Video Lessons

These videos should get you started if you are new to making Amigurumi.

• The Chain Two Technique(my preference)
• The Magic Ring (from planet june-not a video)
• The Proper Stitch Tension for Amigurumi
• Which is the Right Side?

Tips and Tricks for the Fuzzy Panda

• To ensure the best results in your finished dolls, stick to the same brands of yarns and hook sizes they were designed for.
• Even the slightest change in the weight of the yarn can yield widely different results. You can pick whatever colors you like, but stick with the same brand.
• If you are more experienced yarn-aholic, find other yarns with similar weight and be ready to change hook sizes if you have gaps between stitches.
• When in doubt, go down a hook size.
• For the head and body of this doll, get a roving style wool yarn like Lion Brand Alpine Wool. It works the best and is widely available. I cannot guarantee the brushed technique will work on any other kind of yarn.
• Use as tight a tension as you are comfortable with. Loose stitches=lumpy shapeless dolls.

Brushed Amigurumi

Here is a fun video to introduce you to the Brushed Amigurumi Technique:

Homework for Next Week

Finish crocheting all the pieces of the head and be ready to assemble it.
Those of you who want to skip ahead and finish your doll to completion are welcome to do so…as long as you promise to share the pics in the Flickr group!