Yarn Hair Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to put yarn hair into your amigurumi.  If you prefer instead to use embroidery floss, which allows you a little more freedom in the styling area, click here. 

First off, a note.  I find that regular worsted weight yarn is a little too bulky for hair.  Here are some of my preferred yarns.

Silk Bamboo Yarn for the dark haired characters.
Simply Soft Yarn for the lighter haired characters.

I like these yarns because they are a little thinner than the worsted weight, and I like the way that they hang.

Another note:  With hair I've found that less is more.  If you bulk up on the hair too much it will sit funny, even with the thinner yarn.  Put in less hair plugs than you think you need.  You can always add more later if you have patches, but the fewer the better.

 Tutorial

Step 1: I like to cut all of the hair lengths before I start.  That way I don't have to stop after every stitch and cut another piece.  Strands should be from 6 inches -12 inches long, depending on how long you want the hair.   Remember, the strands will be doubled over, so be sure you cut a long enough piece.  You can always cut it shorter!

When you have all your yarn ready, insert your hook into the ami's head.  Start at the bottom of the hairline; about halfway up on the head (as shown below) is low enough.

 Step 2: Take one of the lengths of yarn and fold it in half.  Grab it with your crochet hook and pull through.

 Step 3: Wrap the yarn around the crochet hook and pull through the loop on the hook.

 Step 4: You should have a little knot made.  Repeat this process around the head.  Start off pretty sparsely at the bottom, only adding volume once you get to the top of the head.  If you put too many loops at the bottom your ami's hair will stick straight out.

 Step 5: Once every loop is in, cut the hair!  For the ami's with longer hair, this might just mean a snip at the bottom to make the strands even.  For the ami's with shorter hair, this can mean some pretty complicated styling.    You are going to want to cut the hair at the bottom first, and then work your way up.  The hair at the top will be shorter than at the bottom.  Basically you want the top of the hair to be just long enough to cover the knots of the bottom.  Start slowly and reevaluate often.  You are probably going to cut a lot more than you thought, but if you are unsure always stay on the longer side.  You can always cut it shorter!

Han Solo Free Pattern

Han Solo Pattern

 

Recommended yarn colors:

Dark Blue for the pants
White for the shirt
Black for the vest
Dark Brown for the belt and holster
Silver for the belt buckle
Beige for the skin
Red for the stripes

Follow the base amigurumi pattern.  If you like, you can start Han off by chaining the first 30 sts in black, to make his belt , and then switch to the dark blue.  If you prefer not to change colors that often, though, it's not very important.

Follow the directions using the above colors as your guide.  Once you are done with the body, it's time to move on to the accessories!

Click here for hair instructions.

Han's Vest:

Arguably his most recognizable accessory.  Below are the instructions for the vest, HOWEVER, your pattern may require fewer or more stitches depending on your gauge and how tightly/loosely you stuffed your ami.  Please use your best judgement as to whether or not to add/take away stitches.

Start by chaining 26 in black yarn.  Use the above picture for a guide.  When you size this around Han's waist, there should be about a 1 inch gap in the front.

Single crochet 3 rows.  Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row.

Now you want to start decreasing.  You are going to decrease 2 stitches every row.  I placed my decreases randomly, because I didn't want lines of decreases. Do this for the next four rows, or until the vest reaches to just below Han's arms.

Now is the arm hole row.  SC in the next 2 sts.  Now chain 7 stitches, and attach with a slip stitch to the 4th or 5th st from the beginning of your chain.  This makes a hole just big enough for the arm.  Now is a good time to size it, to make sure that the hole is not too big or too small.  If it is, adjust accordingly.  Single crochet for another 5 sts, then chain 7 again and attach to the 4th or 5th st from the beginning of the second chain.  Single crochet until the end of the row.   DO NOT cut the yarn.

To give the vest a nice clean edge I like to single crochet around the edges  (see picture below--"last stitch" refers to the last stitch you made before the decorative edge). Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail.  Use the long tail to secure the vest in place, paying special attention to the front.  If not secured, the vest will flop open and generally look a little disheveled.

 Han's Belt:

In brown yarn, chain about 32 stitches.  This length should be long enough to circle around Han's waist and droop slightly over his right hip.  Attach the last chain to the first in a slip stitch.

SC the next 6 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 4 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 3 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 2 sts.  Leave a long tail and pull through the loop.  Use the tail to wrap around the bottom of the leg.  Secure the tail and cut the yarn.

Buckle:

ch 4, turn

sc in the next 3 sts, ch 1 and turn

sc in next 2 sts, cut yarn and pull through the loop.  Use the tail to attach to the belt.

Red Stripe

Take a small length of the red yarn and use an embroidery needle to embroider the stripe up both sides of the leg.  Mine is a little off-kilter, but you get the idea.

Support this pattern by buying Star Wars items through this link!

Base Amigurumi Pattern

Base Amigurumi Pattern

IMPORTANT: Unlike most amigurumi, which are made either from the top down or bottom up, this pattern is made from the middle.  The legs are made first, and then the rest of the body.  I prefer to use Cascade 220yarn, as it comes in a ton of different shades so you can always find what color you want.

I only use 2 crochet hooks while making amigurumi; an F hook and an H hook.  Most everything is made with the H hook.  The F hook is used for smaller detail parts; most of those instructions will be on the individual character pages.  Everything on this page uses an H hook unless specifically noted otherwise.

LEGS:
This should be done in whatever color you want the pants to be.  If you want a belt, start with the belt color and then change to the pants color in row 2.

Start by chaining 30 stitches.  Slip stitch the last stitch to the beginning stitch, making sure that the row isn’t twisted.

Row 1: even

Row 2: 15 sc, ch 6                                                                               (21)

Attach the chain stitch to the first stitch in the row with a slip stitch.

 NOTE: Your colors may vary.

Row 3: sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 6 sts   (19)

 Row 4-5: even

Row 6: (sc in next 4 st, sc2tog) three times, 1 sc                                    (16)

Row 7: even

If you want to make boots, change to the boot color on this row.  If not, continue with the original color.

Row 8: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4 sc                                           (14)

Row 9: even

Row 10: (sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4sc                                          (12)

Row 11: (sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4 sc                                         (10)

Row 12: (sc in next 1 st, sc2tog) three times, 1 sc                                  (7)

Row 13: sc2tog all around.  Bind off and weave in all ends.

Now start on the other leg.

You do not need to chain 6 again!  When you are working the even row on row 1, simply single crochet in the already made chain stitches from the first leg.

Row 1: even                                                                                        (21)

Row 2: Follow instructions above starting on Row 3 and continue until Row 13 is completed.  Leave a long tail.

Once you are done with this leg, take the long tail and sew the legs together so they don’t point in every direction.  Secure the yarn with a knot  and stuff inside the leg.

 

 These are what your legs should look like after you are done crocheting them.

 

These are what your legs should look like after they have been sewn together.  Don't worry if the thickness is uneven, that will even out when you stuff it.  What will NOT even out is if the leg length is uneven.  If the length is uneven, it means you missed/added a row somewhere in one leg and not the other, and you'll have to frog the leg and redo it.

ARMS: Make two
You start the arm at the "hand" part, so choose your colors accordingly.  Start with the skin color, and if your character is wearing long sleeves, row 4 is a good place to change to the shirt color.  If your character has short sleeves, row 7 or 8 is a good place to change colors.
Row 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook
Row 2: (sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) twice
Row 3: even
Row 4: even
Row 5: even
Row 6: even

Row 7-10: even

BO, leave a long yarn tail to attach arm to body

BODY and HEAD:

Once the legs are completed it’s time to finish the body.  Start by picking up 30 stitches from the other side of the chain that you made during the leg instructions.  Use whatever color you would like the shirt to be for this part.

Row 1-3: even                 

Row 4: (sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (27)

Row 5: even

Row 6: (sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (24)

Row 7-8: even

Row 9: (sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (21)

Row 10: even

Row 11: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                 (18)

Row 12: even

Row 13: (3 sc, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                                 (15)

Row 14: even

Change to beige yarn for the head.  I prefer Vanna White's Beige yarn for all skin tones, as this is the most natural looking skin colored yarn I have ever come across.

Row 15: (sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (20)

Row 16: (sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (25)

Row 17: (sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (30)

Row 18: (sc in next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (35)

Row 19-21: even

Now is when you want to attach the arms, put in the safety eyes and stuff the whole body.  Use a stitch holder to secure the last stitch you made and use the long tail from the arms to weave them into the body.  Be careful to align them with the legs—you don’t want arms that are not in line with the rest of the body!  I like to place the eyes around row 20-21, but you should use your own judgment to achieve maximum cuteness.  Make sure you stuff the body very tightly, including the tips of the legs, which can be hard to reach.  You can alter the form of the amigurumi with stuffing if you are careful—squish and squeeze to make your figure longer or fatter.

Row 22: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (30)

Row 23: (sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (25)

Row 24: (sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (20)

Row 25: (sc in next 1 st, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                               (15)

Row 26: sc2tog until head is completely closed. Bind off and cut the yarn and weave in the ends.

You're finished with the body!  Now it's time to add the details to fully finish your character.

Do you know what day it is?

Today is May 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars day! Get it? May the 4th be with you? Alright, so it's a really bad joke. But I just found out today, and after I got off of work! I didn't even get to torture all of my co-workers with Star Wars quotes all day (okay, well I did a little bit anyway, but it would have been a lot worse if I had known it was Star Wars day!)

So how should we celebrate? How about a free pattern! For today only, in celebration of Star Wars day, if you buy a Heroes of the Rebellion pattern I will send you the Yoda and Ackbar pattern for free! Hurry and order before midnight!

The Stormtroopers are already partying!

Stay tuned for more coming up soon!

Free penguin giveaway!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I'm having a contest over at my other blog, portrait of a penguin. All you have to do is visit the store and browse through the pictures and then comment on which one is your favorite. So if anyone here likes free stuff and/or penguins just mosey on over and vote for your chance to win! Stay tuned!

EDIT: Also, this picture is from flickr. The rest of the pictures in the set are awesome! Take a look.