To be honest, I am not sure what kind of crochet spirit made me create this amigurumi. I just woke up one day last week, (I think it was a Tuesday) and thinking of dropping my Belle inspired dress project on the side again (for the nth time around) to start making this amigurumi.
Since it is some sort of inception kind of thing, I did not have an inspiration or pattern I could follow. All I know is that I wanted to make a crochet dolly. Originally, I wanted it to have long legs and arms so the little kiddo could play with the flexible limbs - make it dance, sit, and so and so. But it turns out, making an amigurumi freehand was not an easy feat. And it is not for the faint of heart.
"The Good Thing About Hitting Rock Bottom, There’s Only One Way Left To Go and That’s Up!" - Buster Moon (Sing)
My first trial resulted in a mash up of grinch, a snowman, and a voodoo doll. Although it is mostly a voodoo doll, only cuter. I don't have the heart to frog it. But I found a good use for it. My sister was creeped out by GSV (Grinch Snowman Voodoo) so I'm going to keep it. Writing this now just cracks me up.
After that epic fail, I went ahead and started another one. I know I was driven by passion at that time because I did not feel discouraged, not even a little bit. Instead, I was even more inspired to create a better version. Well, with that kind of benchmark, any other next project I'll be making will surely be better. So with a heart even more eager to create that dolly, I picked up my crochet hook (which I broke too, by the way) and started the amigurumi version 2.0.
"Look for a new angle!" -Tadashi Hamada (Big Hero 6)
I figured since this is technically going to be the first time I'll be freehanding an amigurumi dolly, I should try working on something small. So why not a chibi dolly, right? This time, I dug deeper and went all over the internet to find inspiration, a model if you will, (or a pattern, maybe). Unfortunately, there aren't any free patterns available for what I wanted to do. But that still did not stop me from trying. Talk about stubbornness. I found this!
All throughout the project, I just kept looking at this picture, compare my work, adjust it according to my preference, then look at the photo again, check the proportion of the dolly I am creating. This process went on and on until I was able to finish the entire project. Including the head. It was a bit (a lot) confusing, but in the end, I managed to make an ok-ish looking chibi amigurumi.
It's a good thing I learned how to create a continuous circle when I made the crochet covid virus toy some couple of months ago. I have used the technique too when I created the fronliner bear too. Though both of these had patterns, each time I make a new project, I am glad that I am learning something new from every pattern. One of my ultimate crocheting goals is to create and share as many patterns I can proudly call my own.
I thought long and hard if I would "draw" a face on the dolly. I wanted it to be faceless. Mainly because seeing another GSV might give me nightmares already. So I guess that epic fail did affect me somehow. But I know in my heart that I want to put a smile on her. But right now, we're gonna settle with just the eyes. Little kiddo still wants me to put lips and nose on the dolly. I'm still gathering enough strength for that.
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Finally, I was able to create a reasonably non-deformed, non-voodoo-doll-looking kind of amigurumi dolly. My next challenge was how to attach the hair. I found this website and the instructions were easy enough to follow. It was up to me if I'd like to make a "messy hair don't care" kind of hairstyle, a "cute pigtails" look, or "curly locks" aura for the dolly. I chose none of the above. I'd like to stick to the "create my own style" challenge. I just needed to learn how to weave those hair strands properly. Dolly now has a short hairstyle, that can be pulled back just in case I decided to make a tiny crown for her.
So the dolly now has a body, a semi face, and hair. Next up: What to wear. I am currently working on Belle's dress for my niece's birthday. It has been put on the sidelines a little too many times already. And so, to somehow make up for it, I gave Miss Dolly a small Belle dress too. This dress is made up of three tiny pieces: the off-shoulder, the bodice, and the skirt. It was really easy to assemble. And as soon as the dress was on her, I felt very much fulfilled!
I may have failed (on epic proportions) on prototype dolly, at least I learned a lot of things the second time I tried. There's still a lot of stuff I need to work on with Dolly version 2.0 but in comparison, the second one was waaaaay better than the first one.
- The amigurumi head should be big enough for the eyes, nose, and lips to fit in.
- The shoes should already be crocheted in at the start of the project. (So I won't have to worry about creating those shoes later on.)
- Never give up.
- Don't be scared to try again.
- Google is a friend.
Right now, Miss Dolly is my daughter's favorite but she keeps on bugging me about making her ears, completing the face, and the shoes! I will make those soon. There is a high chance of me creating another one (or two), with all the lessons learned done correctly, but right now, I just like to savor the victory. Appreciate the small wins, after all.
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