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FiberGeek Seeks Geeky Amigurumi Patterns

Since going to Maker Faire, I am hoping to incorporate LED's and such into some of these crafts...we'll see how it goes. I would love to make some simple circuits to go with crafts. I also need to repeat, if you purchase a pattern, be ethical and ask permission to sell anything you make from the pattern. I have taken several arts in business classes, and you would be AMAZED at the number of people who make money off other people's patterns and trademarked characters (without permission or paying royalties).


These are four geeky amigurumi books that I keep around. Photo: Tim Post

My mother will be the first to tell you that I am the last person she would have thought would get into any kind of fiber arts. When my mom offered (for the umpteenth time) to teach me to knit when I was a teen, all I could think of was the boring navy blue or white sweaters I had to wear as part of my Catholic school uniform. Don’t get me wrong – I knew my mom was very talented and quite capable of knitting other patterns (and honestly, I didn’t have the patience to sit down with a large pattern). Still, I think wearing her creations as part of my uniform ruined it for me until a couple of years ago.

Fiber arts have been a prominent part of geek society. If you are wondering what knitting a sweater has to do with being a geek, look up yarn bombing, the incredible science behind making wool into yarn, or, as I shared earlier in the week, patterns representing your favorite TV show.

The fiber art that has kept me in knots is crochet amigurumi. This hobby is not limited to cute little dolls – oh no! The geeky possibilities are endless! There are several books dedicated to geeky crochet along with infinite possibilities on the internet from various artists (some of whom share their work on Ravelry).

Crochet amigurumi is a great activity to do with your kids over a long vacation. It is not just a craft for girls, as you will see below – I found many examples that would interest boys and girls (click on images to enlarge).

Once you get the hang of following patterns you will find that you can take shapes you have learned and apply them to your own patterns. You can make creations for your kids, and your kids can make little creatures for themselves or to give as gifts. Plus, this is another activity to work on fine motor skills.

The books pictured above can be found on Amazon: Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi, Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make, andAmigurumi (Cozy). I also recommend signing up for Ravelry.com. Ravelry is free to join and a good number of the patterns are free*.

My latest project has been making Pokéballs for my daughter’s 5th birthday while playing Dungeons and Dragons on Friday nights. What creations have you made?

*Please be ethical when using someone’s pattern. Unless stated, do not re-sell patterns or sell items made from the patterns. Most geeky patterns are of trademark characters. Selling trademarked characters can get you into a lot of trouble!