amygurumi

My latest amigurumi project, the mermaid, features long hair combining microspun and eyelash yarns. Here’s how I achieved this look:

• I wanted the ends of the hair to look a bit tangled, so I chose Berrocco Comfort (yellow yarn in picture). Berrocco Comfort is a nylon/acrylic blend, and is similar to Lion Brand’s Microspun. Take care when crocheting with this style of yarn; it tends to split. It’s great, however, for applications like this where a bit of unraveling is desirable.
• I also wanted the suggestion of seaweed and some color contrast. I used Lion Brand’s Fun Fur (blue yarn in picture). This eyelash yarn is great for accents like hair, but can be very frustrating to use as the primary yarn for an amigurumi project.
• To get the look, cut a strand of either yarn to the desired length (about 4 inches, here). Insert your crochet hook into the head of the finished doll just under the post of the stitch where you want the strand of hair to be. Go under one side of the post and come up on the other side. Bend the strand of hair yarn in half (forming a “U” shape), and hook the yarn. Pull it under the post. Bring the ends of the hair yarn through the “U” (on top of the post) and pull. You’re essentially creating a slipknot.
• Continue looping strands of yarn in this manner over the head. Alternate between the microspun and eyelash yarns. For a very dense look (like mine), place a hair strand on every post in the hair area. For a less dense, more realistic look, try every other post or even every third post.

For more information about working with eyelash yarns, see these tips from PlanetJune.

For more information about creating amigurumi hair, see this tutorial from MyGurumi.

This entry was posted Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 9:10 am and is filed under Amigurumi, Tutorials. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.