For many amigurumi projects, you may choose to work with acrylic. Acrylic yarns, unlike wool, are generally not blocked. However, I’ve found that sometimes my amigurumi projects need a little extra help retaining their shape. Even with liberal stuffing, amigurumis can lose their shape “memory” after awhile.

I developed the idea of blocking acrylic when completing the Nest Box pattern. I wanted to give the piece form without stiffness. I tried spritzing the piece with water. This helped somewhat, but I wanted more body than water could provide. I turned to what I had on hand: sizing.

If you’re not familiar with sizing, it’s a laundry and ironing aid that provides body to fabric without the stiffness of starch. It’s commonly available at grocery stores next to the laundry detergent and spray starches. I happened to have Niagara brand sizing at home. I use it around the house all the time to release wrinkles from t-shirts and other clothes. I’m not a big fan of ironing.

I sprayed a liberal amount over the piece, covering it completely but not soaking it. I shaped it and put in some clean paper to help the box retain the shape as it dried. I allowed it to dry overnight, and ended up with the desired effect: a blocked acrylic crochet project without stiffness. The sizing does not cause a color change to the yarn, nor is there a discernable difference to the touch once it’s dry. There is a fragrance, like fabric softener or dryer sheets, but this dissipates over a couple of days.

Be sure to try this technique on a swatch first before you spray down a project that you’ve spent hours creating. Hopefully, you’ll be as pleased with the result as I was.

Good luck!

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Just because a yarn label reads “worsted weight”, “medium” or “4″ doesn’t mean that all the yarns will work up to be exactly the same size with the use of the same size hook. The hook size recommendations on the back of the yarn can act as a guide, but keep in mind that most amigurumi projects use hooks that are two or more sizes smaller than the size called for on the yarn label. This is required to keep a tight weave and keep stuffing tucked inside.

To get around this, try working up a small swatch in each yarn and with each hook you intend to use. You’ll readily be able to tell the differences in gauge. If you want to keep a consistent look throughout the project, you can then use a smaller or larger hook when you change yarns as suggested by your swatches.

This variability can also work in your favor. Try using a finer worsted weight yarn and/or smaller hook for areas that you’d like to have appear smaller in scale or more delicate. This can be a great way to add contrast between the body and clothing or limbs of figures. Similarly, some worsted weight yarns have a more wooly appearance, while others have a smoother, shinier texture (the “soft” acrylic yarns). This can provide another source of contrast and will have maximum impact with the right hook size to produce the optimum gauge.

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If you don’t want more pieces of plastic lying around your house, look for an alternative that will stay in place but is easy to remove once you need to start a new round. One idea is to try a simple twist-tie that you can pick up from the grocery store or find included with your garbage bags. Got a creative alternative? Share it here.

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The plastic chopsticks are long and quite narrow, so they’re great at getting down long tubes (like stuffing arms or legs). The tweezers are excellent for placing stuffing in one fluffy puff at a time to ensure that tiny spots don’t end up feeling like little rocks. I was able to stuff even the smallest, most delicate areas with the tweezers with no problems.

With the chopsticks and tweezers, I haven’t needed a store-bought stuffing tool to date. Hope this tip helps you. If you have a favorite around-the-house stuffing tool idea, please comment.

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