cover image AmiguruME

AmiguruME

Allison Hoffman. Lark Crafts, $17.95 paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-4547-0397-6

Amigurumi are adorable, tiny, crocheted and stuffed toys. AmiguruME, as blogger Hoffman explains, are adorable, tiny, crocheted and stuffed dolls made to resemble whomever the crafter would like to capture in yarn. Her detailed guide to doing so makes up the bulk of the book, with a parade of options for shaping the dolls: long and narrow male head or short and wide female head? Wearing a windbreaker or a cardigan? Afro or mohawk? Instructions for all of these, and many more, are provided, along with basic instructions for crocheting, and lots of color photos. However, while it’s fun to spot the unidentified crocheted celebrities included—Mr. T, Little Orphan Annie, Willie Nelson, PeeWee Herman—it’s very disappointing that all of the photos are of the finished dolls. The patterns do not employ complex stitches, but still wind on for several columns per body part or piece of apparel, so it would have been very helpful to see how the dolls are constructed, in addition to reading about it. For experienced crafters who are up for a challenge, though, this book maps out how to AmiguruYOU. Full-color photos. (Oct.)