Learn to Crochet Amigurumi!

Welcome! If you're a crochet beginner, this page is for you! And I'm excited to walk you through all the basic steps to learning to crochet!

These crochet tutorials show the basic stitches you'll need to know to crochet an amigurumi (definition: a small crocheted stuffed toy). They work alongside one of my crochet patterns, so first you will need to choose a pattern and gather the needed supplies.

My learn-to-crochet jellyfish kits are designed for crochet beginners and include all the supplies you will need to crochet your first amigurumi. PLUS they come with a slow-paced tutorial video that walks you through each part of making the jellyfish! See the bottom of this page for some other ideas for beginner crochet patterns.

If you don't have a kit, you can check out this video which shows all of the crochet supplies you'll need to get started: https://youtu.be/Xkj3QC4qNJI

And now it's time to get started on these basic crochet stitches!

Part 1:  Making a Slip Knot

The very first step when starting to crochet is attaching your yarn to your crochet hook. You do this with a slip knot; here's a video showing how to make a slip knot:

Part 2: Making a Chain Stitch

After you've attached your yarn to your crochet hook with a slip knot, the next step will be to make a chain stitch. Here's a video showing how to make a chain stitch:

Part 3: Learn the Single Crochet Stitch

I begin all of the circles for my amigurumi creations by chaining 2 stitches and then working 6 single crochet stitches into the first chain that I made. In order to do that you will need to know how to make a single crochet stitch. So, watch this video showing how to make a single crochet stitch and then go on to the next video to see how you work 6 of these single crochet stitches into a chain stitch to form a circle:

Part 4: Learn to Crochet in a Circle

This video shows how to make a beginning circle. Almost every part of the crocheted animals I make begin with this beginning circle! You will chain 2 and then work 6 single crochet stitches into the first chain. Watch this video to see how to do this:

Part 5: Learn the Increase Stitch

Now that you know how to start a crocheted circle and are following the pattern to work in that circle, you will need to know how to crochet an increase stitch! This simply means that you are crocheting 2 stitches right next to each other into the same stitch. When you do 2 stitches together it's called an increase stitch because your total number of stitches in the round increases by 1. Watch this video to see how to crochet 2 stitches into the same stitch:

Part 6: Learn the Decrease Stitch

The last basic amigurumi stitch you will need to know is the decrease stitch. You will use the decrease stitch when you want the the shape you are crocheting to decrease - for instance, at the bottom of the head or at the top of the body. This stitch is abbreviated in my patterns as "dec"; it is also called the single crochet decrease stitch. To make this stitch, you are joining 2 crochet stitches into 1. Watch this video to see how you do this:

Now you know ALL of the basic stitches to making your own amigurumi! If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at: hello@theresascrochetshop.com

Looking for some good beginner patterns? I have several full-pattern video tutorials on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjJX_lEDo_D97au0dDlLExPk7xMaWAr2n

And here on my website, some of the easier patterns I recommend to start with are the dolphin, gnome, ray, whale, shark, manatee, and elephant!

HAPPY CROCHETING!