Easy Squishy Amigurumi Patterns

Our amazing designer, Sarah Holloway, has recently created the most fabulously cute and incredibly simple line of crochet toy patterns. It feels like every week she comes up with some new and even more adorable design. So I’m creating this page to help you to find all of our squashiest, simplest amigurumi patterns in one place.

You can still find the full range of designs, from intricate plushies to simple coasters, on the main pattern page here. But if it’s quick, fun and easy you are looking for, then this is it!

What Makes Them Easy?

These patterns include some features that make them ideal for beginners to amigurumi:

• Limited color changes
• Simple shapes
• No/low sewing
• Clear instructions
• Illustrative photos

Color Changes

I have always found that new crocheters are intimidated by changing color. And that’s fair enough. Color changes involves a different kind of dexterity, working at least briefly with two strands of yarn instead of just one. It’s also adding an additional skill to your repertoire, and when I was first starting out I know that any different skill almost created a hard reset in my brain for the other techniques whilst I was picking it up.

Shapes

Keeping the shapes simple makes a huge difference because amigurumi are crocheted in repeating rounds. As an experienced crocheter I know the pattern of increases so well it’s almost automatic, but when I was fresh to the craft I had to painstakingly follow every change as it went along. Patterns where there were repeated increases and decreases really threw me off, whereas those which just logically got bigger then smaller again were much less daunting. So we really steer into that with these patterns, creating the impression of the animal but without the detail.

Sewing

I’ve been sewing (cross stitch, if you ask!) since I was a kid, so I was quite happy to attach limbs and features to crochet toys from the get-go. But I’ve taught plenty of people who find this one of the most frustrating parts of the learning process. Crochet is, as you know, worked with a hook. Sewing is done with a needle. It’s actually a skillset that people who aren’t familiar with it can need a lot more help with than us confident sewing practitioners realise. Partially because again it’s different fine motor movements than you make with a hook, but also because if you don’t understand how it works it isn’t immediately logical where to attach the parts, how tightly to do so, or which locations will give the best finish for stitches.

These easy patterns do not include sewing for the most part, and where they do the instructions are really clearly laid out so that even if you’ve never picked up a needle before you’ll be shown exactly how to insert it and join your toy together.

Clear instructions

Whenever I learn something new, I go to a source that breaks the skill down into tiny little bite sized chunks. I want to be talked to in layman’s terms, have all the steps explained to me and have any new terminology repeated multiple times to make sure it’s in my head. This is exactly what these patterns will do for you, make it completely clear what is being asked of you at every single stage.

Photos

Sarah and I make a lot of use of images in our patterns, even the more advanced ones but especially when they are for beginners. A picture really does paint a thousand words, and you can give so much context to a stitch or technique just by showing multiple images of the process. You’ll find loads of photographs in these patterns which illustrate everything you’ll need to do to achieve the finish toy.