Never Seam An Amigurumi Project Again! | Podcast Episode #134

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Do you hate seaming your amigurumi projects?

Me too! I’m always worried I’ll sew a piece on crooked or that it’ll fall off someday. I know I’m not alone in this struggle so I was absolutely thrilled to chat with Melanie from Knot Too Shabby Crochet about how she eliminates seams in amigurumi altogether.

Special Guest

Her new book, Hooked On Amigurumi, 40 Fun Patterns for Playful Crochet Plushies is filled with cute little projects to help you learn how to use shaping and color changes to eliminate seams and she shares her best tips with us today!

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Well hey there, and welcome to episode 134 of the B.Hooked Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. I’m really, really excited about today’s guest. We’ve actually been planning this one for a couple of months now, and I can’t wait to share some of her unique ways of getting around the parts of amigurumi that we don’t always love to do.

You probably know what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever made amigurumi — which, by the way, if you’re totally new to that term — it’s basically just those cute crochet stuffed animals or little softies.

So if you’ve done amigurumi before — if you’ve completed any type of amigurumi project — you probably hated (or maybe loved?) the seaming. If you did love the seaming part, I’d really love to hear from you because I need to know your secret!

But for most of us, that part isn’t our favorite. Melanie had some of those same struggles. She loved amigurumi and wanted to keep making it, but she didn’t enjoy the seaming. She’s super creative, though, and came up with ways to get around it — and that’s what we’re talking about today: how to make easier, faster amigurumi without having to seam everything together.

We’ll also chat a bit about amigurumi tips. Anytime I get to talk to someone who specializes in amigurumi — like, that’s their jam — I love to hear their tips for things like faces, hair, finishing techniques… and usually seaming too, but in this case, we’re switching it up.

By the end of this episode, I think you’ll be really excited to try this seaming-free approach at least once. Melanie has a whole bunch of projects in her new book, Hooked on Amigurumi: 40 Fun Patterns for Playful Crochet Plushies, so you can try out this method on any one of those patterns.

We’ll start by talking about her book and that journey, then get into the nitty-gritty of amigurumi. So here she is — Melanie from Not Too Shabby Crochet. Welcome to The B.Hooked Podcast, and thank you so much for being here today!

Melanie: 3:17
Morning! Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited.

Brittany: 3:20
Yeah, it’s my pleasure. I know we’ve been planning this one for a while, and I’m super excited.

I’ve had your book in my hand for… gosh, probably more than a month now, and it’s so amazing. You have this really unique approach to doing amigurumi that solves the pain point you had — and it’s different. We’ve never talked about anything like this on the show, so I’m really looking forward to digging into that.

Before we do, though, I’d love to know a little bit about your story. How did you get into crochet and designing?

Melanie: 3:51
Well, the first piece I ever made — I was pretty young — was in daycare. It was this neon green and orange and pink hideous doily. I was young and just didn’t really connect with it. I mean, what was I going to do with a doily?

So I didn’t really touch crochet again for a long time. But in college, a few friends and I had a girls’ night in. We were all just hanging out, and somehow the conversation turned to crochet.

One of my friends had a bunch of hooks and yarn already. She found a free pattern online for us, and we just started working through it together. And from then on, I was hooked.

Brittany: 4:39
Oh yeah! So wait a minute — you said your first project was in daycare? You were really young then.

Melanie: 4:47
Pretty young, yeah. I don’t remember how old, but I probably still have that neon green doily somewhere. It was hideous.

Brittany: 4:57
Yeah! So who taught you? Was it someone at daycare or a family member?

Melanie: 5:03
It was a daycare teacher.

Brittany: 5:06
Oh, so cool. So you took quite a break between daycare and college. Was it your friend’s influence that brought it back? Did you have to relearn everything?

Melanie: 5:22
Oh, absolutely. I had to relearn everything from scratch — I didn’t remember a thing.

Brittany: 5:26
Yeah, I wouldn’t remember much from when I was four or five either. So your friend taught you — was your first project an amigurumi, or did you start with something more basic?

Melanie: 5:42
It wasn’t technically amigurumi, but it was a simple little bird with two wings. Of course, we didn’t have safety eyes, so we embroidered them with yarn.

We stuffed it with cotton balls, so it was all lumpy — but that didn’t matter. I really enjoyed the process and liked making it.

Brittany: 6:03
Yeah! Do you still have that bird?

Melanie: 6:06
I do! It’s in a box somewhere, but I’ve kept it.

Brittany: 6:11
I always love hearing about people’s first projects — and whether they’ve held on to them. How long have you been crocheting now? Was that a while ago?

Melanie: 6:25
Pretty much, yeah. That was maybe 10 years ago — maybe a little less. And I’ve been crocheting consistently ever since.

At first, it was just for myself or for friends as gifts. Then, in late 2016, I opened an Etsy shop. That’s when things really started to grow.

Brittany: 6:48
Okay, so when exactly did you start doing amigurumi? How did you learn about it, and what drew you in?

Melanie: 6:57
Making that little bird with my friends was my first taste of amigurumi.

What really drew me in was probably my background. I’m a civil engineer, so I work full-time in a very technical, math-heavy field. With crochet — and amigurumi especially — you’re using those same skills: counting stitches, building on them with increases and decreases to shape things.

It just clicked for me — that connection between the technical side of my brain and the creative side.

Brittany: 7:35
Yeah, that’s so interesting. There really is a lot of math involved, especially with shaping. That must’ve felt like a natural fit for you!

So you started your Etsy shop in 2016. Tell me about that journey. What made you want to open a shop in the first place?

Melanie: 8:10
I’d been thinking about it for a long time. People would always tell me, “You should totally open a shop — I love your stuff!”

I was hesitant, though. Then, after my birthday one year, I just thought, “You know what? New year, new me — let’s try it.”

I posted two items: a little rice ball and a fortune cookie. I didn’t tell anyone — not even my boyfriend (now husband). I just listed them with some photos.

About a week later, I got my first sale. It was someone totally random from out of state — not a friend or anything — and that feeling was incredible.

After that, I dove all in. I created an Instagram account, started sharing more, and just kept going from there.

Brittany: 9:10
So are you still selling finished items now? Or are you more focused on designing and selling patterns?

Melanie: 9:22
Definitely more focused on pattern writing now. I’m not selling finished goods much anymore.

I only have two patterns listed on Etsy right now because I took a long break to work on the book. That took a while — coming up with the designs, writing and testing the patterns, doing the photos, all of it.

Brittany: 9:45
Yeah, that makes sense. So when did the book process start? Were you approached by a publisher, or did you pitch the idea?

Melanie: 9:54
Actually, a publisher — Caitlin Dow from Page Street Publishing — messaged me on Instagram one day and asked if I’d be interested in writing a book.

She showed my work to her team, and they loved it. We emailed back and forth, set up a call, and about a month later, I signed the contract.

So really, I kind of stumbled into it just by sharing my craft on Instagram. It’s been pretty incredible.

Brittany: 10:33
Yeah, that really is incredible. And you know, that’s a story I’ve heard from a few other designers too. Instagram plays such a big role — it’s how a lot of publishers find people.

So if you’re listening and your big dream is to write a pattern book but you don’t know where to start? Melanie’s experience is a great reminder: be consistent and share your work. Instagram can really open doors.

Melanie: 11:14
Yeah, exactly.

Brittany: 11:16
Well, that’s really interesting. So now I want to sort of shift in the direction of amigurumi because, like I said, you take a unique approach to it. You take out some of the elements that I know a lot of us don’t really love to do—and that’s making the components and sewing them together.

Before we get into those details, knowing that you have kind of a different approach, I’m interested in your process of creating them. If we start from the very beginning, where do you first get your inspiration for a new design?

Melanie: 11:51
Oh gosh, I mean, pretty much anywhere and everywhere. A lot of people send me things—“Hey, you should make this!”—and I take those into consideration.

But I’d say most of my inspiration comes from my own experiences, things that are important or special and meaningful to me. So in my book in particular, it’s probably 60% food—which makes sense for me. I love food, I’m a huge foodie, I eat constantly. Anyone who knows me will tell you that.

There’s also a huge focus on Asian-American influences. I’m Japanese American, my family grew up in Hawaii, so there are sea creatures, sushi, soy sauce, and some Asian treats in there. These are all things from my life and childhood, and those are the ones that resonate the most with me.

Brittany: 12:55
I think that’s another common theme—that we often find inspiration in the things around us and the things that make us happy.

I’m definitely one of those people who overthinks it. I’ll sit and question, “What actually does inspire me?” And when I think about it too much, I start doubting myself or the ideas I come up with.

So it’s really interesting to hear that for you, it’s about what’s around you—colors you love, maybe what you watch on TV, or like you said, being a foodie. We can turn anything into crochet. And especially with amigurumi, there’s just so much room to play.

We often think of amigurumi as just stuffed animals—like teddy bears or bunnies, cute and cuddly little things. But the first time I ever saw food made in crochet, I thought, “Wow, that’s so cool.” I never would’ve thought to do that. Seeing your book is like seeing a collection of who you are.

Melanie: 14:16
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Brittany: 14:19
Okay, so from there, you have inspiration for a new idea. What’s the next step?

Melanie: 14:27
Probably Google. It sounds a little silly, but I like to look at photos of the real-life object to draw inspiration for colors. I’ll look up plushie versions of it, maybe regular stuffed animals, to get ideas for shape and scale.

Amigurumi tends to be more rounded and cutesy, kind of like plushies, so that helps me figure out how to shape things.

I also like to see if there are other crochet versions of that design out there—just to make sure I’m not completely copying anyone and to get ideas for a more original take.

Then I just kind of start working. I know a lot of people like to sketch things out and make a grand plan. Honestly, I never do that. And it’s probably not the best habit, but I just pick up my yarn and go.

Brittany: 15:25
Yeah, I can totally relate to that too. When I’m doing something really complicated, like a garment, I’ll definitely try to sketch it and plan out the foundation chain, that sort of thing.

But when I just have an idea, I like to jump right in. I might do a gauge swatch if it’s something that needs prep, but with amigurumi—I never swatch first. I just start playing with yarn.

From those first rounds, you can usually tell if your hook is the right size or if the yarn is working well. Do you ever switch hooks or yarn if something doesn’t feel right? Or do you tend to use the same materials since you know they work?

Melanie: 16:32
Yeah, I tend to stick with the same hook size and yarn. Every once in a while, I’ll try something different just for fun.

The other day, I made this giant dinosaur using ridiculously thick yarn and a hook that was probably too small—but I just forced it to work anyway.

So I’ll experiment sometimes. But my go-to is worsted weight yarn and a smaller hook.

Brittany: 17:01
Okay, so I was reading through the beginning of your book—the introduction—and you mentioned something you realized early on about amigurumi: you didn’t like the seaming part.

I know so many of us can relate to that! But instead of letting that turn you away from amigurumi completely, you figured out how to make it work for you—without so much seaming.

Tell me a little bit about that. How did you figure it out, and what made you want to solve that problem in the first place?

Melanie: 17:43
I mean, like you said, it’s my least favorite part—and probably everyone else’s too. It’s just one of those known things in the crochet world.

So I just played around with the yarn. Lots of frogging, lots of trial and error to find ways to manipulate things and minimize all that seaming and sewing.

I use techniques like color changes, or making the arms and legs first and working them into the main body so I don’t have to go back and attach them later. Or joining separate pieces and working them together as one.

You’ll see a lot of that in the book. And it’s nice because I think the easiest point to abandon a project is when you have to take the hook out and start something new.

So I love projects where I never have to take the hook out of the yarn—I can just keep going. I can sit and watch Netflix and finish a whole project and just enjoy the process.

Brittany: 18:47
Yeah, I think that’s a really good point too. For me, if I have to stop in the middle of a project, it’s really hard to get back to it.

And when it comes to shaping, you probably have to get pretty creative. I think it’s easier to make a head shape and a body shape—maybe even reuse the same pattern—but skipping all the little elements makes things simpler.

Still, you have to be mindful of shaping. So let’s talk about that.

I know shaping can be a big challenge for someone designing their own amigurumi—not so much when you’re following a pattern. Do you approach shaping more from trial and error, just working with what you know? Or do you use your math background to help with the shaping and minimizing seaming?

Melanie: 20:07
I’d say it’s a little bit of everything. Lots of trial and error, for sure.

But as long as you have a basic understanding of the primary shapes—like how to create a circle, cylinder, or cone—you can build from that.

Then you just tweak things. Like, what happens if I concentrate increases on one side? How does that change the shape? Any little thing like that can completely change the way something looks.

As long as you’re using those main foundation stitches and shapes, it’s kind of limitless what you can come up with. So that’s how I work. I start with those basics and then play with them to see what happens.

Brittany: 21:00
Okay, that’s really interesting. I bet some people haven’t thought about what happens when you focus your increases on one side. In your experience, how does that affect the shape?

Melanie: 21:16
For example, I used that on the coffee pot to create the little spout where you pour.

So when you concentrate increases on one side, it adds extra material there, and it kind of folds outward to form that spout.

Another example is the whale. I concentrate more increases toward the back end to give it a longer shape in the back and a more bubbly shape up front.

Brittany: 21:48
Gotcha. Okay, so on the flip side—what about decreases or using slip stitches on one side? Have you experimented with that? What kind of shaping does that give?

Melanie: 22:03
Yeah, decreasing works well in places like the Loch Ness Monster. I decrease more toward the front of the head to bring it in as it moves into the neck.

Another example is the toast. At the top, there’s that little dimple where it indents—I’ll work some specific stitches there to create that dip.

Brittany: 22:32
Okay. Now, do you tend to just put these decreases or the increases where you know they need to go, or do you try to work it out mathematically? Does it need to be even, or do you just write out what you did? Does that make sense?

Melanie: 22:48
Yeah, I have a bad habit of just working and never writing anything down. And then, of course, I have to go back and try to reverse engineer whatever I did.

But I think there’s a balance between trying to make a pattern that makes sense and is readable versus what may actually just work as you’re crocheting through it.

So I do end up having to tweak things and try to make them translate better on paper—make things a little more even and just make a little more sense as a pattern. Whereas when I’m just working and not really paying attention to rounds or stitch count, I might do things a little differently.

Brittany: 23:30
Right. I completely agree. I don’t know what it is about amigurumi—I don’t know if it’s because the pieces are smaller or the project is just more fun for me—but I tend to do the same thing. I forget to write things down.

And for me, it feels impossible to go back and reverse engineer with any kind of confidence. So I’ll often make two or three of the same thing just to check myself. Which is okay.

I think a lot of the pieces in your book are smaller and can be completed pretty quickly, so you’re getting some good instant gratification there.

Melanie: 24:12
Yeah, exactly.

Brittany: 24:14
Now, one that I’m looking at here is the little starfish, and it has some interesting shaping too. Can you explain how that one comes together?

It almost doesn’t look like it’s worked in the round—it looks like it’s a bunch of pieces put together. But I know with your approach, you do it all as one piece. So can you walk me through that one?

Melanie: 24:33
Yeah, so it still does start with a magic ring or a magic circle. But from there, you start creating chains as the legs.

At first, it kind of looks like this spindly little thing—nothing like a starfish yet. But once you start building on those chains and continuing to work around them, it builds depth and character.

I think it’s maybe just two or three rounds—don’t quote me, I don’t have the pattern in front of me—but pretty quickly, you can already start to see the starfish shape.

It’s kind of impressive how it builds on itself and creates these unique shapes from something that starts out looking pretty strange.

Brittany: 25:15
Yeah, it really is. And knowing that it’s just one piece—that’s pretty fascinating.

So you have to have a pretty good imagination, I would say, to put some of this stuff together. Is that something you feel like you just have, or something you’ve learned over time?

Melanie: 25:33
I think it definitely comes from my engineering background, like I mentioned earlier.

It helps to be able to visualize things and be more spatially aware of how the pieces will build together. But it also takes some creativity and ingenuity—being able to picture how it will all come together.

Brittany: 25:54
Yeah, it seems like a lot of—not freeform crochet in the traditional sense—but definitely a lot of freestyling.

Having an idea and saying, “I wonder if that would work,” and then just trying it. I think that’s the best way to figure out if a shape is going to be what you want it to be.

If you can’t troubleshoot it in your mind, just try it—work it out and see if it works. And if it does, try to replicate it and write it down from there. Is that kind of the approach you took with learning all the different shapes?

Melanie: 26:30
Exactly. Yeah, definitely a lot of frogging. But yeah—just go in and do it. That’s my advice.

Brittany: 26:39
Yeah, I think that’s really, really great advice.

So we’ve talked a lot about how to create shapes—just general shaping—but for anybody flipping through your book or who’s seen it (and you even mentioned it earlier), you use color changes quite a bit to break up the piece and give it a more finished look without sewing.

Do you have any tips for changing colors within amigurumi? I know sometimes you get those jogs since you’re working in the round.

Melanie: 27:13
I usually just kind of leave them because I tend to leave a row of back loops where I’ll attach something on later, and that hides the jogs.

I know there are techniques for cleaner color changes—and I’ve played around with some—but I don’t always use them consistently.

For the book, I didn’t worry about it too much. I’ll often leave that kind of harsher color transition because it will be worked into the piece later.

For example, the ice cream cone—you might think you’d make a ball for the scoop and a cone shape separately, then sew them together. But what I do, because I don’t want to make two separate pieces and sew them, is I start with the cone and leave a row of back loops when I transition to, say, the pink color for strawberry.

Then I continue on with that dome shape, and later I’ll go back, reattach a little pink yarn, and create a scalloped edge. That hides the color transition and makes it look like two separate pieces, even though it’s one.

Brittany: 28:38
Yeah, yeah—that makes a lot of sense.

Now, as far as decreases go, do you use the invisible decrease? Or do you find that just using the right hook and yarn combo helps minimize any holes you might see? Like in your ice cream, you’re doing increases for the bottom half of the dome and then decreasing to form the top.

Melanie: 29:04
Yeah, I generally like to use the invisible decrease.

There are a few situations where it’s harder to do—like if I need to decrease three stitches together in more rectangular shapes. That can get too bulky for the invisible technique.

If I’m working through the back loops only or doing something more complex, I’ll use a regular decrease.

But if it’s a standard decrease, the invisible decrease is definitely my go-to.

Brittany: 29:36
Gotcha. Okay.

It really does make a big difference. I was hesitant to use it in my own projects—or even to learn it—because I thought, “Well, it’s the same stitch. How invisible can it really be?”

But it really does make a big difference. You can’t tell on the front at all, and just having that exposed back loop kind of fills in the gap.

Melanie: 30:02
Yeah, absolutely. It definitely makes a big difference.

Brittany: 30:05
Yeah.

Now, another thing that comes up a lot with amigurumi—whether you’re designing or just making it—is the finishing touches.

A lot of your work in this book has cute little faces and hair and other little details. Do you have any tips for finishing touches?

Let’s start with the eyes. That’s always a big struggle—trying to get them in the right spot. Yours always look really cute. So do you have a tip or trick for placing the eyes?

Melanie: 30:39
Again, just trial and error.

But I’ve kind of found that my style leans toward placing the eyes a little lower on the face, and a little closer together. That’s just the look I like.

It’s definitely a stylistic choice. I think it’ll look cute no matter where you put them—because you’ve got this squishy little thing with beady eyes.

But yeah, I usually go a little lower and closer together, depending on the piece.

Brittany: 31:11
Okay, yeah. And then what about other elements? Like I see a lot of your projects in the book have a mouth on them. And it looks really easy, but it looks super cute. Is that just you using yarn and a needle to make that?

Melanie: 31:28
Yeah, exactly. It’s just black yarn and a needle. I know a lot of people like to use embroidery thread as well—that works too. I just generally like to use yarn because it’s a little thicker, gives more definition, and doesn’t get lost in the threads of the piece. But yeah, it’s just a quick embroidery stitch to make the little V shape. And then I like to use a little bit of drugstore blush to give the cozy pink cheeks.

Brittany: 31:55
Yeah, I like that. You know, somebody asked me a question about that and I couldn’t answer them because I hadn’t tried it before. Have you ever tried washing one of your little projects that had the blush on there? I imagine the blush would come off, but since I haven’t done it myself, do you have experience with this?

Melanie: 32:14
You know, I actually haven’t. I haven’t washed them, but they’ve kind of been around and tumbled and roughed up a bit—and they’re still holding strong. So I imagine it wouldn’t be awful, but it’s also not the hardest thing to just go to CVS or Rite Aid, grab some cheap blush, and throw some more on.

Brittany: 32:31
Yeah, that really was my answer too. Like, well, if it does come off, then just put it back on—it’s super easy. Do you have any tips about washing? Is it even safe to do that? Because a lot of times you’re using polyfill stuffing on the inside.

Melanie: 32:48
I typically don’t. It’s not as necessary, I think, with amigurumi as it is with garments. So I usually just spot clean it and hope for the best.

Brittany: 33:01
Yeah. All of the amigurumi I’ve made, I’ve kept here in my office. I don’t do a ton of it, to be honest. I’ve got three patterns that I’ve done over the years that I really love, and I keep those here. They’re not going through day-to-day use like they would if I gifted them to a child. So I don’t really have the need to wash them, but I’d probably do the same as you—just spot wash and hope for the best.

Melanie: 33:34
Yeah, exactly. I’ve definitely had some accidentally fall in water, and they held up okay.

Brittany: 33:43
So moving on to some other finishing touches, I had a question come in through Instagram. They were really curious about adding hair. And if you have any tips for that—I know you’ve got a couple of projects in the book that have hair, and they look really cute. That can be a daunting task because that’s a lot of little pieces of yarn you have to cut and attach. Then you have to worry about whether they look right, and trimming it and all that. So can you give us some tips for adding hair—and staying motivated through that longer process?

Melanie: 34:24
Yeah, it definitely is a lot of little pieces. I don’t think there’s a way around that. But you don’t need quite as many as you think. If you end up filling every little gap, they’ll probably end up looking like they have an afro—it’ll just be too much.

So really all you need to fill a little more densely is along the hairline and wherever you’re going to part the hair. Beyond that, you can be a little more sparse, since it’ll hide behind the existing hair that’s already there. It’s more manageable that way—you don’t need quite as many pieces, but you still get a nice finished, clean line along the edges. Then after that, you give it a quick trim and hopefully it looks pretty good.

Brittany: 35:09
Yeah, okay. So how do you put them on? Do you use the knot technique, or like a tassel technique?

Melanie: 35:20
I use the knot technique. I just kind of loop it through and pull it up. I don’t know if that makes sense through a podcast.

Brittany: 35:30
Right, right. Yeah, this is definitely one of those topics that’s easier to see than it is to explain. I basically add hair the same way I add a tassel to something. I loop both pieces through the stitch or part of the head where I want the hair to go, then keep the loop on the other side and pull both tails through it. That worked pretty well—it looked good.

But again, since I’m not gifting them to children, I don’t know if that would really be that sturdy or if it would stay. It has for me, just sitting here, but for regular use or washing—I’m not sure.

Melanie: 36:09
Yeah, actually, I’m not too sure either, to be honest. Same here. The ones that I keep in the office aren’t getting a lot of heavy use. But I haven’t had anybody come back and tell me all the hair is falling out, so I’m hoping and imagining that it stays in place. I use the same technique.

Brittany: 36:30
Yeah, okay. Now, the other finishing touch I tend to hear a lot of questions about is weaving in the ends. Do you have any tips for that? Do you just run it through the body, or do you really weave it through the stitches like you would for a normal project?

Melanie: 36:47
For amigurumi, you can definitely just run it through the body. When you have flat pieces where you see both sides, that’s when you need to weave it through the stitches. But for my pieces, I just run it through the body.

And a lot of the time—because I’m using those techniques where you don’t have to seam and sew—as you’re working the arm into the body, you just leave that tail inside the body. You don’t have to weave it in. It doesn’t stick out. It’s already tucked away nicely.

Brittany: 37:18
Yeah. Do you think you need to keep that tail pretty long? Like, say the tail is on the back side of your project—you could run it under two or three stitches and trim it and let it stay hidden. Or you could run the needle through the whole thing to the front, trim it, and have a longer tail hidden inside. Have you had issues with shorter tails coming out?

Melanie: 37:51
Yeah, I tend to keep them longer. That first amigurumi I made—the little birdie—I didn’t know what I was doing. I trimmed the tails pretty short, and now, a few years later, they’ve popped out. So I definitely recommend keeping them longer. It keeps things more secure and snug inside.

Brittany: 38:09
Yeah, okay. That makes sense. So I think that covers a lot of the finishing techniques and the common things people ask about. Is there anything you would add? Maybe something you learned the hard way that you wish you had known then?

Melanie: 38:25
I don’t know, honestly. I can’t really think of anything specific—but I’m sure there are tons of things I did the hard way. It’s all part of the learning process, and I think there’s value in that. No regrets, even though I’ve frogged things a hundred times. It helps me learn and troubleshoot what works and what doesn’t. So I say just keep trying, don’t give up, and keep working through it.

Brittany: 38:54
I would totally agree. I really think any time you invest in learning something is not time wasted. Even if you do have to frog, it’s not a big deal—you can reuse that yarn and start over with a new idea or some knowledge you didn’t have before.

So it’s certainly not wasted. And I think a good place to start, if you hate sewing things together in amigurumi—and a lot of us can relate to that—is your book. Like I said, the projects are smaller, so you’re getting quick wins.

You’re demonstrating different ways to make the entire project one piece. You show color changes, shaping, and I feel like if anybody ever wants to get into designing amigurumi, it’s always a good idea to make a lot of it first and see what works.

Instead of putting in tons of time and effort figuring it all out the hard way, you can learn the basic shapes from someone who’s already been there and done that. That’s probably a good use of your time. So I want to talk a little bit about the book and where someone can get it if they want to give this a try.

Melanie: 40:14
Yeah, so the book came out—oh gosh, I’ve already lost track of time—maybe a couple months ago. It’s available online: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBook, Book Depository. I think there might be a couple others I’m forgetting—my publisher will probably not be too happy about that.

But yes, it’s available online and also in bookstores. I know it’s at Barnes & Noble. I’m not sure about too many others, but I think the easiest option is online. There are lots of resources for that.

Brittany: 40:53
Okay, and I’ll definitely link to it and have a picture of it in the show notes page. So you can head over there after listening to this episode and see it. That way, if you’re in a bookstore, you know what to look for. What’s the name of it?

Melanie: 41:07
It’s called Hooked on Amigurumi: 40 Fun Patterns for Playful Crochet Plushies.

Brittany: 41:14
All right. I love that name. I think it’s a lot of fun. And your projects are really diverse—you’ve got everything from, like I’m looking at the cover here, an octopus, the starfish we were talking about, the piece of toast you mentioned, and sushi.

It covers a lot of bases. So even if you’re not a foodie, but you like cute little creatures, you’ve got some of that in there too. I’ll link to it in the show notes.

And if someone wants to connect with you personally after hearing today’s episode, where’s the best place for them to go?

Melanie: 41:48
Probably Instagram. You can message me there—my handle is @knottooshabbycrochet. “Knot” is K-N-O-T. I’m a fan of puns, if you can’t tell from the title and all the running themes throughout the book. So, @knottooshabbycrochet. Or you can email me at ktscrochet@gmail.com.

Brittany: 42:11
Wonderful. Okay, I will have that in the show notes as well. And if somebody wants to have a look at your shop and see what you have available there, it’s on Etsy, correct?

Melanie:
Correct, yes.

Brittany:
And that’s all linked on my Instagram as well?

Melanie:
Okay. All right.

Brittany:
So Instagram is probably a good hub. I know a lot of us listening here, that’s kind of where we like to hang out. So I will definitely have your handle in the show notes. And Melanie, thank you so much. This has been a lot of fun. I’ve learned a lot of things about doing some amigurumi the easier and faster way. So I really appreciate that.

Melanie:
Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I had a really great time.

Brittany:
So once again, that was Melanie from Knot Too Shabby Crochet and author of the new book, Hooked on Amigurumi: 40 Fun Patterns for Playful Crochet Plushies. If you’re really excited to give this new approach to amigurumi a try—to sort of eliminate a lot of that seaming that maybe you hate doing—her book is a great place to start.

Or if you like to freestyle and do things on your own, I’m sure you can take some of the tips that you heard today—about using color changes, playing with increases and decreases, and that sort of thing—to create different segments of the body so that you can completely eliminate seaming altogether.

Now, if you have any other tips that you would like to add for finishing amigurumi, or for doing some of the things she taught us here today, like using color changes and other shaping tricks, I would love to hear those comments. It’s not only going to help me, but it’ll help others in the community as well. So if you have a tip, please leave that on the show notes page.

You can find that at bhooked.com/134. And on that page, you’ll also find the information on where you can get a hold of this book, and where you can connect with Melanie on Instagram and Etsy in case you want to reach out to her after hearing the show.

Today’s episode was brought to you by my Blueprint course, Tunisian Crochet for Beginners. Now, I know we talked about amigurumi on this particular episode, and that is one form of crochet. Well, Tunisian crochet is a completely different form that uses different hooks, different motions, and you can recreate regular crochet stitches, a lot of knitting stitches, and even do some really unique stitches as well.

I worked with Blueprint, which is formerly known as Craftsy, to create a completely beginner course on Tunisian crochet. So we talk about things like the different hook types you’ll need, which ones are best to start with, and then I walk you through three projects—your first three Tunisian crochet projects: a headband, a hat, and a cowl—so you can take your new skills and actually put them to use to create something that you might want to wear this fall or this winter. You’ll have a full set!

I really can’t wait to teach you. So if you have questions or anything like that come up as you’re working through the course, you can ask me directly, and I’ll be there to help you on your Tunisian crochet journey. It’s one of those skills that I am so glad I learned—because now I like to turn to it whenever I need to shake up my routine or try something a little different.

All right, that’ll do it for this week’s episode of the Be Hooked Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today and for tuning in week after week. If you’ve been around the show for a while, thank you so much—I really appreciate you.

And if you’re new to the show and you loved what you heard today, go ahead and hit the subscribe button so we can hang out every single week.

All right, for now, have a wonderful weekend—and I will see you next week.