Amigurumi

Amigurumi (編みぐるみ^?, lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures. The word is a portmanteau of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. In the west they are called amigurumi, which are the original phonetics of 編みぐるみ in Japanese language. Amigurumi vary in size and there are no restrictions about size or look. While the art of amigurumi has been known in Japan for several decades, the craft first started appealing to the masses in other countries, especially in the West, in 2003. By 2006, amigurumi were reported to be some of the most popular items on Etsy, an online craft marketplace, where they typically sold for $10 to $100. Since then, popularity has continued to increase.

Even though amigurumi seem popular online due to their presence on sites such as Etsy, Pinterest and Ravelry, amigurumi is still a developing craft permeated and directly depending of emerging trends and popular culture.

According to the Crochet Guild of America there are earlier records of crocheted or knitted dolls made in China; early examples were known of three-dimensional dolls worked in crochet.

As background knowledge in the search of the origins of amigurumi, Yoshihiro Matushita states that since the year 1185 there exists records of analogous techniques in Japan, such as Needle Binding. It is a fabric creation technique predating knitting and crocheting. During the ‘Edo’ period (1603-1867) Japan traded with the Dutch and as a result it is believed that knitting was introduced as a technique. Furthermore, the evolution of knitting were made by the Samurais, who were experts in creating garments and decorations for their katanas and winter wear. (Kihara, 2002).

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