Invisible Decrease, Color Changes and Clean Stuffing: Amigurumi Techniques That Fix the Ugly Bits

The difference between amigurumi that looks handmade and amigurumi that looks handmade in a good way comes down to a few small techniques that patterns assume you know and rarely explain in detail. This article does.

1. The Invisible Decrease

The standard single crochet decrease (sc2tog) pulls through both loops of two stitches. In flat fabric it is fine. In a stuffed sphere it leaves a bump and a tiny hole that stuffing peeks through, and a row of them looks like a seam.

The invisible decrease (invdec):

1. Insert the hook under the front loop only of the next stitch.
2. Without yarning over, insert the hook under the front loop only of the following stitch. Three loops on hook.
3. Yarn over, pull through the first two loops. Two loops on hook.
4. Yarn over, pull through both. Done.

From the outside, it looks like one slightly narrower single crochet. The unused back loops fold inward and are hidden by the stuffing.

Use it everywhere a pattern says dec or sc2tog in amigurumi. The only place a regular decrease is better is flat pieces that will be seen from both sides.

2. Clean Color Changes

The basic change. Work the stitch before the color change up to the last yarn over. Instead of finishing with the old color, drop it and pull the new color through the last two loops. The top of that stitch is now in the new color, and the next stitch starts cleanly. Leave a tail of the new color and carry or cut the old.

The jog problem. In a spiral, rounds are a continuous helix, so the color change never lines up: the end of a stripe sits one row higher than its start. Three fixes, from simplest to neatest:

• Put the change at the back. If the toy has a front, put your stitch marker at the back and the jog will be out of sight.
• The slip stitch trick. After the last stitch of the old color, change color, then slip stitch into the first stitch of the new round instead of single crocheting. Continue with sc. The slip stitch is shorter and smooths the step.
• Work stripes in joined rounds. Join with a slip stitch, chain 1, and start the new round. Creates a faint seam but a straight stripe. Good for legs and bodies where you want a clean band.

Carrying vs cutting. For narrow stripes (one to three rounds), carry the unused color inside the piece, catching it under stitches every few stitches so it does not snag. For wider stripes, cut and weave ends inside where the stuffing hides them.

Tapestry crochet for patches. To make a colored spot or patch in the middle of a round, carry the second color along under your stitches and switch on the last yarn over each time. The carried yarn is invisible inside a stuffed piece, so amigurumi is the ideal place to learn tapestry crochet.

3. Stuffing That Holds Its Shape

Bad stuffing makes good crochet look bad. The rules:

• Small tufts. Tear the fiberfill into pieces the size of a walnut. Never push in a fist-sized wad.
• A little at a time. Add a tuft, push it into position with the blunt end of a hook, add the next.
• Firm, then firmer. Stuffing compresses over months. A head should feel like a firm orange, not a soft plum.
• Shape as you go. Push stuffing into the cheeks of a head, the rounded end of a paw, before you close the piece. Once it is closed you can only add through the hole.
• Don't stuff thin limbs fully. Arms and legs that are too firm stick out stiffly. Stuff the ends firmly and the upper parts lightly so they hang naturally.
• Weighted bottoms. For a toy that should sit, put a small bag of poly pellets (never loose in a child's toy) in the base before the fiberfill.

Stuff before the opening becomes too small. For a sphere that decreases to 6, stuff when you are at 12 or 18 stitches, then top up through the last hole.

4. The Invisible Finish

When a piece decreases to its last 6 stitches:

1. Cut the yarn leaving 20 cm and pull the end through the last loop.
2. Thread it on a yarn needle.
3. Working in the same direction as your stitches, pass the needle under the front loop only of each of the 6 stitches, from the outside in.
4. Pull gently. The stitches gather like a drawstring and the hole vanishes.
5. Push the needle down into the body, out somewhere on the far side, tug so the surface dimples slightly, and cut the yarn flush. The tail springs back inside.

For an open edge that will be sewn to another piece (the top of a body, for example), do not cinch: just fasten off with a long tail and use that tail for sewing.

Bonus: Neater Joins Between Pieces

• Pin first. Every time.
• Match stitch to stitch. Sew through one stitch on the piece and the corresponding stitch on the body, all the way around.
• Use a whip stitch for limbs and a mattress stitch for flat pieces like ears and muzzles, so the join is hidden.
• Pull slightly tighter than looks right. The join relaxes.
• Sew around twice for anything a child will yank.

Practice Piece

Make a small striped ball: magic ring, increase to 24, work 6 rounds alternating two colors every 2 rounds with the slip stitch trick, decrease with invisible decreases to 6, stuff at 12, invisible finish. Twenty minutes, and every technique on this page is in your hands.