I have a wonderful surprise for you today! I recently discovered an inexpensive and super fast way to give your squirrel amigurumi a head that turns. The problem with amigurumi is that they are so small. I haven’t been able to find commercially made doll joints in the right size. But what is a doll joint really? It’s just a post with a fixed head and a washer that pops on to the other end. If you look around the Internet, you’ll find doll makers who have come up with all sorts of solutions: buttons and thread, screws and washers, and my personal favorite — safety eyes!

Let’s use safety eyes to make our squirrel’s heads turn! The concept is pretty simple. Just work the head section of my squirrel pattern through the last round, leaving 6 stitches remaining and a little hole. Fasten off your stitch, leaving a long tail. Thread this tail through the remaining stitches. You do the same thing with the opening at the neck of the body. You’ll insert the head (eye) of a safety eye into the hole on the head of your squirrel and pull the tail tightly to close the hole around the post of the safety eye. Then snap on the washer and fit the hole on the body around the washer. Pull that tail tight to close it around the post and ta-da you have a movable head. If that didn’t make sense, you’re in luck… I made a funny little video to demonstrate. Enjoy!