I have been looking forward to working on the charms for Alexandra’s charm bracelet since the beginning of this exchange, because I’ve been dying to try out the kokeshi doll pattern in Sara Scales’ book Mini Amigurumi.

It was so much fun to crochet these! For the first time, I feel I am starting to get the hang of mini amigurumi. The learning curve is greater than I originally expected. I mean, it’s crochet. I can crochet, so why is this so hard? Well, here is what I’ve learned…

It takes a lot more patience, dexterity, and keener eyesight than regular crochet. Good lighting really helps too. You have to be very conscious of your tension. Because I was working with fine thread (No. 8 crochet thread), I found it a little more difficult to get the same grasp I would with yarn. I wanted my tension to be tight enough that you wouldn’t be able to see the stuffing through the stitches, but not too tight that I would have to struggle to insert my hook into the stitches. I also discovered that invisible decreases don’t work as well with thread or maybe with this scale. It created larger holes than a standard sc2tog decrease.

So now that I’ve had a few months of practice, I’m ready to try out all the mini amis in Sara’s book. They are all so cute! But first, follow me as I show you how I made these kokeshi doll charms. Continue reading →