L’influence du fil et du crochet…

***Cliquez ici pour la version française***

***The pattern book referenced here is currently only available in French, but if you would be interested in an English version, please let us know! The more interest is shown, the higher the chances it will get a translation! ***

It’s not a secret that the type of yarn and the size of the crochet hook have a major influence on the end result of a project.

I’ve been focusing on miniatures for so long that I almost forgot that chunky crochet amigurumi were a thing until Amy (Les Mailles à Mailloux) tested my summer treats pattern with a combo of chunky yarn and larger hook!

Of course when you change the thickness of the yarn and size of the hook, the quantities included in the pattern won’t match… but the end result will still be amazing!

Seeing her oversized frozen treat made me want to try my hand at it too…

It also gave me a good reason to revisit my Ghibli inspired crochet book! The book is currently only available in French, but I’m sure if we request it often enough the publishing house could work getting it translated!

Sometimes we also want to use yarn that we have on hand instead of spending money.

Thus I decided I was going to stick, as much as possible, to yarn that I already had at home… and I had thins #6 mistery gray yarn that was pretty much perfect for a large Totoro!

Of course it’s a very coarse and uncomfortable yarn and if this amigurumi was intended as a gift for someone who would actually cuddle it… I would not have used it. But since this is intended as a display piece, it’ll do!

As I was going through the infinite pile that is my stash, I stumbled upon a thick black fake fur skein and I knew what my first oversized amigurumi was going to be! A soot spirit of course!

If the mini was already super cute, I was pretty chuffed to se the « giant » fury version! It’s so fluffy I could crack my teeth on the cuteness!

With a yarn caliber #5 and a 5.5 mm crochet hook, the big soot spirit is probably at least 5 times as big as the original!

Of course actually working an amigurumi up with fake fur, black fake fur at that, was an actualy nightmare… I also had a hard time securing the eyes because of the thickness of the fabric.

Still, I loved the end result enough that I made a few of these oversized puff balls!

I also happened to have everything needed to make a bigger version of Kiki the little (ha!) witch.

This is also the point where I realised two important things…

I really like tiny amigurumi because they are easier to store.
My fingers and wrists to not enjoy the larger hook and bigger yarn. At all.

I’ll also skip over the fact that my whole shoulder has repeatedly asked for a vacation.

Still, it’s pretty magical to see my tiny amigurumi brought to life on a larger scale!

I’ve often hear other crocheter mention that they were kind of intimidated by the idea of a 2.5 mm crochet hook and yarn to match. It’s true that it can be quite tiny and sometimes I feel like I have a few too many fingers to each hands while I work!

But I was also a bit surprised to see that most are also a bit uneasy with the idea to simply switch to a bigger hook and yarn combination.

If you were waiting for a sign that it’s time to try it out… here is your sign! You only have to keep in mind that the quantities of yarn and stuffing needed will change and you might have to use bigger safety eyes, but it’s not that complicated! In the end it will be worth it so you can try out all those adorable patterns that were maybe a bit too tiny for your taste!