My First Amigurumi: Gator Bird

(The nest is made from a scarf my very talented sister in law made.)


I was originally planing on revealing the lamp I am recovering, but I got distracted as usual by another craft.  I have been seeing lots of cool amigurumi animals and dolls on Pinterest and Ravelry, and then I saw Stacey Trock's amigurumi class on sale at Craftsy, so I got it.  I was a little bit worried that this project would be another fail like last week's Sock Fail, but I am very happy with how it turned out.  I learned to crochet as a child, but I never learned stitch names, pattern reading, or more than 1 type of stitch, so I was definitely a beginner when it came to crocheting.  However, while this bird was challenging for a beginner, it was actually pretty manageable and fun to make using the videos.  Now, I know how to read patterns, single crochet, crochet in the round, increase & decrease, and attach limbs.

The bird pattern is available though Craftsy and Ravelry by Stacey Trock.

Supplies:
--2 colors of worsted weight yarn
--2 animal eyes (99 cents for 6 at Hobby Lobby)
--crochet hook
--tapestry needle (mine is plastic)
--scissors
--locking stitch marker (I use colorful paperclips)
--stuffing

The parts of this piece include 2 wings, 1 beak, and 1 body.  It's all done using single crochet in the round using the back loops. Here is a photo of the crocheted parts ready for stuffing.

(I didn't have any locking stitch markers, so I used paperclips. The paperclips worked well as a substitute.)

Once the beak, wings, and most of the body were crocheted, I attached the wings and beak by sewing them onto the body.  Then, I added the eyes.  Next, I added the stuffing.  Finally,  I crocheted the last few rounds to close up the bird.

Tah dah!!!!!  I created a  Gator Bird:

This project was a lot of fun and surprisingly easy.  I feel much more comfortable with crocheting now, and I have already started another amigurumi project--blue mario mushroom.  There are so many fun and cute free patterns available on Ravelry and blogs, such as dolls, stuffed animals, and foods. I look forward to trying more of them.