Crochet bears and animals

Crochet (French for hook) is a method of interlocking spools of thread into a chain pattern with the help of a slender rod which is hooked at one end. It differs from knitting in the type and number of needles used, and the number of loop active at a single time. It is similar to knitting in the method of looping yarn through a needle and pulling it out through other loops.

Crochet utilises yarn of varied types, based on texture, color, thickness, durability etc depending on the product that needs to be crocheted. A popular trend in crocheting is the creation of crochet bears and other animals. Handmade crochet animals are good gits that are both fun to use and also preserve. Crochet bears and animals are perfect for new born babies and older children as well, provided they don’t contain any sharp accessories which could cause possible harm. All that is needed is a simple stitch and a good design pattern, to create beautiful crochet bears and animals.

Following are the steps that can be practiced to create one’s own crochet bear and animal.

It is essential to plan the designs of the crochet bears or animals. It could be a cat, a teddy bear or any type of animal. For a beginner it is better to start off with a crochet bear that has an erect body, four legs sticking out in the front and a very simple head with two ears on the top.

It is advisable to begin crocheting the tip of the head of the crochet bear first and gradually moving down to the rest of it. To get the discussed shape, crocheting should be done in a spiral pattern with an increasing number of stitches as moving down. On reaching the middle of the head of the crochet bear, the number of stitches is reduced in a spiral pattern to form a ball.

The body of the crochet bear is done next in the same way as for the head. The static number of stitches is continued till the desired length of the body is reached. Beginning with and using chain stitches, the legs and arms of the animal are created. The crochet should be disc as well as elongated in shape to resemble the limbs of the bear. A tail could also be crocheted in the same way.

Once the crocheting is finished, the crochet bear is filled with fibre, beads or any other stuffing material. Care should be taken to not stretch the crochet stitches. The separate parts of the crochet bear are then attached using thread of the same colour as the crochet yarn.  The facial features of eyes, nose, and mouth are then added to the crochet bear using buttons, felt scraps or yarn itself.

There exists the craft of Amigurumi, which is the synonym of knitted or crocheted doll in Japanese.
they are the simplest of crochet patterns that a beginner could use. The beauty of Amigurumi, lies in the creation of varied crochet animals with a single design stitch. Amigurumi is solely dependent on the imagination of the person crocheting.