Welcome to my very first Amigurumi Advent Calendar Crochet-Along! I’m so excited to be starting on this journey as we count down to Christmas, and even happier that I’ll be sharing my journey with a whole group of crochet and amigurumi lovers. And by the end of this journey, you’ll have 25 handmade Christmas ornaments for your tree!
I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of an advent calendar where you receive a small gift every day on the countdown to Christmas. A few years ago, I made an advent with Bible verses, which I think is great for imparting a lesson along with the surprise of each day. This year, however, I grabbed the advent bull by the horns and really went all out. I’m not a plastic knick-knacks person and I didn’t want to give my kids candy (they get enough already), so I decided to make a small amigurumi for each day. They’ll love the cute little items, and each can be a keepsake for many years to come!
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Purchase all 25 patterns as an e-book from Ravelry
Purchase all 25 patterns as an e-book from Etsy
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What to Expect
A typical advent calendar consists of 25 things that you receive each day. For this crochet-along, we’ll be making 25 small amigurumi to fill your calendar. It’s a mystery crochet-along, as one design will be released each day. We’ll start on Thursday, November 15, 2018, and end in the middle of December. Each pattern will be FREE, and available on the blog here, along with helpful tips and a video tutorial. The printable and downloadable PDFs will not be available for purchase until after the crochet-along is over, so you’ll need to access the pattern online during the crochet-along itself.
We won’t complete the full calendar by the time the Advent starts, but you’ll have enough to fill the little boxes or bags by December 1st. We’ll fill in as we go! ‘Tis the realities of a modern, busy life, I guess!
Along the way, there will be a community of crocheters to offer help and support, and maybe even a few giveaways as we go.
What You’ll Need
I used the following list of supplies for my specific yarn. Things like hooks and safety eyes and tapestry needles will depend on the weight of the yarn you use, so your best choice may be slightly different if you use different yarns.
- LoveCrochet Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran
- F/3.75mm hook: I recommend going a size down from the recommended size for your yarn to ensure the stitches are tight and prevent stuffing from falling out.
- E/3.5mm hook: Even smaller hooks are used sparingly for extra details.
- D/3.25mm hook
- Cluster fiberfill: I highly recommend cluster fiberfill over the regular fiberfill. You can find this on Amazon or at Joann Crafts. (See more on stuffing choices)
- 25 pairs of 6mm safety eyes: I recommend buying more than 25 pairs if possible in case of mistakes.
- small scissors
- small and regular tapestry needles
- black DMC embroidery thread
- boxes to put your creations in
LoveCrochet was so generous in sending me their 56 Color Pack, so I was able to use a variety of colors for my amigurumi. I used the colors listed below, and you can buy the full pack, or just the individual colors you need.
Rose Red | Pillar Red | Red Wine | Vintage Pink | Bubblegum Pink | Tea Rose | Pale Lilac | Dusty Lilac | Mandarin Orange | Blood Orange | Melon Sorbet | Daffodil Yellow | Buttercup Yellow | Mustard Yellow | Pistachio Green | Lime Green | Grass Green | Seafoam Blue | Washed Teal | Kingfisher Blue | Marine Blue | Light Caramel | Soft Fudge | Coffee Bean | Stormy Gray | Slate Gray | Misty Gray | Pure Black | Paper White | Champagne White | Vanilla Cream
Amigurumi is also a great way to use up leftover worsted weight or DK weight yarns from your stash. Cotton, acrylic and wool yarns all work, as long as they are all the same weight. I’ve used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice, Bernat Handicrafter, and even Lion Brand Scarfie. You can make the amigurumi in any colors you have on hand.
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Brush Up on Your Skills
Now’s a great time to make sure you’ve got your amigurumi skills all up to date and ready to go! I’ll be sharing videos of each amigurumi, but I’ll be working right through, and there’s a few different techniques that are used in almost every single pattern, like the magic circle, joining in the round, and closing up amigurumi. Check out the videos below and make sure you’re comfortable with these essential techniques before the first pattern gets released!
Magic Circle (Blog post + Pictorial) | Video
Chains and Single Crochet (Blog Post)
Joining in the Round (Blog Post): (This post goes through how to change colors at the beginning of the round) | Video
Invisible Joins at the end of a round (Blog post)
I’m going to be totally honest and up front with you. Amigurumi, especially at this size, is not necessarily the easiest for the beginner crocheter. This crochet-along is for everyone and we’re here to support everyone, but if you’ve never picked up a hook before, you may find the projects to be a bit fiddly and consequently, frustrating. You’ll want to make sure you’re comfortable with basic crochet stitches like the single crochet, double crochet, single crochet increases, making chains, increases and decreases.
Here’s a few of my amigurumi projects in case you want to get a little practice before we start our CAL!
Candy Corn (or Watermelon) Keychain
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Find Help, Join a Community, Share Your Work
After all, this is a crochet-along, and what’s a crochet along if you’re not crocheting along with someone else? Find friends, get help, and show off your creations with others who are building their advent calendars with you! Here’s multiple options to stay up to date and find a community. You’re welcome to join any and all, whatever works best for you!
Find me on Instagram: I’ll be sharing the patterns daily, so make sure you’re following me to get the latest news. Share your work by tagging me @1dogwoof and using the hashtag #AmigurumiAdventCal. Be sure to follow the hashtag to see what your fellow crocheters are up to!
Subscribe to my email list: You’ll receive an email each time a pattern is released, so you’ll never miss a single one. Email subscribers will also get an extra pattern PDF at the end of the crochet-along!
Join my Facebook group: If you’re on Facebook, join this group to really engage and chat with others who are participating in the crochet-along. This is a great place to find help, ask questions, and share your progress!
Get Help: For extra help, I highly recommend joining the Facebook group so you can get the expertise from a group of people. You can welcome to email me directly or leave a comment on the specific pattern too, but questions and answers are most helpful when shared with the community!
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I can’t wait to see what you make for your amigurumi advent calendar!
All the Amigurumi Advent Patterns
Day 1: Flan
Day 2: Persimmon
Day 3: Baby Seal
Day 4: Belly Basket
Day 5: Christmas Tree
Day 6: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Day 7: Candle
Day 8: Rocket
Day 9: Pomegranate
Day 10: Seahorse
Day 11: Lantern
Day 12: Seashell
Day 13: Igloo
Day 14: Sleigh Bell
Day 15: Peppermint Candy
Day 16: Hot Air Balloon
Day 17: Hourglass
Day 18: Croissant
Day 19: Mountain Peaks
Day 20: Backpack
Day 21: Book
Day 22: Car
Day 23: Japanese Teapot
Day 24: Waffle
Day 25: Camera
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I can’t wait to get this started!! This is exactly the project I was hoping for this holiday.
I was going to use my stash of Vanna’s Choice but with all the awesome colours you have above I may splurge 🙂
Just a question – how much of each colour do you think we will need? Is one ball each sufficient?
As I’m ordering from Canada I’d like to get everything at once instead of having to order more later!
Thanks!!
Hi Heather! I used Paintbox yarns, which are only 1.70oz/93yds for each ball, and I didn’t use up any single ball. Of course I used a really wide variety of shades – I think there were 3 or 4 different shades of each color. If you were to use 1 color for all the reds and 1 blue and 1 green, you’ll need more than the 93 yds. But Vanna’s Choice is pretty generous, so I’m guessing you should be ok. Sorry, long answer!
Thanks! I just realized I wasn’t clear in my question! I did mean for the Paintbox yarns you use so I’ll get one ball each. I think having each shade would be fun and would make the project complete.
Can’t wait to get going! Thanks so much.
Great Idea! I will try to participate all days, I love amigurumis. Thanks a lot. Hugs&Kisses
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I am so excited for this. This is exactly the project I didn’t know I wanted to do!!!
I´m looking forward to the patterns, very excited. I have my crochet needles in my hands ; )). A lot of lovely greetings from South Germany. Clementine.
This is great! Thank you so much for putting this together. I am super excited!
Question… not knowing what the patterns are, any tips for families with multiple kids? I’m not sure if making doubles of each one or splitting days… any advice appreciated. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for putting this together! Cannot wait to get started.
Any tips for how to handle this with multiple children? Make doubles of each one? Every other day? Not quite sure how to handle so any advice is welcome! Thanks so much!
I have never done any Amigurmi or crochet alongs before !!! But I am going to give it a go with this Advent Calendar !!! I am making it for me, all my sons are grown now, and No small children !! They say when you get older you have a second child hood, ha,ha, Just wanted to tell you Thank You for do this !!!!
Linda Kelley
I don’t know if my other post went through or not ??!! It never showed up !! I have never done any Amigurmi or crochet along before, but am going to give it a go with this Advent Calendar !!! Thank You for doing this !!!
Linda Kelley
I have so many other projects happening this month, but this sounds like fun. I’ve actually used up a lot of my scrap yarns – or given them to my mother for charity projects, but I have oodles of crochet thread in various colors. I’m thinking of making teeny miniatures for our Advent calendar. Thank you so much for doing this!
Is it too late to join?
I would love to start these…..
It’s never too late! The patterns will always be here!