It’s the first weekend of May, so I’m featuring an old amigurumi of mine: Gomamon amigurumi! This plush represents the beginning of my crocheting hobby.

Gomamon was made back in high school, around 2007 or so. I had mentioned before that the old Digimon merchandise inspired me to make plush toys in general; with crocheting, it was time to re-create the style!

It’s funny to think how about 10 years ago, the internet did not have a lot of high-quality videos uploaded; I remember discovering amigurumi-styled toys at a bookstore, and then proceeding to search for some diagrams and instructions online for basic crocheting. I can’t even find the original website when I search for it now, I wonder if it’s still running.

I was attracted to how flexible the amigurumi style can be when it comes to making plush toys; you have access to so many colours, yet you can choose consistent texture with yarn, you can make more complex shapes without the risk of gathers, and the tools and materials are less bulky in general. It’s like a 3-D printing technique for any plush toys you can think of, except it’s much older and a lot more accessible. I’ve been obsessed with making my ideas tangible in 3-D, even way back when I was five; check out this pom-pom chickie I still have!

Crocheting sort of came late in relation to other crafts – I was making textile plush toys from grade 5 or 6 and I had learnt knitting from a book I ordered from the Scholastic book order in grade 8. I borrowed some of these methods to make Gomamon, because at that point I had just learned how to make a 6-increase sphere.

I noticed that I forgot how I originally made the body – it seems like I split it into two sides, with one side built taller and then I went back to build the other side, as if I were knitting the pieces.

I definitely made the ears by knitting, and I made the claws by sewing felt together; even back then I stitched the mouth onto the face. The head and body are also separate pieces; I have definitely improved over time.

So far this year, I’ve made significantly more things than I ever had in a given year. For the past few years especially, I hadn’t found the time or energy to make things; in fact, I feared I was losing touch with my creative side. I was practically ready to accept that I lost my drive to create, until about the end of last year; I found out that one of my old friends ran a blog about tea, at https://teainspoons.com/ – it inspired me to give blogging a try.

I wanted to challenge myself to make a post every week, and admittedly, crocheting is the quickest way for me to come up with new content. Every time I successfully make a new post, it makes me feel more confident in my abilities; I hope I can keep this streak going, because I had been stuck for a long while. I hope other people can enjoy my amigurumi too, I’m always open to ideas!

So there you have it, the first amigurumi project that I completed. Picking this craft up has really helped me keep a creative channel open.