WIP Crochet Amigurumi Dolly

Over the past week, I have been working on a new crochet dolly.  This is something that I had been meaning to do this ever since I finished my first amigurumi doll back in 2012.  The reasons for this are before I could turn her into a pattern, there were a few changes I needed to make, and I just love crocheting little dollies! 

I am currently in the middle of doing her hair, and she will of course needs some clothes, but other than that she is done.

Continue reading to discover the design process for this dolly, and to see how far she has come thus far...

Hands & Feet

The first bits of the dolly I crocheted are the hands with arms and the feet.

For the hands, the thumb is crocheted first, followed by each finger.  After the last finger has been crocheted, I start to work a few rows of the hand, adding the thumb as I go along.  Finally, the hand is formed and all that remains is to crochet the wrists and arms.

For the feet, each toe is crocheted first.  One foot starts with the big toe and the other starts with the pinky toe.  Then, the rest of the foot is crocheted.  From here onwards, the rest of the doll is worked from the bottom-up.

Starting Legs

Now it was time to start crocheting the legs.  I did this by crocheting directly onto the foot.  

To the left, you can see the foundation round for the right foot.  Below you can see both legs finished and stuffed...

Starting Body

The next step was to close off the legs and start crocheting the body.  To do this, I created a foundation row across the top of the legs.  

You can see this process in the photo below, and the first two to the left...

I switched back to rounds by crocheting first into the back loops of the row, then into the front loops.

You can see the first round of the body completed in the photo to the left...

Here is where I made the first changes to the pattern.  As a spur of the moment thing, I decided that she needed a proper bottom.  The first doll didn't have this.  I had wanted the first to have it before, now that I think of it.  However, she was my first amigurumi project that I designed, and as with all firsts, there are usually things to improve upon.  So, although I didn't have the skill to design the bottom the first time around, I did now, and that is what counts!  You will see this improvement in the middle picture below...

After I successfully crocheting a bottom, I proceeded to work up the body.  

The second change occurred at the neck.  With my first doll, the body to the top of the head is one fluid piece.  This left her head to be too wobbly, especially after the hair was added.  So, for this one and the new pattern, I closed off the body before starting the neck.  I, then, proceeded to crochet the neck directly where I would have done had I not closed off the body first.  I closed of the neck, and repeated the same process to start the head.

You will see in the following pictures that there are quite a few safety pins.  Those were to help me keep track of the start of rounds and how many rounds were there.  You will soon see why I left them in, even after I had finished the head.

Below to the left and center you can see the doll after I finished crocheting the head.  The two to the right show you the top and sides of the head, focusing on where I left the safety pins...

Front View

Back View

Now that the base of the doll was completed, it was time for some finishing touches.  The first thing I did was sew the arms onto the shoulders of the doll.  Then, I crocheted the eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

The ears were the third change I made to this doll.  As you will notice from the first doll, the ears are more circular.  At the time, I couldn't figure out how to give them more of a human ear shape.  However, this time I was able to do it.

The eyes were the fourth change I made.  They are essentially the same as the first ones.  Though this time, I was able to make them more realistic.  Complete with the three colours eyes usually have - black pupils, main eye colour, and the white of the eye.

I couldn't remember how I crocheted the mouth for the first one, and I wasn't able to find any notes on it either.  So, the fifth change I made was to the mouth.  

Now that I have all the facial components, it was time to sew them onto the face...

Face Mapping

Before I could start sewing each piece onto the head, I needed to map the face.  You will see this process in the pictures below to the right...

First, I choose the location for the nose on the center of the face, and sewed it into place.  From there, I was able to see where the eyes should go, and since the rule of thumb is that the ears should always line up with the eyes, I picked a place for them.  Finally, I was able to mark where the mouth should go.

The top pin marks the top of where the eyes should go.  The first set of pins to either side, mark the side of the eyes.  In the top right picture, you will see I have completely marked exactly where I sewed the eyes.  The needles mark the center of the eyes in case anyone would rather use safety eyes instead.

The second set of pins to either side, mark where the ears will go, and in the one picture, you can see them already in place.

Finally, the bottom pin marks the bottom of where the mouth will be going.  In the top right pic, you see exactly were I sewed the mouth.

All other pins were used to determine where those markers should go.

In the following two pictures, you will see the doll ready for hair...

Hair Mapping

Now that she is ready for hair, it is time to determine where I will place each strand.  With the way I will be doing the hair, I am not about to fill each hole with a strand of hair.  It would end up being way too thick.  So, I mapped the entire head to mark where I should place the strands as you will see in the pictures grouped below...

First, I determined the full perimeter of the hairline.  Next, I marked the three vertical center lines of the head.  Then, I marked two horizontal lines where the hair could be pulled into a half ponytail.  After that, I marked another horizontal line on the crown of the head to complete the circle from the perimeter markings.  Lastly, I made two more vertical lines to mark the center of each side.

I am currently working on the hair.  I am not entirely sure if I will add anymore strands to any place other than marked, or even if I will place a strand every place I have marked, but I know that it will be perfect once I am done.

Below you can see where I left off...

I am so excited about this project, and I can hardly wait for her to be finished!  UPDATE ~ Jan. 31: See this Dolly finished here.  

UPDATE ~ Feb. 06: Pattern is Now Available! See "Style Me" Crochet Dolly Pattern.

Once I have finished her hair, she will need some clothes.  What sort of outfit would you like to see me make her?  Let me know in the comments below, along with any other thoughts you may have...