There are several options for adding eyes to your amigurumi, each giving your ami a different look.
1. Safety Eyes-
1. Safety Eyes-
Probably the most popular and easiest method to give your ami eyes is to pop in some safety eyes. To use them, you simply push the rod that's attached to the back of it through your material and attach the locking back to secure it in place.
Safety eyes come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. You can generally buy basic ones at your local craft store, or you can get a bit more fancy and buy hand painted safety eyes. A few ami-artists even make their own!
2. Buttons-
Another easy attach-and-go option is to use buttons. Although buttons aren't used nearly as much as safety eyes, they can give your ami a unique and almost "antiqued" look. You can also have a lot of fun pairing up different colors and sizes to make your ami a bit wacky :P
3. Crocheted-
If you don't feel like investing in any extra materials, you could always crochet the eyes for your ami (like the picture above). You could simply make a few circle and stitch them together or make them a bit more detailed like April Draven's Dreamy the Blue Dragon. :)
4. Felt-
Another economic option would be to cut the shapes you want out of felt and glue or stitch them onto the face. This method also gives a bit more of a flatter and "googly" look.
5. Embroidery-
If you want a smoother, threaded look you may want to try embroidering the eyes directly onto the crocheted surface. I recommend using the Satin Stitch or a French Knot for smaller amigurumi that just need a dot for the eye. Here's a really good embroidery index.
Adding Detail
Whether it's stitching in a bit of "glare" to an embroidered or felted eye or giving the area around the eye a bit of flair and decoration, adding detail to your amigurumi's eyes can really enhance the look of it dramatically. A wonderful example is GourmetAmigurumi's dolls. I highly recommend checking out her work. It's truly amazing!!
What's your favorite method for giving your amigurumi eyes? Do you do anything special to make them unique?
This is a very informative post it is well supported with cute photographs. I have only made one amigurumi, a little snail and I used safety eyes. This was a really useful post :)
ReplyDeleteI love the eyes on GourmetAmigurumi's dolls! I'm going to try something similar with my mermaid, but I'm not sure I can make them look as nice as hers.
ReplyDeleteIt shows knitted pieces in the examples, but there's another great eye tutorial here: http://mochimochiland.com/2008/07/eye-eye-a-tutorial/.
Thanks for the link! That's a really good tutorial!...and with pictures!! =D
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of amigurumi but it's really cute! Lots of great links in your post.
ReplyDelete