How to Crochet Amigurumi: 5 Beginner Skills That Make Any Plushie

7 steps
5:31 video
Easy
Crochet

Based on a video by The Mary Jay

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Steps written out by CraftingStepByStep · Published May 22, 2026 · Updated Oct 3, 2026

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Amigurumi is the Japanese word for crocheted stuffed animals, and it sounds way more complicated than it actually is. Every single plushie - frogs, bees, octopuses, bears - comes down to five core skills. Learn those five and you can follow any pattern you find online.

This walkthrough from The Mary Jay covers all five in just over five minutes. Start with the magic ring for the circular base, then learn single crochet (the building block stitch), increases and invisible decreases for shaping, and the fasten-off cinch that closes the final round. Once you have these down, jump into a specific pattern like a crochet octopus or a crochet bee and you'll see how every step fits together.

One starter tip from Mary: pick a light-colored yarn for your first plushie. Black yarn hides the stitches and makes it ten times harder to count rounds. Save the dark colors for project number two.

Two friendly first projects: a unicorn and a lion.

What you need

Yarn. Cotton shows every stitch and holds its shape. Acrylic is softer, cheaper and fine for a first try.
A smaller hook than the label says. A worsted label often suggests 5mm. Amigurumi uses 4mm or even 3.5mm, so the fabric is tight and stuffing does not peek through.
Eyes. Safety eyes lock on from the inside. For a baby or a child under three, embroider the eyes with yarn instead. Nothing to pull off.
Polyester fiberfill, a yarn needle and a stitch marker.

Working in a spiral

Amigurumi rounds are not joined. You finish round 3 and go straight into round 4, so the piece grows as one spiral with no seam line. The catch is that nothing shows where a round begins. Put a marker in the first stitch of each round and move it up every time you reach it.

Most patterns print the stitch count at the end of each round, like (18). Count against it every round. A missed increase caught in round 4 takes a minute to fix. Caught in round 12, it is a lopsided head.

Stuffing firmly without lumps

Pull the fiberfill apart into loose tufts before it goes in. Pack small pieces out to the walls first, then fill the middle. Stuff more than feels right - a plushie should hold its shape when squeezed, and stuffing settles. Top up as you decrease the last rounds, while the hole still fits a finger. If you feel lumps, roll the piece between your palms.

Sewing parts on so they stay straight

Pin every arm, ear and snout in place before you sew anything. Moving a pin is free. Moving a sewn ear is not. Use the long tail you left when fastening off, and stitch around the whole edge of the part, catching one stitch on the body each time. Check from the front and from above every few stitches. Ears sewn while looking from one side only end up crooked.

A first-project ladder

Start with a crochet ball. It uses all five skills and nothing else. Then try a simple animal with a round head and a few small parts, like a crochet bear. Oval pieces such as feet and snouts start from a short foundation chain worked up one side and back down the other. For eyes, see attaching safety eyes.

Common amigurumi mistakes

Holes between stitches. Your gauge is too loose. Drop a hook size.
Under-stuffing. Heads flop and necks fold. Add more than you think.
Losing the round count. Move the marker every round, no exceptions.

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Step-by-step guide

7 steps, about 6 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.

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Step 1: Pick Your Yarn and Hook
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For your first amigurumi, grab a worsted weight yarn (also called a number four) and a 4mm crochet hook. Worsted is the most common, most affordable yarn at any craft store, and it's the easiest weight to learn on. Mary uses a chunkier super bulky yarn in the video, but worsted is the standard beginner recommendation.
The only color rule is do not pick black. Black yarn makes the stitches almost invisible, which makes counting and finding the V-shape of each stitch frustrating. Light pink, cream, pastel blue - anything you can see clearly will save you a lot of headaches.
Tip:
If you already have yarn at home, check the label for the weight number. A 4 means worsted, a 5 is bulky, a 6 is super bulky. Match the hook to the yarn label's recommendation.
Used in this stepClover Soft Touch Crochet Hook Set Worsted Weight Yarn Skein
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Step 2: Make the Magic Ring
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The magic ring is how almost every amigurumi piece starts. It gives you a closeable circle so the base of the plushie doesn't have a hole in the middle.
Pinch the yarn end between your thumb and pointer finger, then wrap the working yarn around your pointer and middle finger so it crosses into an X. Hold the X down with your ring finger and slide your hook under the X. Turn the hook 90 degrees toward your middle finger, grab the lower strand of the X, and pull it under. Turn the hook again the same way, grab the working yarn, and pull through the loop you just made. That's the magic ring.
Tip:
Test it by tugging the yarn tail - the ring should tighten around your hook. If it doesn't tighten, you grabbed the wrong strand. Pull it apart and try again.
Used in this stepStitch Markers Set
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Step 3: Single Crochet Into the Ring
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Single crochet is the building block stitch for amigurumi. You'll use it for almost every round of every plushie you ever make.
To single crochet into the magic ring, put your hook through the ring, grab the working yarn (yarn over), and pull a loop back through the ring. You should now have two loops on the hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops. That's one single crochet. Repeat until you have six stitches in the ring, then pull the tail to cinch the ring closed.
After the first round, you'll single crochet into the V-shape on top of each stitch from the round below. Hook goes under the V, yarn over, pull through, yarn over, pull through both loops.
Tip:
Most amigurumi patterns work in a continuous spiral - you don't join the end of each round to the beginning. Use a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round so you can count.
Used in this stepStitch Markers Set
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Test yourself when you finish
5 quick questions are waiting at the end of this guide. No signup, and nothing is saved. Skip to the quiz
Step 4: Increase to Grow the Shape
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An increase is how you make the circle bigger. It's not a different stitch - it's just two single crochets worked into the same V from the round below.
Single crochet into the next stitch like normal. Instead of moving on to the next V, go right back into the same V and single crochet again. Two stitches into one means the round below grew by one stitch.
Patterns usually write this as 'inc' or '2sc in next st.' The standard amigurumi increase rhythm is round one: 6 stitches in the magic ring; round two: increase in every stitch (12 total); round three: increase, single crochet, increase, single crochet (18 total). The shape opens up into a flat disc, then a dome as you stop increasing.
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Step 5: Work an Invisible Decrease
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Decreases shrink the circle back down. The standard decrease leaves visible bumps; the invisible decrease - which is what Mary teaches and what most amigurumi makers use - hides them.
Instead of hooking under the full V of the next stitch, only pick up the front loop (the loop closest to you). Without yarning over yet, move to the next stitch and also pick up only its front loop. You now have three loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through just the first two front loops, then yarn over again and pull through the remaining two loops on the hook. The two stitches just became one, with no visible bump.
Tip:
The invisible decrease is the single biggest upgrade you can make to your amigurumi finish. The standard 'sc2tog' decrease leaves a small hole and a tiny diagonal line - invisible decrease leaves neither.
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Step 6: Fasten Off and Cinch the Hole
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Once the body is decreased down to a small ring of stitches, you fasten off and close the remaining hole.
Cut the yarn six to eight inches from the last stitch (leave plenty of tail for sewing). Pull the cut end all the way through the loop on your hook to lock the last stitch. Thread the tail onto a yarn needle and weave the needle through the front loop of every stitch around the final round. When you've gone all the way around, pull the tail tight - the stitches cinch together like a drawstring and the hole closes.
Tip:
Stuff the plushie with polyester stuffing before cinching closed. Once the tail is pulled tight, you can't get more stuffing in there.
Used in this stepPolyester Stuffing 12oz Bag Yarn Needle Set
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Step 7: Knot and Bury the Tail
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Cinching closes the hole, but the tail can still work loose over time. Lock it in place with a few knots and hide the tail inside the body so it doesn't show.
After cinching, push the needle through a nearby stitch and pull the tail through, leaving a small loop. Pass the needle through the loop and pull tight - that's one knot. Repeat three to five knots until the knot feels solid. Then push the needle all the way through the body of the plushie and out the other side. Pull the knot through the body so it disappears into the stuffing, then snip the excess yarn flush. The tail end retracts back inside and the surface looks clean.
That's the whole technique. With these five skills - magic ring, single crochet, increase, invisible decrease, fasten off - you can follow any beginner amigurumi pattern. Pick a simple project like a bee or an octopus and try it.
Tip:
For amigurumi with safety eyes, install the eyes before stuffing and closing - once the body is sewn shut you can't reach the backs of the eye posts.
Used in this stepSafety Eyes Assorted Pack Embroidery Thread Set
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Keep going

How to Crochet a Flower - 6-Step Beginner Tutorial

Products Used

Clover Soft Touch Crochet Hook SetView Worsted Weight Yarn SkeinView Stitch Markers SetView Polyester Stuffing 12oz BagView Yarn Needle SetView Safety Eyes Assorted PackView Embroidery Thread SetView

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Did the lesson stick? Start with this one.

5 questions covering what you just read. No signup, no score saved, and you can stop after this one.

Question 1 of 5

What yarn color should you AVOID for your first amigurumi project?

Quick reference

Key takeaways from How to Crochet Amigurumi: 5 Beginner Skills That Make Any Plushie

5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.

1.What yarn color should you AVOID for your first amigurumi project?
Answer: Black
Black makes the stitches almost invisible - you can't see the V-shapes or count.
2.What's the 'magic ring' in amigurumi?
Answer: A closeable starting circle so the plushie base has no hole in the middle
The magic ring lets you cinch the start of the amigurumi tightly closed.
3.How many single crochets fill the first magic ring (round 1)?
Answer: 6 stitches
6 stitches in the magic ring is the amigurumi standard; round 2 increases to 12.
4.What's an 'increase' in amigurumi?
Answer: Two single crochets worked into the same V from the round below
Two single crochets into the same V grows the circle by one stitch.
5.What's an 'invisible decrease' compared to a standard decrease?
Answer: Picking up only the FRONT loop of each of two stitches, then completing the decrease
Front-loop-only decrease blends two stitches into one without the visible bump of a standard decrease.