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This was all reserched by me..Amigurumi (ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) is the japanese art of knitting and crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures, amigurumi are typically cute animals (such as bears,rabbits,cats,dogs, etc)but can include inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features.Amigurumi can be either knitted or crocheted, in recent years crocheted amigurumi are more popular and are more commonly seen... The aesthetic of amigurumi or the Kawaii (Ka-wa-ee) is a Japanese term which means "cute". Cuteness seems to be a highly valued aesthetic quality in Japanese society and particularly Japanese pop culture, to this end, typical amigurumi animals have an over sized head on a cylindrical body with undersized extremities.....
The simplest designs are worked in spirals in contrast to western crochet in the rounds and are not usually joined, they are also worked with a smaller size hook in proportion to the weight of yarn in order to create a very tight-looking fabric without any gaps through which the stuffing might escape.Amigurumi are usually worked in sections and then joined, except for some amigurumi which have no limbs, only a head and torso which are worked in one piece.The extremities are sometimes stuffed with plastic pellets to give them a life like weight, while the rest of the body is stuffed with fiber stuffing....
there is a great AMIGURUMI tutorial if you want to have a go, I cant wait to start mine.....www.hooksandneedles.com