Easy Way To Enlarge Amigurumi Patterns



Ever look at an amigurumi you've made and wish it was bigger?
I have. When I first learned to crochet I realized very quickly that if I held 2 strands of yarn together and use a larger hook that I would get a piece quite a bit larger than the original.

You can also use a bulky or heavier weight yarn and larger hook. Here's some examples using 2 strands of yarn,


Bears are always awesome, no matter the size,
Up first is my little basic bear. Using worsted weight yarn and a 4mm hook we get the cute size of 6 inches tall in a sitting position.

Double the yarn, (hold 2 strands together), use a 5mm hook and look at the difference! The bear gained in height and in size and is almost 8.5 inches tall.

Bear pattern






I love Totoro!

You get a 2 for 1 deal with this pattern. Using worsted weight yarn and a 3.75mm hook the blue Totoro is just 3 inches tall. So cute!

If you hold 2 strands of worsted weight yarn with a 5mm hook then he grows to be the big 5 inch Grey Totoro. That one saved me time by not having to write a separate pattern.

Totoro pattern


Looks like a mama with her baby using the same pattern!
Using a 4.5mm hook with worsted weight yarn the smaller elephant is 8 inches tall but use a 6mm hook and 2 strands together and he grows just a bit taller than the 12 inch ruler.

Elephant pattern



The down side,
It can get a little tiring on the fingers to hold 2 strands together as it takes a little more strength to keep the stitches tight so you may need to rest a bit in between pieces.




How to use 2 strands,
Hold the strands together and crochet normally as you would if you were using one strand. You don't have to do anything fancy, just hold them together.

You can use 2 rolls and keep them side by side as you crochet or you can use both ends of the roll. That's what I do. The one end is easy to find of course but the other end you might have to fish for,  especially if you buy the big jumbo rolls like I do.

There's been a few times where I've gotten lucky and the other end is just peeking out the end of the roll then other times I have to pull a big bunch of it out as pictured below then unravel that bunch to get the other end. It's just the luck of the draw.


I hope this post has helped you visualize the big difference hook size and doubling the yarn can make.

Happy Crocheting!

I hope you enjoyed this post!
Why donating is important and my thank you here.



Copyright Sharon Ojala - Amigurumi To Go All rights reserved 



Comments

  1. Heel interessant bericht waarvoor dank !!!
    Lieve groetjes, Tinne

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  2. That's awesome! Would it be possible for you to include in your video a small demo on what it would look like crocheting with 2 strands? I'm a visual creature myself, so seeing something done makes it easier to do.

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    Replies
    1. yes, I will do that when I get a video together for sure. Thanks for asking :)

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    2. Hi sharon
      I made an elephant exactly the way you made it. In your collection is the elephant shorter than the monkey or lion, mine is and I used the same types of yarn and hooks and my elephant is shorter! Please answer is he shorter?
      Thank you

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  3. Can you also do the dolls like this to make them bigger and if I do the Einstein doll if I put the legs a little bit back,will it make his belly look bigger. I want to make one bigger to give to a teacher at the college for a present

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    Replies
    1. Yes, if you held 2 strands then Einstein would be the same but just bigger

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  4. i like all your patterns will u plz make horse

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  5. can you still make it big by using a bigger hook

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    Replies
    1. most of the time if your are using 4ply worsted weight yarn and use a hook larger then a 3.5/4 mm then yes it will be bigger BUT you will have gaps where the stuffing shows through

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  6. Thanks so much for this!

    I was wondering: If you were to do this with the lion pattern, would you just use two strands of yarn in each stitch while doing the mane, as well?

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    Replies
    1. I haven't tried that myself but my guess is no.
      If you are rooting the yarn and after a section is done it's starting to look sparse then do the 2 strands at once and just go back over what you've done and put in more strands.

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    2. Thanks! I'm starting one now, so I'll be sure to post it to Facebook when I'm finished and let you know what worked best!

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  7. Hi, may I know if the size of the crochet hook can be doubled if I use double strand of the yarn,pls?

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    Replies
    1. I add the size of hook I used in this post..
      and you can use a bigger one if you want too, I just gave examples f what I used for each doll

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  8. Is there any way to make patterns smaller?

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    Replies
    1. yes, use a smaller hook and lighter weight yarn. I've even done some of my own patterns with embroidery thread and got super tiny amigurumi

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    2. Can you make patterns smaller in any other way?
      Thanks!

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    3. not without rewriting the pattern. The easiest way is to use a lighter yarn or thread and a smaller hook

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  9. Can I enlarge the size by using a thicker and heavier weight yarn

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  10. what about shrinking the pattern? but still using the same yarn?

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    Replies
    1. you can't do it using the same yarn without rewriting the pattern but you can shrink it a whole lot by using a smaller hook and lighter weight yarn.

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  11. This is so helpful, thankyou so much xx

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  12. Can have a tutorial for key chain size :)

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  13. Hello
    I'm from VietNam
    My English capital little so I can not express more
    I want to say to you I thank you so much for thíd

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  14. help me enlarge the monkey its to hard for my disabled fingers to make the mini ones but they are adorable... need larger so i can hold the arms and legs...my hands dont work well enough for the cute mini's
    but i so much love your patterns

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    Replies
    1. Scroll up and look to the right for the search bar. Type in "Monkey" I have a 2 foot monkey called Darcy. If you hold one strand of yarn you'll get a monkey about 18 inches.
      There's also the Little Bigfoot monkey that about 8 inches tall. You can enlarge that one by holding 2 strands of yarn together.
      There's a couple other monkey patterns as well.
      Hope that helps!

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  15. GM love your patterns started amigurumi from your YouTube. Did you ever post a video of your technique for making the dolls bigger if so could you tell me where I can find it. Thank You.

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  16. My Grandson loves Sharks...... do you think you could make one????

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  17. Good to know, thanks for the info!

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