FAQ

I get questions now and then. Here’s some answers. 🙂

Do you sell your critters?
I don’t, but I frequently refer people to these talented etsy sellers. They all do custom orders, they all do great work, and I feel like they’re all fairly priced for the amount of work that goes into what they do:

• Louie’s Loops
• Moon’s Creations
• AnyaZoe

However, I DO leave my critters around for adoption now and then, so stay tuned to my twitter or facebook and you might be able to snag one! 🙂

I wanna make critters of my own! Where do I start?
For beginning tutorials:
For tutorials I 100% recommend PlanetJune. June’s tutorials are crystal-clear, and her videos are fantastic. She doesn’t ramble on in her videos, she gets to the point, and she’s got a pleasant accent to boot. 🙂 I’ll always pimp these out for beginning hookers.
For beginning patterns:
PlanetJune also has some fantastic free starter patterns, but I started off making critters straight from Amigurumi World by Ana Paula Rimoli. It’s a great starter book…simple patterns, uber-cute designs that can help you practice basic crocheting skills until you figure out how to do certain things on your own. Another book I’ve used is Creepy Cute by Christen Haden, but I wouldn’t recommend that one to a beginner. Lots of awesomely cute critters (zombies and ninjas, woohoo!), but the instructions can be a little confusing to someone who’s new to crocheting.

Where can I find the pattern for ______?
After crocheting for 6 years, I have a book! Not for my superheroes, but for characters from classic literature! It’s called Literary Yarns, and you can make some pretty fun stuff from it.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound

Otherwise if I make a critter straight from a pattern that I found online or in a book, I’ll mention at the end of the post where it came from. All the other critters are made from my own design on the fly…sometimes with LOTS of trial and error, and other times things kind of work out on their own!

I wanna do drops of my own! Is that cool with you?
Of course I’m cool with it! I can’t even take credit for the critter drop idea, that was 100% inspired by Catlanta. If you do drops of your own, feel free to tag me or give me a heads up and I’ll be glad to help spread the word! I’m all for spreading the fun.

How long does it take you to make each critter?
It really depends on the critter, but on average I’d say about 3-4 hours if it’s something I’ve made before, with more detailed critters (such as Link from the Legend of Zelda) taking up to 8-9 hours. However, crocheting takes a pretty rough toll on my hands, so in an effort to avoid developing gimpy hands (gimpy hands = no bueno), I usually have to divide the time over a course of a few days to a week.

What kind of yarn do you use?
Whatever’s cheap and in the right color! That’s the great thing about amigurumi, you don’t need fancy yarns to make them because they’re not wearable. I just make sure it’s worsted weight yarn (usually labeled as “medium” or with a number 4). I’ve got crappy taste in yarn.

If you’ve got any other questions, drop me a line!
Twitter: @GeekyHooker
Email: GeekyHooker [at] gmail [dot] com