Growing up, I always tried to complete the most challenging product I could for my skill level. It just didn't seem...impressive to do something quick or easy. While it's good to continue to challenge yourself through out your artistic/crafting journey, as it is these challenges, both those that succeed that those that fail, that help you grow and improve, sometimes...you just need a little break and to treat yourself with something a little easier.
While I still love complex, high skill-level projects, I've come to appreciate simpler, shorter projects as a way to take a mental break. I find it difficult to do 'nothing', and feel best when my hands/mind are at least a little active, so I was delighted to find a selection of cute, brightly-colored amigurumi crochet kits from Little Magic House on Etsy!
For my first order, I purchased four crochet kits, Caterpillar, Whale, Owl (Purple), and Owl (Blue). I say 'for my first order' as I enjoyed these four kits so much that I already purchased more, and will review those as well at a later date.
The kits come in two varieties: basic, which is less expensive, and which comes with all the yarn needed, safety eyes, stuffing, and a printed pattern; and standard, which is slightly more expensive and which comes with everything in the basic kit, plus a crochet hook (2.5mm aluminum hook), a yarn needle (also metal), a stitch marker (plastic), and four pins.
All the kits I purchased were standard kits, as I like the idea of having (almost) all the items I need to make a project all together. The only thing not included is a scissors, but that would add to the cost significantly (and pretty much no other kit out there includes a scissors). These kits cost between $10-$12.50 USD, and I purchased four as you got free shipping with a $35+ purchase... These kits come from the Ukraine, so they did take a while to get to me in the U.S., but I think it was worth the wait!
Each kit was packaged in two plastic bags that were stapled together, with the pattern in one bag and the materials in the other.
Each pattern is printed in full color and includes several large, clear images, which is much appreciated. Each kit is also labelled with the suggested skill level; the caterpillar and the purple owl are 'easy' and the whale and blue owl are 'intermediate'. I definitely agree that the caterpillar is easy, but I don't really have an opinion on the other three. All I can say is that, as an intermediate to advanced crocheter, all four kits were easy.
As stated above, each kit comes with everything needed to complete the project, except a scissors. They are very compact and easy to travel with, so they're all great projects to bring with you if you know you'll have some downtime to fill.
I really like how the yarn is wrapped around these paper bobbins that are labelled with what the color(s) are to be used for. You also get a bobbin filled with extra yarn (except in this kit, but you get plenty of yarn anyways); I did not ever have to use to the extra yarn, but I'm glad it's there since it's such a pain when you run out of yarn before finishing a project, especially if the yarn is not easy to get.
According to the listing for these kits, the included yarn is YarnArtJeans. I'm not sure yet if I like this yarn or not; it's soft and fluffy, and it's not difficult to work with, but it stretches out really easily and can look dirty as it attracts dust. It's similar in weight to Scheepjes Catona, so I would say it's around a 2 weight. The stuffing has that interesting pebbly-texture that I've noticed in other European kits; it works well, and the pebbly-texture doesn't cause any lumpiness or weird texture in the final project.
My little caterpillar turned out so cute, and he was a nice break from my other projects.
One thing I really appreciate with these projects is the focus on embroidery for detail, like the caterpillar's feet, instead of having to crochet everything. It can be very tedious and overwhelming to crochet every small detail and appendage, and it's nice to know that there is another way, that looks just as good!
After finishing my caterpillar, I had plenty of yarn left over (again, this was the only kit that didn't come with a bobbin of extra yarn, but I think that's because there already was so much yarn included due to all the colors, plus a little stuffing!
This kit, the Blue Owl, was a bit of a wild card for me. I wasn't originally going to purchase it since I liked the design of the Purple Owl more, but I wanted free shipping, so here we are!
Even though this kit wasn't my first choice, I am glad I got it because it is quite cute, and it's one of the rare times were I've beads for eyes instead of safety eyes, felting, or embroidery.
Same as the other kits, all the yarn and supplies are well organized and labelled, including the extra yarn bobbin. My poor stuffing bag exploded, though!
Look. At. This. Owl. It's so cute! And the beads look really good, much better than I expected! I thought it would be really fiddly to use beads for eyes, but it was quite easy. The beads themselves feel heavy, and I think they might be glass and not plastic.
Quick PSA: While I don't recommend giving any amigurumi with plastic/glass eyes to a child under the age of 3, including those with safety eyes, these kind of bead/glass eyes are especially dangerous as they can shatter/break or be removed from the toy and swallowed. This does not reflect anything negative on this project or its materials, just something to be aware of!
Like the caterpillar, there's plenty of yarn and stuffing left over.
Next is the Purple Owl!
This was the kit I was originally interested in, and what led me to the Little Magic House Etsy shop! I love owls, and I really liked the patchwork/plushie look of this owl's design.
I also really like the color combination of purple and green, and the gradient looked cute.
Ahh, it's so cute! I know I've said that for each one of this kits, but really, I love how small and adorable they all are! Again, a lot of visual interest is achieved by embroidery and the ear tufts, which are much easier to do than if I were to crochet and sew on a beak and crochet and attach ears/ear tufts.
I love the pale/mint green and how it contrasts with the purple, but this was one of the yarn colors that I had the hardest time keeping clean as it seemed to attract all the dust in my house. I'm not sure why this yarn was the most difficult, even more so than the white, and I actually struggled to remove some specks on the back (I have a pair of needle tweezers that I keep in my crochet kit to remove errant dust particles, stuffing/yarn fuzz, and the rare cat hair, and even that had a hard time getting them out).
Finally, I got the Whale kit.
This style of whale is quite common in amigurumi, but there are a lot of different ways to make them, so it's interesting to see how a specific designer tackles the pattern.
This is also the least colorful of the four kits I purchased, with just blue and white, but again, you get plenty of yarn. I like how, even if things are the same color, the yarn is split up for the different parts (even though the whole whale is blue, you get different bobbins for the body and fins/tail).
I've tried a few of these stylized whale amigurumi patterns, and this is one of my favorites. I think it really captures the simplified shape of a whale, and I like the design of the fins and tail.
Most patterns I've seen have you crochet the fins and tail as part of the body, which I usually prefer since it saves the step of sewing them on later, but they're just so much cuter and rounder when made and attached separately.
No surprise, plenty of materials left over. This kit did come the closest to using all the mats, and, therefore, has the least left over, but I wasn't concerned about running out at any point while making my whale.
And those are my (first) four amigurumi crochet kits from Little Magic House! This post got a little long since I wanted to include all four in one post, so I greatly appreciate it if you've read this far! It's probably obvious by now, but I highly recommend checking out Little Magic House's crochet kits; there are a bunch of different styles available (even more than when I purchased mine!), so everyone should be able to find something they're interested in.
There's a lot of care and experience put into these kits and patterns, and it really shows. It feels like things have been pared down to the essentials, but without making you feel like something is missing; they feel delightfully simple and complete; each kit provided a nice break from bigger, more stressful projects, and the 'easy' kits would be a great first project for a crochet beginner or someone looking to try amigurumi.
<3 Thank you for reading!
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