Star Wars Amigurumi
Craftster Sammi Resendes from Geekcentralstation.blogspot.com recently created Star Wars Amigurumi dolls of Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, Yoda, Chewbacca and Han Solo. There's even a Slave Leia! I chat with Sammi about Star Wars Amigurumi and how fans can get started making their own.
What made you decide to make this cute set of Star Wars Amigurumi dolls?
My boyfriend and I had just finished making the Lord of the Ring set of Amigurumi figures, but we only started with them because their costumes were so detailed and so complicated -- they were a lot of fun. But my favorite movies of all time are the original Star Wars trilogies, so it was a total no-brainer when I was thinking about what I wanted to make next.
Which one was your favorite?
Oh gosh, that's so hard! I would say Admiral Ackbar, because he was the first Star Wars character I made. For some reason it just hit me one night -- I had to make Admiral Ackbar! But Yoda is also really cute, with his little ears. It's hard to choose!
The Slave Leia Amigurumi is most impressive, what is her bikini made from?
It's actually all made out of Sculpey, which is a bakeable clay you can buy at any craft store. My boyfriend made all of the pieces. He makes all of the little Sculpey pieces for everyone, like the blaster and the lightsaber. Anyway, they have little holes all over that I threaded and sewed together. She was really difficult to make!
Which characters are you doing next?
In the Star Wars universe, we're working on Boba Fett, Luke, Darth Vader and R2-D2. I guess we should probably do Obi-Wan too! I want to do a weird-looking alien too, like a Twi'Lek or an Ithorian. As for the next set we're working on, I think we're going to do the "Futurama" cast next.
Where should fans go who want to learn how to make Amigurumi dolls?
There are lots of great resources out there that teach you how to crochet -- I taught myself over the Internet using a lot of tutorials! Crochetme.com has a great tutorial on Amigurumi specifically, and of course my main haven is Craftster.org, which has all sorts of great general crochet tips.
Do you have any patterns to share with fans for your Amigurumi dolls?
Yeah! Right now I don't have the Star Wars patterns written up, but I do have my Lord of the Rings crochet patterns up at my blog, Geekcentralstation.blogspot.com. The patterns there are the same for all of the human characters, so you could make Han, Leia and Luke, just not the other characters like Yoda, Ackbar or Chewie. But I promise as soon as I write the patterns up they will be on my blog!
Any tips for first time Amigurumi crafters?
Don't be hesitant about starting -- it's easier than you think. Amigurumi only requires you to know single crochet, and increasing and decreasing (which is just slightly modified single crochet) -- so it's really easy to learn. Make sure you stuff the figures extra tight, and weight them with something heavy (like Polyfil beads or nuts from the hardware store) to make them stand up on their own.
Take a closer look at the Star Wars Amigurumi Flickr Set
Check out more Star Wars Amigurumi here:
Crochet an Ewok
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Xposted on the Official Starwars.com Blog