Amigurumi Crochet Eyes - 10 creative ideas that you can use!
Find your existing way of making eyes for your amigurumi boring? Or maybe you just want to switch things up and see what other options there are for making crochet eyes. Look no further for 10 creative ideas to use for amigurumi eyes!
Here I have some tried and tested ideas for eyes and some that others have used that are on my wish list to try. Either way, keep these suggestions at the back of your mind so that when you start on your next amigurumi, you have ideas to experiment.
I split them into 2 broad categories which are either you use an external accessory to attach to the amigurumi or you use a specific crafting technique to place the eyes onto the amigurumi. Let's get started!
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Table of Contents Show
What can I use for amigurumi eyes?
This is where most amigurumi crocheters start off with because it is relatively easy to get hold off and it gives a nice glossy dimension to the yarn. Most would start off with safety eyes, I used glass eyes at one point, recycled cloth, googly eyes or button eyes. I will go through them in further detail below.
How do you make a crochet doll eye?
Since here we mentioned about making then these are some ideas on techniques to create eyes, which could range from crocheting, sewing, embroidery to even felting techniques. Even if you are not familiar with these techniques, sometimes they are worth experimenting to try out new styles for your amigurumi!
External accessories
Let's talk about commonly used safety eyes, other ideas like using cloth for eyes and even though I have not tried them myself, thought to add in googly eyes and buttons as eyes too.
How do you add safety eyes to crochet?
Plastic safety eyes sizes can range from 3mm all the way to 30mm. Most commonly for palm sized amigurumi I would pick 4mm while for larger plushies perhaps 6mm.
They come with thick stalks attached to the back, which means that sometimes (depending on yarn weight), direct insertion into the face is not easy. So my preference is to crochet around it so that the stitches are tight and the eyes are secure.
There is also a washer component at the back, meant to secure down the stalk and once it is clipped down along the ridges of the stalk, it is no longer removable. Even though they are definitely safer for children to play with, sometimes the stitches may come loose and the eyes may fall out.
To see more tips on crocheting safe toys for kids, check out this post on '20 surefire ways to crochet amigurumi that are toddler safe'.
How do you attach glass eyes to amigurumi?
Glass eyes and safety eyes create a similar effect after attachment but I generally prefer glass eyes because of the shiny appearance on the final amigurumi face.
The stalk for glass eyes are much thinner than the safety eyes mentioned above, although the final appearance on the face is similar. Which also means fastening them down is trickier.
So what I do is that I stuff my amigurumi with packing peanuts, then I insert the glass eyes into the desired positions with the thin stalk (like a pin) then I pull it out, add glue onto it and push it back into the head. The packing peanuts are better anchors for the glass eye stalks.
However, because I fasten them down using glue, they are generally good for ornamental amigurumis and perhaps not the best for children to play with.
Can you glue cloth eyes for crochet dolls?
Using this method is fairly easy and even though I just used a recycled cloth, there are some great eye print providers out there where you can download and print pretty eyes then glue them on!
Here I used some old rag clothes and recycled the white components to draw out some eyes. Of course you could always use other colours to create prettier eyes. In addition to that, I have also put some glass eyes onto the cloth to create some textured variation.
How about googly eyes for amigurumi?
Some crocheters who like to make bigger amigurumis use googly eyes for them. If you purchase them then it is simply sticking them onto the amigurumi with glue if not there are some crafters who DIY this method today.
How do you sew button eyes on amigurumi?
Similarly for larger amigurumis (mine are small so buttons are a bit too big for their faces), some crocheters want the rag doll appearance and sewing on button eyes does that. You could always glue it on or use a regular sewing needle with thread to sew in and out of the amigurumi into the button holes to attach it down. Much like the next method I'll be talking about.
If you found this article helpful, remember to share it or pin it to Pinterest above! Also, if you would like to get more tips and tricks for crocheting doll amigurumi (apart from eyes), here is my Amigurumi Shaping Starter Guide below. Then after this, let us move onto the eye techniques!
25 Ideas to Supercharge your Next Crochet Doll Face
Grab this free Ideas List to get Doll Face Customization Ideas and get inspired! Just click here or on the image on the left.
Techniques
Now that we have gone through the external accessories you can use for your amigurumi eyes, here are some ideas for using varying techniques to give your eyes a slightly different appearance.
How do you sew on yarn eyes?
The easiest would be to simply just sew on eyes onto the amigurumi face. Sewed on eyes works up fairly fast and all you need is black yarn. I like sewing on the eyes especially when they are slightly different for example, closed eyes (which is what I used for the kissing babies).
In this case, I made a ‘7’ figure on one side and a reverse ‘7’ for the other eye. You could always adjust the sewing to make ‘n’ shape for smiling eyes or a ‘u’ shape for closed eyes with eyelashes. Try experimenting with different lines for different eyes!
How do you embroider eyes on amigurumi dolls?
Embroidered eyes method is one of my favourite ways to make eyes because all you need is black yarn, similar to the sewing down method but this creates a nice round eye. It is also definitely safe for children, if you worry about getting it loose, you could always push it in and conceal it then redo another knot!
Another name for this method is french knot embroidery. Twisting the yarn twice around the needle seems to create the adequate size for the eye. Just be careful not to pull out the final yarn thread too hard or the whole knot might go back into the head!
How to crochet eyes on a doll?
It makes sense to crochet eyes on a crochet doll right! Meaning that you actually come up with an eye crochet pattern for your doll. For some crocheters making bigger dolls or animals, they can make more elaborate crochet doll eyes with many different coloured yarn.
In the case of mini Amigurumis, it can be quite difficult to crochet an elaborate eye with many colours. For this method, I used the crocheted component together with glass eyes, often times for cartoon looking eyes!
Small crocheted eyes
The small eyes below can be made bigger with an initial longer chain or using taller stitches like dc (instead of hdc) to make the eye broader. Making the smallest version is as follows:
Row 1: Ch3
Row 2: Hdc1 into 2nd chain from hook, sc1 and end off - 2st
Big crocheted eyes
For this crochet doll, I used chunky yarn to make her body and decided to use cotton fingering yarn to make her eyes.
Round 1: Magic ring sc5 - 5st
Round 2: Sl st 1 and end off - 1st
To see more about using chunky yarn for amigurumi, check out this article.
I simply made a starting magic ring using black yarn and then sewed on a horizontal white line using white cotton yarn, which is supposed to be the glint in the eye. Simple right, but of course it is all relative to the doll size as well.
How do you do needle felting eyes?
Another method to try considering which is slightly different from the usual crocheting ideas is felting. For this, you will need specifically wool yarn to felt down onto the face, meaning acrylic and cotton yarn will not do. You will also need a felting needle.
This method does require a fair amount of time though and some experimenting as well. If you spend enough time felting, the final eyes will not appear so fuzzy. Also, you can mix and match different colours like white and black for the eyes!
How do amigurumi eyes sink?
This is a little something extra worth trying out but I must say I have not had much experience with this which is why I placed another resource below that you hopefully will find useful. Once I tried this method out myself and figured out how it looks nice, I will update here for sure. Basically this is asking the same question as how do you crochet an eye indent? Using this method after inserting the eye helps with shaping a depression for the eye ball or socket, which can have a nice effect for your amigurumi at the end.
Check out this youtube video for how to execute this.
How do you make doll glasses?
Similarly for the reasons of crocheting your amigurumi as well, some others have asked how do you make stuffed animal glasses, which is basically the same technique for making mini eyeglasses for dolls. Craft wire is a crochet accessory that I often pair with my amigurumi for better detailing. You can check out this post on 'My Crochet Tools and Accessories that are Super Simple to Start With'.
The next few steps are in relation to making eyeglasses for small amigurumi that are made using fingering yarn. Using a simple craft wire, take a ball point pen, leave about an inch, wrap the next part around the ball point pen to form a circle, then repeat again, and leave another inch right at the end. To make sure the ends are not sharp and pointing outwards, I would suggest bending the ends inwards and folding them down so that the ends are blunted.
You could do this with craft wire which is preferably or even try it with paper clips but the shape you get might not be ideal with the latter. That is really all, which can be done in a couple of minutes. You could slide in the wire into the amigurumi as the sides of the head (which is what I do) or glue it down so that it is secure.
For more ideas on how to combine wire work with your amigurumi crochet, check out this blog article on Wire work in Crocheting. If you found this blog article useful, remember to share it or pin the image below to Pinterest!
Conclusion
There are many different ways you can make amigurumi eyes and here are 10 creative ideas to try for your next crochet doll or animal. You could use external accessories like safety eyes, glass eyes, googly eyes or even buttons. Alternatively, you could go a step further and try out embroidery eyes, sewed on eyes, crocheted eyes or even felted eyes. Do you have more ideas for your amigurumi eyes or more elaborate ones - please share in the comments below so that we might all exchange ideas! Also remember to share this blog post if you found it useful!
For even more ideas on how to do amigurumi shaping, or customization of your amigurumi or designing, check out this Amigurumi Shaping Starter Guide which is shows you how to create a toy for your child with your own hands in 5 simple steps. It is completely free and available just below here.
25 Ideas to Supercharge your Next Crochet Doll Face
Grab this free Ideas List to get Doll Face Customization Ideas and get inspired! Just click here or on the image on the left.
