Amigurumi is the art of crocheting small stuffed toys. The term is a portmanteau of the Japanese words ami (編み), meaning "crocheted or knitted," and kurumi (包み), meaning "wrapping."
Although people have been crocheting for centuries, this specific type of cute toy project emerged in the 1980s. At that time, Japan's public broadcasting channel, NHK, aired a hit TV show called Ami about the hobby. This coincided with the rise of kawaii ("cute") culture in Japan. But it wasn't until the early 2000s that amigurumi became popular outside of Japan as well. Today, a search for amigurumi on the popular online craft site Etsy yields over 300,000 results!
The possibilities are endless! Most completed toys are small enough to fit in one hand, and they are typically kawaii (rather than photorealistic) versions of whatever they represent; but beyond that, they vary widely. The most popular patterns include anthropomorphic food, mini animals, and chibi ("short and chubby") pop culture characters.
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