Doll-A-Day 2023 #223: Amigurumi Dolls

  Today's dolls are amigurumi.

Amigurumi is a Japanese art, the name of which translates to exactly what it is: 'crocheted or knitted stuffed toy'. It's derived from the Japanese words ami, which means 'crocheted or knitted', and nuigurumi, which means 'stuffed doll'. Popular in Japan for years, it became well known to the rest of the world around the early 2000's.

  They, and the other amigurumi I've seen, are made from something more like string than yard or thread.

This one is my favourite of these three, I think.

She's about 2 and a half to three inches long.

From behind you can see that she's wearing a big hat.

  This little guy has a built in stand. In spite of that, he's hard to keep standing.

 

I think he came from a thrift store.

He's holding what I think is supposed to be a ball, but I always think it looks like an Easter egg.

  He's wearing little bibbed overalls.

  This one came from a flea market. You may have seen her when I got her HERE. She even had her own Day once, but it was a quick post with few pictures. You can see it HERE. I don't know what happened to her face. It was cleaner then.

She has a very suspicious expression.

  They all have what I think are silk faces. This one has a painted face though, and not just features that seem to be inked on, like the other two.

  I also have a few amigurumi animals, which are the oldest of my amigurumi. They're from way before 2000, I'm sure. I've found all them locally, at yard sales and maybe an auction. I assume they were made here too, but who knows? I have a dog, a cat, and a panda. They all have the loops to hang them from, and I use them as Christmas ornaments. At a yard sale once I bought a box of vintage sewing items, which included a million partially finished pandas. (Mostly faces.) They were obviously the work of the older lady who had owned the box. (The sale was being held by her daughter.)

  I can see the possibility that some of these local finds started life in Japan and found their way here. In the early 1980's  Honda opened a plant in Marysville, Ohio, which is about a half hour away. During the first decade or so a lot of the employees came from Japan with the company. Obviously they brought possessions with them, as they were going to be here for years, or permanently. A lot of those possessions, including clothes, toys, and household goods, found their way to thrift stores and yard sales.

  That's it for today.  Come back tomorrow, or wonder what you missed.