How to Embroider on a Closed Amigurumi

Have you ever finished an amigurumi project and realized you forgot the safety eyes? Or maybe it just needs a little extra detail. Embroidery is a great solution to add features onto any project! But if you’ve already closed up the piece, you might be wondering how to embroider without being able to tie a knot on the inside. Don’t worry! It’s actually way easier than you think. Let’s talk about how to embroider on a closed amigurumi.

How to Embroider on a Closed Amigurumi

Embroidering on a closed piece versus an open piece is actually not all that different. The main thing you need to be aware of is where your needle is exiting each time you embroider an element. When you embroider on an open piece, your needle just comes out on the back side and you can re-insert it anywhere you need.

When working on a closed piece, you’ll be inserting your needle into the project and immediately exiting through another spot on the front. This means you need to know where all your elements are going to be placed ahead of time. I highly recommend using sewing pins to mark out features or elements before you start so there isn’t any guesswork about your placement.

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If you’re totally new to using embroidery on amigurumi, I highly recommend checking out this on How to Embroider on Amigurumi: 3 Simple Techniques first. It covers all the materials you need as well as step-by-step instructions.

1. Getting Started

Since you’re working on a project that has already been stuffed and closed up, you’ll need to start your embroidery a little differently. Start by inserting your needle a bit away from wherever you’ll be embroidering. This could be the back or side of a head, for example. You’ll want to have your tapestry needle exit at the first point where you’ll be embroidering.

When you pull the embroidery thread through, be sure to leave at least a 2-3 inch tail sticking out. We’ll use that later.

2. Curved Lines

If your amigurumi has a face, chances are you’ll need to embroider a little mouth and simple curves work perfectly for this. Starting at the point where your needle exited, you’ll need to determine how wide you want the mouth. Then insert the needle into the opposite end point.

For a smile, you’ll want to find the center point of the line and move a row or two down. This spot is where your tapestry needle should exit.

Then insert your needle underneath the line you just made. Make sure not to pull the thread too tight. Then circle back and insert your needle directly into the same center stitch.

You can tug a bit on each side of the smile to get the thread to curve more if you’re getting more of a ‘V’ shape.

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3. Simple Eyes

Sometimes safety eyes aren’t the best option, so you need to embroider eyes on your toy. To create simple, round eyes without any hassle, you can follow these easy steps.

Figure out how large you want the eye to be and embroider a vertical line. To do this, find the top point of the eye and insert the needle a few rows down. Make sure your needle exits in through the top point of the eye again.

Then you’ll repeat embroidering the same line, over and over, until the eye is rounded and the shape you like. Each time you embroider the line, push the thread to one side, alternating sides as you go.

4. French Knots

What if you want to do something a little more complicated like a French Knot? You can absolutely use more complicated embroidery stitches. Like I mentioned in the beginning, the only difference is where your needle exits each time.

To make a French Knot, you’ll hold your needle horizontally and wrap the thread 2-3 times. Use your non-dominant hand to hold the thread with slight tension. Then insert your needle back down into the same spot where you came up. Slowly pull the thread through until it finally sets the knot in place.

Your needle should exit wherever you want your next embroidered element to be. Or if you’re ready to fasten off, follow the steps in the next section.

5. Fastening Off

When you’re finished embroidering, you’ll want to insert your needle through the project and exit in the exact same spot where you first started (where the thread is poking out). Once you’ve pulled the thread all the way through, tie both strands in a knot 2-3 times. Be sure not to pull too hard so you don’t mess up the embroidery.

Then thread both strands back onto your tapestry needle (trim any excess if you need to). Insert the needle back into the same spot and exit in a place away from major details. Trim any excess thread.

Summary

In this tutorial we’ve covered the basics of how to embroider on a closed amigurumi with ease. I hope you’re inspired to start playing with embroidery to see what beautiful elements you can add to your toys! If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with your crochet friends and let me know in the comments your favorite way to decorate amigurumi!

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Til next time, happy stitching!