Why Amigurumi Don’t Need Mouths
Does your amigurumi really need a mouth? I mean NEED it?
Many of my amigurumi patterns are lacking mouths: Bosco the Sloth, Vincent the Dragon, Murdock the Kelpie. It is clear that I’m not a fan of adding amigurumi mouths, but why?
Why So Serious?
When you draw a face, how does it go? You draw a set of eyes, a nose, then one, long, curve for a BIIIIG smile. After all, you want your face to look happy all the time, right?
I beg to differ.
Plushies, whether they are set on a shelf as a lovely display or hugged on a regular basis, are her to provide us with a friend when we need one. To be a good friend, they also need to be able to “feel” what we are feeling.
A permanent grin (or frown) steals away the ability for them to change their emotions with us.
If you need a kitchen dance partner Bosco can be happy.
If you need a cuddly friend to catch your tears after a bad day, Schnitzel can give a somber hug.
“She doesn’t have a mouth so she can feel what you feel. When you are happy, she can be happy. When you are sad, she can be sad.”
A great mom
We Don’t Have Permanent Emotions, Why Should They?
When I was just starting out, I used to leave mouths off my dolls because mouths were hard. Frankly, I could never get them to look right, no matter how many different types I tried.
One day at a craft fair, I was peddling my wares and a child stopped and picked up one of my mermaids. She looked her over, gave her a hug, then turned to her mom.
“Mommy. I like this one, but she doesn’t have a mouth.”
The mother smiled at me then her daughter.
“Honey, she doesn’t have a mouth so she can feel what you feel. When you are happy, she can be happy. When you are sad, she can be sad.”
I thought that was so profound.
Amigurumi mouths just never looked right, and maybe it was because I was always in a different mood each time I tried to add one. I just couldn’t choose a fixed emotion for my mermaids because I never had a fixed emotion myself!
The mermaid went home with her new owner that day, and I decided I would never again put a mouth on an amigurumi face that didn’t need one.
Sometimes, We Don’t Want A Smile
I don’t want to assign a permanent emotion to a toy who needs to be a good friend.
Just think! What if our friends met our every conversation with a big old smile? There are time it just wouldn’t work.
For example, when my doggo, Iggy Pop, passed away after 15 long years of friendship, I needed to talk to someone.
I called a dear friend who immediately responded with, “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. I’m hurting with you.” It made me feel better. I could open up to her about it being hard. I could cry with her.
If my friend had been smiling like a demented clown when I told her my beloved dog had died, I would have punched her in the face!
My friend needed to also be sad in that moment, and sometimes, so does a plushie friend.
Amigurumi Mouths Are Optional
The vast majority of my designs are lacking mouths.
Yes, there are a few that have open mouths, like Boris the Bullfrog, but for the most part, if the plushie doesn’t need it to eat flies, I leave it off.
But a mouth should be optional for everyone. If you want your amigurumi to have a mouth, I will not hunt you down and yell at you. Promise.
That’s the great thing about art — it is yours and no one else’s.
But now you know why my designs are mysteriously lacking amigurumi mouths.
I’m just leaving them open to be the best friend they can be.
Did you favorite stuffed toys growing up have mouths? Did they perhaps have “emotionless” ones, like pacifier holes or straight lines?
I’d love to know about your favorite childhood plushie and the emotions you shared. Email me or leave your story in the comments!
Until next time,
Yarn on,
Kati
Kati is the designer behind Hooked by Kati. With thousands of patterns sold around the world, Kati prides herself in creating innovative, easy-to-follow amigurumi patterns. She has designed for several publications, including Crochet!, Crochet World, Simply Crochet, and I Like Crochet. Kati finds her inspiration in science fiction, video games, and numerous visits to the zoo — all passions she shares with her husband and two boys.
This reminds me of Waldorf dolls which are meant to have simple, neutral faces for pretty much the same reason. I’m thinking back on the handful of amigurumi I’ve at far designed and I don’t recall them having mouths, or at least if they do they have neutral expressions. None of them have a specific emotion.
What an interesting thought. I’m going to borrow this for the next time my kids grill me about why a toy has no mouth, thanks!
P.S. That Must be why so many Doll Patterns do not have a mouth on them. Many not even a nose and yet, you can ‘imagine’ their smiles, frowns, sadness.
My most favorite plushies were ones my mother made some 40 plus years ago. One was a beautiful elephant with a grand upturned trunk. The other the most beautiful fox I had ever seen and she had a lovely fluffy tail on it. I don’t have these treasures any more as they were lost during several moves or my X hid them somewhere and got rid of them. I wish I had them and as for a Mouth. You know, I don’t recall. The elephant may have had a small one under its trunks. I don’t think the fox did either. Some day I may find a fox that I find worthy of creating. Right now, I haven’t found one that I can compare to Moms.
My grandfather bought me my first stuffed animal n it was a big teddy bear. He had eyes n a plastic nose and mouth that stuck out of the bear. Well it has seen way too many better days, they eyes r gone but the plastic nose n mouth r still there n the body is truly awful. Looks like I must’ve gotten sick on it n no one cleaned it up and the fur is all gone but it’s still my teddy bear like it not.
Please respond to my question re Vincent so I can move forward-i
n the pattern comments
Wonderful point! Now if they didn’t need fingers and toes my crocheting life would be much happier. For now I’ll muddle through giving Vincent toes and fingers.
I had a crocheted doll that my grandmother gifted to me. I don’t remember if it had mouth or not at the beginning, but now it doesn’t. My cousin also got one and that one was in much better shape when gifted and had mouth. Anyways I felt it so much better and comfortable without a mouth! When little I didn’t express as much emotions and although I didn’t like the doll as much it gave me a kind of resemblance to me as you said.
Also is very bad crocheted all the filling always goes out and is very rough xD she purchased it btw, it wasn’t her doing.
Also my favorite plush toy until today is a pink squirrel and light-blue dolphin and both don’t have mouths.