Binding Off Embroidered Details on Amigurumi| Video Tutorial

Weaving in ends is a very important part of crochet. Without it, all our hard work can literally unravel. But what about when you are just adding a small bit of contrasting detail to an amigurumi project? Say you have to put a simple mouth or nostrils on your amigurumi and how you have a short piece of contrasting yarn that needs woven in.

You could add the detail before stuffing, but the detail really needs to be a final step.

And you can’t weave it in with the standard “back and forth” method because it will show behind your main color.

I’m going to show you a way you can bind off these ends right there on the main color without weaving back and forth and without the bind off showing in your contrasting color.

The Hazards of Not Binding Off Your Eyebrows

When I got started in amigurumi, I used to add the embroidered details and then thread the ends back through all the stuffing, pull them straight out the other side, and then cut them off.

But as long as the ends were hidden, I didn’t think far enough ahead to realise my mistake.

Fast forward a few months and my kiddos are playing with their amigurumi pal, smooshing his face and playing rough, when out pops an eyebrow.

I’m paged to the family room to repair their tough-loved friend and I have to sew on new eyebrows again and again because my untied end is just flopping around inside, waiting for the right tug to pull it right out.

I must have replaced a dozen eyebrows.

I never had this problem with woven-in ends, but I didn’t want to start weaving in the one piece of black yarn on the face of my sons’ crochet buddy. It would show through the stitches for sure!

So I did the research and I found a method that allows you to tie a knot around the post of a stitch on the face of my amigurumi and then pull that knot through a hole and around to the back of the stitch. Now I have a safe, bound off eyebrow, and the knot has been pulled to the inside of the amigurumi where it will never be found.

Eureka!

This method is not a specified method in any pattern, so it does not have an abbreviation of its own. Use it when binding off small pieces in contrasting colors that are attached to the amigurumi after stuffing.

Do not use this method to hide ends of attached parts. If there is an area with stitches of the same color, always weave in your ends, back and forth. This method is for parts that are not weight bearing, such as embroidery, noses, and contrasting lines done with a tapestry needle.

Binding Off Embroidery on Amigurumi Video Tutorial

This tutorial features Red Heart Super Saver yarn. This excerpt is taken from the Blob Cat Calico free crochet pattern.

Binding Off Contrasting Detail: Step By Step

1. Bring yarn up cleanly through work through any stitch. Be sure to bring it through a whole stitch and not in the middle of a strand of yarn.
2. Insert needle behind an adjacent loop of the stitch closest to the hole.
3. Tie a loose knot around that loop.
4. Insert the needle cleanly back through the same stitch you came up through, then out a nearby stitch.
5. Pull gently to “pop” the knot around to the inside of the work.
6. Cut off your remaining tail.

Keep practicing and you will have it down in no time!

Now Show Off Your Skills!

I’d love to see those adorable amigurumi faces! Take a picture and upload it to Instagram with the hashtag #hookedbykati or tag me directly with @hookedbykati. Your amigurumi could be featured in our weekly newsletter and eligible for awesome prizes!

Have more questions? I’m always here to help!

Yarn on,

Kati

Kati Brown

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.