How We Make Our Christmas Amigurumi
By Forfunly Studio · July 2, 2026
Every festive character on our shelves starts months before the holidays, back when the studio is warm and the tree is still in a box. Here’s how a crocheted Santa, gnome or reindeer actually comes to life.
It starts with a sketch
We begin on paper. What makes a gnome feel like a gnome? Usually it’s the nose and the oversized hat that swallows the eyes. A reindeer needs a soft muzzle and a hint of a bell; a Santa is all about the round belly and a beard with real weight. We doodle proportions until the personality is obvious at a glance.
Choosing colors that feel like the holidays
Yarn selection is its own small art. We test reds against each other in daylight, because the wrong red reads as either too orange or too cold. Creams for beards, warm greys for reindeer, a pop of green for a gnome’s hat — we wind small swatches and live with them for a few days before committing.
Working out the pattern, round by round
Then comes the math. A prototype gets crocheted, unraveled, and crocheted again — sometimes five or six times — until the increases and decreases give a clean, sturdy shape with no gaps for stuffing to peek through. We write the pattern as we go so that every future piece comes out the same, even months apart.
The slow part: making each one by hand
Once a design is locked, every single character is still crocheted by hand. There’s no machine shortcut. A small ornament might take an hour; a detailed Santa with layered clothing and hand-sewn features takes an afternoon. Faces are done last and done carefully — the eyes and the tilt of a smile are what give each piece its charm.
Little imperfections are the point
Because they’re handmade, no two are truly identical. One gnome’s hat leans a touch more to the left; one reindeer’s scarf sits a little higher. We don’t sand those differences away — they’re the fingerprint of something made by a person, not stamped out by a factory.
Ready for your shelf
By the time a festive friend reaches you, it’s been sketched, swatched, prototyped and stitched with a lot of care. Unpack it, give it a squish, and find it a spot on the shelf. With a little love, it’ll be part of your holidays for many winters to come.