Jun
okay so kuromi crochet stuff
So I made my first Kuromi back in summer 2022 when I was basically living on my couch watching old episodes of The Office for like the third time and needed something to do with my hands. The whole thing took me maybe a week because I kept messing up her ears but whatever, she turned out cute enough.
First thing you gotta know is that Kuromi’s got this specific shape that’s different from like, regular amigurumi animals. She’s got that devil tail and the skull on her head and honestly the proportions are kinda weird when you think about it too hard. But that’s what makes her Kuromi I guess.
yarn and hook size stuff
I used Lily Sugar’n Cream for my first one which was honestly a mistake because it’s cotton and kinda stiff for amigurumi, but I had it lying around so. For the white parts I mean. The pink hood thing I used some Red Heart Super Saver in Hot Pink that I’m pretty sure was from like 2019. My cat had chewed the label off so I’m not 100% sure but it looked right.
Hook size matters more than people think with amigurumi. I used a 3.5mm hook with worsted weight yarn which gives you a pretty tight fabric so the stuffing doesn’t show through. Some patterns tell you to use a smaller hook than recommended for the yarn and yeah that works but it makes your hands tired if you’re crocheting for hours. Which you will be because Kuromi has a lot of parts.
The black parts for her ears and tail you want something really black, not like dark gray. I think I used Caron Simply Soft in Black which is acrylic but it’s soft and actually black. The skull on her forehead is gonna be white obviously, same as her face.
starting with the head
You’re gonna start with a magic ring which if you don’t know how to do that, there’s videos but basically you make a loop and crochet into it and then pull it tight. Start with 6 single crochet in the ring. Then you increase every stitch so you have 12. Then you do the thing where you increase every other stitch for 18, then every third stitch for 24, and you keep going until the circle is wide enough for a head.
For Kuromi I went up to like 54 stitches I think? The pattern I loosely followed said 48 but her head looked too small so I just kept going. You don’t have to follow patterns exactly, that’s something I learned after making like ten amigurumi that looked weirdly skinny.
Once the head is wide enough you just crochet in rounds without increasing until it’s tall enough. This is where you gotta think about her face shape. Kuromi’s got this sort of round but also slightly egg-shaped head situation going on. I did maybe 15 rounds straight with no increases or decreases.
The annoying part and honestly this drove me crazy, is that you have to stuff it while you’re decreasing the bottom of the head. If you wait until it’s too closed up you can’t get the stuffing in there properly and it gets lumpy. I use polyfil stuffing, whatever brand is at Joann’s usually. Stuff it FIRM. Like more than you think. It’ll compress a bit over time.
the ears situation
Kuromi’s ears are long and black and they’re honestly the most recognizable part of her besides the hood. They’re not round bunny ears, they’re more like… demon bunny ears I guess? They’ve got pink insides too.
For each ear start with black yarn and make an oval shape. Magic ring with 6, then increase to 12, then do a few rounds of 12 without increasing. Then you’re gonna make it longer by doing rounds without increasing for like, I don’t know, 10-12 rounds? Until it looks ear-length. Don’t stuff these or they’ll stick out weird. Just leave them flat.
The pink inner ear part is basically the same thing but smaller and in pink. You make a flat oval and then sew it onto the black ear. I used a whip stitch for this but you could probably hot glue it if you’re lazy, though I haven’t tried that.
Attaching the ears to the head is where you gotta think about placement. They go on top but sort of to the sides? I pinned mine with regular sewing pins first to see where they looked right before sewing them on. Use the same color yarn as the head (white) to sew them on so the stitches don’t show as much.
body and limbs
The body is basically the same process as the head but more cylinder-shaped. Start with a magic ring, increase up to whatever width you want, then crochet straight for the length of the body. I made mine slightly smaller than the head because I think that looks cuter but you could make it the same size.
One thing about Kuromi is she’s usually sitting down in the official art so you don’t have to make her legs super long or worry about her standing up. I made stubby little legs that are basically just short tubes. Start with magic ring, increase to like 12 or 15 stitches, then crochet straight for maybe 8 rounds. Stuff these too.
Arms are the same concept, just skinnier. Maybe increase to 10 stitches instead of 12 or 15. The hands can be white or you can put little pink paw pads on them if you’re feeling ambitious. I didn’t bother with paw pads on my first one.
The devil tail is actually easier than it looks. It’s a thin black tube with a little triangle point at the end. Make a skinny tube in black, maybe 6 stitches around, and make it as long as you want. For the point at the end you’re gonna make a flat triangle separately and sew it on. The triangle is just… increase, increase, then decrease back down. Stuff the tail lightly so it’s not totally flat but not super firm either.
that hood thing she wears
This is the part that makes her KUROMI and not just some random rabbit. The pink hood with the skull on it. This took me forever to figure out because the shape is weird.
I basically made it like a big flat piece that wraps around the back of her head. Start with a chain that’s long enough to go from one side of her head to the other, then crochet back and forth in rows to make a rectangle-ish shape. But you want it wider at the top than the bottom so it fits the head shape, so you’re gonna increase on the sides as you go up.
The skull is white and you can either crochet it as a tiny flat piece or honestly I’ve seen people just cut it out of white felt and sew it on. I crocheted mine because I’m stubborn but felt would’ve been faster. It’s just a circle for the head part and then some tiny eye holes… you could embroider those or use black beads or whatever.
There’s also supposed to be a pink bow on the side but I forgot to add that until after I’d already sewn everything together so I just made a separate bow and stitched it on later. Make two loops and a center piece, basic bow construction.
face embroidery and details
Kuromi’s face is pretty simple which is good because embroidering faces on crochet is kind of a pain. She’s got those half-closed eyes that make her look unimpressed with everything. I used black embroidery floss for this.
For the eyes I did two curved lines, like upside down U shapes basically. They’re positioned pretty far apart on her face. Then little eyelashes on the outer corners, just a few straight stitches sticking out.
The nose is a tiny pink triangle or you can do a Y-shape, whatever looks right to you. I did a triangle because it’s faster. No mouth because she doesn’t really have a visible mouth in most of the official designs, or if she does it’s just a tiny line.
You could add whiskers with embroidery floss or fishing line if you want but I didn’t because my cat would’ve just tried to eat them.
assembly and sewing everything together
This is where it either comes together and looks great or you realize you made one arm longer than the other. Which I did. Whatever, she’s handmade, she’s supposed to be a little wonky.
I attached the head to the body first, using white yarn and a whip stitch all the way around. Make sure to add extra stuffing to both parts before you close them up completely. The seam is gonna be visible no matter what you do unless you’re like, a professional, so just accept that.
Arms get sewn onto the sides of the body. I positioned them kind of high up, near where the neck would be, so she could “hold” things if you wanted to put something in her arms later. Legs go on the bottom, obviously. I sewed them facing forward so she sits up.
The tail attaches to the back, sort of at the bottom. It should stick out and up a little bit, not just hang down. I had to sew it on twice because the first time it was pointing down and looked sad.
The hood goes on last and this is where you really gotta play around with positioning. It needs to cover the back of her head and come forward on the sides but not cover her face. I pinned it like five different ways before I found the right spot. Sew it on with pink yarn so the stitches blend in.
optional stuff and variations
Some people make clothes for their Kuromi but I never got into that. You could make her a little black dress or whatever if you’re into doll clothes.
Size-wise you can make her as big or small as you want by using different yarn weights and hook sizes. My first one was maybe 8 inches tall with worsted weight yarn. I saw someone on instagram who made a giant one with like, bulky yarn that was probably 2 feet tall which seems excessive but it looked cool.
Color variations are fun too. I’ve seen people make her in different colors like purple or blue instead of pink, or with different colored ears. As long as you keep the basic shape and the skull hood thing she’s recognizable.
Oh and if you’re making her as a gift or whatever, you might want to add safety eyes instead of embroidering them. I didn’t because I think embroidered looks better but safety eyes are easier and faster. Just make sure to put them in before you finish stuffing the head because you can’t get them in after.
common problems I ran into
The ears falling off because I didn’t sew them on well enough the first time. Use lots of stitches when you attach them and go around twice if you have to.
The stuffing showing through because my tension was too loose. This is why you use a smaller hook than you think you need. The fabric should be tight enough that you can’t see the white stuffing between stitches.
Her head being too heavy and flopping forward. This means you either stuffed it too much or didn’t attach it to the body securely enough. I had to add extra stitches around the neck area to keep it upright.
The pink hood sliding around because it wasn’t sewn on enough. I only sewed it at a few points at first and it kept moving, so I went back and added more attachment points all around the edges where it touches her head.
Getting the proportions weird where her body was too small for her head or her arms were too long. Honestly this is just trial and error, you kinda have to eyeball it as you go and compare to reference pictures.
random tips
Take pictures as you go so you remember what you did for next time. I never do this and then I make another one six months later and can’t remember how many stitches I used for anything.
Keep all your yarn ends at least 6 inches long when you fasten off so you have enough to sew pieces together. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve cut the yarn too short and then had to tie on a new piece just to sew something.
If you mess up a round just frog it and start over, don’t try to fix it by adding or skipping stitches because it’ll look lumpy. I’m bad at following this advice but it’s true.
Use stitch markers for the beginning of each round or you’ll lose track of where you are. I use little plastic ones from the craft store but you can use bobby pins or safety pins or whatever.
The whole thing probably uses less than one skein of each color unless you’re making her huge. So it’s a pretty cheap project overall, maybe like ten dollars in yarn if you don’t already have it.
Anyway that’s basically how you make a Kuromi. She’s not the hardest amigurumi pattern but she’s not the easiest either because of all the different parts and the hood situation. But she’s cute when she’s done and people always recognize her if they’re into Sanrio stuff. Mine is sitting on my bookshelf right now looking judgmental at me which feels appropriate.
