I’ve been meaning to try and make an amigurumi Pokémon for the longest time, so when my friend’s birthday came up, I decided a stuffie version of his favourite Pokémon would be a sure hit. Luckily, his favourite Pokémon happens to be a pretty popular choice, so there were multiple patterns for Umbreon floating around on the Internet. All I had to do was choose one!

• 32g / 80m of Estelle Yarns Superwash Merino DK – a DK weight (3) yarn (colour A: Black)
• 2g / 8m of Faking Sanity Yarns Compulsion – a fingering weight (1) yarn (colour B: Born This Way: Non-Binary Yellow)
• 0.5g / 1.3m of Estelle Yarns Superwash Merino DK – a DK weight (3) yarn (colour C: Cranberry)
• 5g Loops and Threads Classic FibreFill
• Size F (3.75mm) hook

Pattern by Evelyn at aphid777 (Deviant Art)

I ended up choosing Evelyn’s pattern for two reasons. For one, I adore the playful pose of this Umbreon and I preferred it to the standing patterns I saw. As my second reason, Evelyn also has the rest of the Eeveelutions designed, and I was thinking it would be unbelievably cute if I ever got around to making the other seven kinds, plus the original Eevee. Now that I’ve typed that dream out, I recognize that it sounds like a long shot, but hey, it’s best to keep options open!

I wish that I had used coloured felt to make the eyes instead of yarn ends, as I feel like it would’ve given it a more ‘finished’ look. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at how well a felting needle worked to get all the details on this Umbreon, and while I haven’t tested it yet, I’m hoping that my friend is gentle with this stuffie and does not put it through a lot of play that could damage the yellow circles. I also wish that I had used a thicker yarn for the circles, but I don’t mind how it turned out!

When I was sending work-in-progress pictures to my best friend, she joked about the amount of cat hair that she could see. I swear that I lint-rolled the stuffie before giving it to my friend, and I also did my best to keep Annie away from my yarn, but some things can’t be helped. Luckily, my friend this is going to does not have any pet allergies, so we should be okay.

My friend told me that he had never had anyone make anything for him before, so it felt pretty special for both of us to be the gifter and the recipient in this situation. I definitely think that there is a certain magic to handmade gifts. Simply the time spent making such a gift implies a lot of care and thought, and I think that the right people will appreciate that, even if it doesn’t look as professional as a purchased gift, or carry a high dollar value like some presents. What’s a gift that has stood out to you?

Until next time, happy crafting!