Crocheted Superman

A few weeks ago, I opened my door to find a big, huge box on my step stuffed tight with oodles of baby girl clothes, mailed to me by my sweet friend Haley. I wanted to send something back as a thank you, so I got busy making a Superman doll (doll? stuffie? real tough stuffed dude?) for her little boy. And before it was even close to being finished, Forrest was trying to play with it (in pieces—like, he was just holding the head on top of the body so he could make it jump and fly around), and just imagine for a moment the utter devastation he experienced when he saw me pack Superman up in a box to send away to Haley. Total heartbreak.

So I made a second one, this time for him to keep. I mean, he’s rarely/never shown any interest whatsoever in anything I’ve crocheted, and he loved that silly Superman. I didn’t even realize that he knew who Superman was until I made the first one. And oh, the drama when Superman #1 went in the box.  The drama on the drive to the post office. More drama as he watched me drop it into the mail chute. And apparently, ‘round these parts, drama gets rewarded with crocheted goodies.

squeeeeee! Isn’t he cute? This was my first (well, my second, I guess—Haley’s Superman was the first) time making a doll (doll?) and I really had fun putting it together. I’ve made plenty of amigurumi before, but never a person, and I really enjoyed it. I keep thinking of ideas for more dolls—a girl doll with striped leggings! long braidable hair! outfit options! I’ve generally found amigurumi a bit tedious to make in the past (so many little pieces to work on and assemble—I’d rather just make something big and get it over with), but for some reason, working on a person was a little more fun.

I bought the pattern from Bot Shop on Etsy (although it looks like maybe she hasn’t relisted it yet since I bought it? I’m not seeing it in her shop at the moment, but I promise, that’s where it’s from), and was pleased with it. I still consider myself a bit of a beginner when it comes to amigurumi since I don’t always know what the best techniques are, and I probably would have benefitted from a little more detail when it came to assembly and various details (like the hair, specifically—I ended up using this tutorial to make/attach his hair, which I found very helpful). I also made up my own arms and legs for him . . . I’m not sure if I misread something in the pattern, but the one arm I made using the written instructions came out huuuuuge! Maybe I just flubbed it, but it was super simple to just wing a quick set of arms and legs that looked a little more proportional to me. Overall, a cute helpful pattern, but it did require a bit of extra knowledge/research to perfect. I still need to work on crocheting more tightly, and the hair could use a little more work, but I think it came out awfully cute anyway.

But the best part is, for once Forrest loves something I made for him. That’s a rarity. He sleeps with Superman every night, and loves tucking him into bed, “to west.” (Apparently Superman is an awfully sleepy guy.) It’s been a few weeks since I finished him, so I think he’s starting to lose his ‘new toy’ luster, but it’s been so nice to finally finally finally see him play with and love something I made.