When I think of lovable foods that deserve to be recreated in amigurumi form, cheerful pudgy dumplings are definitely top of my list.
Thinking of all of the different delicious dumplings I have eaten in my day, my heart always comes back to Xiao Long Bao - and in particular those from renowned Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung. While this dumpling may not replicate their minimum of 19 folds at the seal, it certainly brings a smile to my face the way that their soupy deliciousness does!
Lets get started!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- 8ply yarn - I used Bella Baby's 'Tizz' in White (colour 208), but you can use whatever you want, just adjust the hook size accordingly.
- 2.25mm crochet hook (equivalent to B in US sizes)
- Fibrefill or other stuffing
- Safety eyes and black cotton yarn for the face (if you don’t have safety eyes you could also embroider on some eyes with the black yarn)
- Scissors and yarn needle
STITCHES YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW:
- Chain
- Double crochet (dc), and how to increase and invisible decrease
- Increase (inc) = crochet 2 dc into 1 stitch
- Invisible decrease (dec) = pick up the front half of the next 2 stitches then crochet them like they are 1 stitch
- You have a few different options for the fold at the top of the dumpling - can use double crochet again, or to emphasise it use half treble or treble
Note this pattern uses Australian/UK crochet terms. In US terms, we are referring to a single crochet stitch.
CROCHETING THE DUMPLING:
- Create a slip knot and chain 2, then perform 6 double crochets (dc) into the second chain from the hook (this is just my preferred method to start off, but you could also do 6 dc into a magic ring if you would prefer). You now have (6) stitches in this row.
- *Increase (inc), dc*, Repeat from * six times (12)
- *Inc, 2 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (18)
- *Inc, 3 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (24)
- *Inc, 4 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (30)
- *Inc, 5 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (36)
- *Inc, 6 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (42)
- *Inc, 7 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (48)
- Dc all (48)
- Dc all (48)
- Dc all (48)
- *Decrease (dec), 7 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (42)
- *Dec, 6 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (36)
- Dc all (36)
- *Dec, 5 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (30)
- Dc all (30)
- *Dec, 4 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (24)
- Dc all (24)
- *Dec, 3 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (18)
- *Dec, 2 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (12)
- *Dec, 1 x dc*, Repeat from * six times (6)
- Treble crochet twice into each dc from the previous round (12). For my dumplings I choose to make the top quite prominent so I used trebles, but if you want to make it more petitie you could use half-treble or doubles. Just experiment to see what you like the look of!
And we're done! If you're gifting these dumplings to someone - packing them up with other food related items makes for a great gift packaging idea. For example, you could pair with a dumpling steamer for your friend who loves to cook - or in a takeaway container for a cute package. Play around with the facial expressions, like this husband and wife duo for a wedding gift:
