A problem with making faces!
Whenever I work on a new amigurumi, I always leave the face for last. I never know quite how I want it to look so, instead of botching it immediately, I save it for the final touches. Sometimes this works out well, and other times, well, not so much.
One of the issues is that I don’t know where I will have the face end up. Despite my best sewing abilities (which aren’t that great) I always end up sewing some things on slightly crooked which then causes the eyes to be facing another direction or the head sitting askew.
Another issue is that I rarely use plastic safety eyes. Typically, I will crochet the eyes and then attach them. However, sometimes the crocheted eyes don’t quite work out! So, I end up trying to use a safety eye and have to stretch out the face a bit in order to get the eye in place. It’s a hassle! You can read about this situation in my last post on Sampson the Bear.
One last issue is that I also don’t use embroidery floss or thread so, when I need to work on a nose or mouth, it ends up looking a little bulky because I am using whatever yarn I have close by. Here is an example:
This was my attempt at making No Face from Spirited Away (I may have a blog post on him later as another Make Over!). But do you see how the black yarn is so bulky? It makes it difficult to place things where you want them. I think the final face was my third or fourth attempt.
Another example of bulky faces is my attempt at making Cole from Animal Crossing:
His eyes are okay… but his teeth would be better in felt. Or maybe just with some embroidery thread. I guess my crafting inventory needs to be updated. The last time I had that thread was in high school when I had a friendship bracelet phase…
I should probably take the plunge and start using felt for the facial features, but when I use yarn it’s kind of like having my own signature faces/style. Plus, I’m not too good with scissors!
Oh, by the way… there was also the incident of the little bear/cat/wombat. I made it last year and it still looks like this:
Still no face! I tried so many different things on the “blank canvas” but nothing looked nice enough. This could have been because I used the Red Heart Shimmer yarn and, because the texture is so different from my other yarns, nothing looked nice enough on it. Oh, well. (I used it as my Ravelry avatar for a while!)
Does anyone else have this problem? Why is the face the hardest part?
*sigh*
Maybe after a while I will improve. I guess I just need to make some more amis!
See you later!
Pleasant Plushies 
If you want to keep using yarn, why don’t you try Red Heart Luster Sheen? It’s thicker than embroidery floss but much thinner than regular yarn. I’ll bring a skein next time and you can see if you like it or not. Haha well you know that I am a fan of felt. I think it’s because 1) I lack the patience for embroidery and 2) I’m not very good at it and 3)felt is quick and easy. And I don’t really like using hard eyes for some reason either. Maybe I think it’s too expensive or I just prefer the look of felt.
I’ll have to check it out. I’m not that great at embroidery either but I try!