Ah, my fellow crafters, you’re in for a unique treat today! My latest brainchild is an amigurumi Kaonashi – yes, you heard it right, the enigmatic ‘No Face’ from Spirited Away! I can’t even put into words the magic I felt with each stitch—like I was weaving a tiny bit of Studio Ghibli enchantment into every fiber.
Let me tell ya, it was a surreal and mesmerizing experience crafting this little fella. He’s a must-have for any Ghibli fan out there. And don’t even get me started on those eyes; they’re the windows to a soul that’s both haunting and endearing . . . you’ll feel it too when you make your own.
So, needles at the ready, folks. Unleash your inner Miyazaki with this captivating project!
Pattern Designer: Mau Crochet
Materials
- 3.5 mm crochet hook
- Yarn (black, white)
- Normal needle
- Black and purple string
- Stuffing
- Darning needle
- Scissors 1.2 mm steel wire
- 2.0 mm crochet hook
- Red smaller yarn
- Pliers
Abbreviations
Rnd – round
Mr – magic ring
Sc – single crochet
Inc – increase
Dec– decrease
Ch – chain
(#) – stitch count
FO – fasten off
Mask
3.5mm in white yarn:
*[] means work within a single stitch.
Rnd 1: 4sc in MR (4)
Rnd 2: ([3sc], sc)x2 (8)
Rnd 3: (inc, sc)x4 (12)
Rnd 4: (inc, sc)x6 (18)
Rnd 5: 2sc, 4inc, 5sc, 4inc, 3sc (26), FO
Make invisible join.
With needle, black, and purple string, embroider Kaonashi’s mask. This is easier to do with a reference at hand.
For reference, we placed the eyes and mouth on the outsides of the face, between R4-R5.
Body
3.5mm in black yarn:
Rnd 1: 6sc in MR (6)
Rnd 2: 6inc (12)
Rnd 3: (sc, inc)x6 (18)
Rnd 4: (2sc, inc)x6 (24)
Rnd 5-14: 24sc (24)
Rnd 15: (inc, 5sc)x4 (28)
Rnd 16-30: 28sc (28)
With a darning needle, attach the mask to the body between R6-R14.
Rnd 31: (dec, 5sc)x4 (24)
Rnd 32: (2sc, dec)x6 (18)
Add stuffing to the body.
Rnd 33: (sc, dec)x6 (12)
Rnd 34: 6dec (6), FO
Close-up project with a darning needle.
Arms x2
3.5mm in black:
Rnd 1: 14ch
Rnd 2: in 2nd stitch, bubble stitch, then 12sc along the chain, fo
Knitting Accessory
2mm hook in red yarn:
Rnd 1: 7ch
Rnd 2: in 2nd chain sc, and then 5sc
Rnd 3-7: 1ch, 6sc
Rnd 8: 1ch, 6sc, FO
Cut a very long tail that is at least as tall as Kaonashi’s body. Then, with another piece of long red yarn, craft a little ball of yarn. Attach the round little ball to the hanging tail of the “knit” (knot or glue gun).
Assembly
Take steel wire and pass it through the body’s R18-19. Accommodate the wire in the position you want to give to the arms. With reference to the crochet arms, measure an appropriate length for both of them to fit in the wire. Cut the length with pliers.
Pass each of the arm’s inner stitches through the wire, this is supposed to hide the wire and give them shape. Proceed to sew the tails of the arms into the body with darning needle. If the ends are too long, hide them with pliers and secure with hot glue if necessary.
Measure and cut small pieces of wire to attach to both hands as needles, then simply pass through the knitting accessory as if Kaonashi was knitting.