Amigurumi is  the  Japanese art  of knitting or crocheting small , stuffed yarn dolls . The word is a portmanteau of two Japanese terms: ami which means crocheted or knitted and nuigurumi a stuffed doll .  The art of Amigurumi has been known in Japan for several decades.  

Through the  Crocheted  Amigurumi  Art Project, a group of women in Damascus countryside managed to secure a source of income for them to improve their living conditions  by using these simple materials to knit  dolls of different shapes by hand.

According to the assistant director of the Amigurumi  project  Lillian Azar  the women of the project divided  in two groups :  the first  work at the center of  “Al-Hayat” project  in Jaramana in the countryside of Damascus where the manufacturing process is carried out ,  while the second  group of  women work at their houses .

She told SANA  that the beginning of  manufacturing Amigurumi  art designs   begins with drawing the required pattern on paper and studying the length and width of the piece and the number of stitches needed.

Azar underlined that  the team of the project carries  out  countless different designs  and it is not restricted to a specific model.

A number of participants in the project emphasized that work  provided  them with  an opportunity to  support their  income. According to Tyadora  Boutros , working makes her  feel happy especially when knitting dolls, noting that Amiguruimi  needs focus, creativity and innovation of new artistic designs. Whereas Bayan Al-Homsi indicated that such work saves her from negative energy.

In turn, trainer Fidaa  Ammar said  that  “ Al-Hayat”  center carries out  free training courses  to teach this art, indicating that  under the title “ the child can make his own doll” there are special training courses to teach children   the principles of crochet , which is an entertainment activity for them in addition to vocational training for adults so that they can make and market  dolls  as a source of income.

For her part, Dr. Batoul Mohammed, Director of  “Al-Hayat” Center, pointed out that the center has adopted such activities  to hold training courses and provide assistance to women , noting that  crocheted Amiguruimi art designs witness a remarkable turn-out in  markets and bazaars of handicrafts as  they are  presented as gifts. 

Rawaa Ghanam