Lolita Amigurumi Strawberry Gingham Wrist Cuffs Tutorial

I love strawberries and wanted a fun weekend project to add an accessory to my summer coords, so I made these cute gingham wrist cuffs. They are simple to make and incorporate sewing and crochet into one project. Once you get the hang of making the amigurumi strawberries and flowers, you can add them to socks, lace gloves, berets, or kawaii decor for your home. Here's how to make them...

The Strawberries and Wristcuffs are both available as PDFs.

You’ll need:

• Cotton lace / broderie anglaise: 2.5cm wide x 44cm, 5cm wide x 44cm, 7.5cm wide x 44cm
• Gingham ribbon 3cm wide x 60cm
• Satin ribbon 1.5cm wide x 44cm
• Crochet Cotton in red, green, white and yellow – I used Anchor Pearl Cotton 8, which comes in 10g balls and you can usually get about 10 strawberries from each one.
• 1.75mm Crochet Hook
• A little cotton stuffing
• Elastic 0.8cm wide x 30cm
• Needle and thread
• Candle (for sealing the ribbon ends)

The Wrist Cuffs (make two)

Step 1

Cut the lace in half (22cm) and place as follows: the 5cm lace on top of the 7.5cm lace, and then the smaller lace upside down on top, about 1cm in from the edge. Sew together down the length.

Step 2

Cut the satin ribbon in half (22cm) and place on the outer side of the cuff, over your last stitch line, and sew the edges to make a tunnel for the elastic to go through.

Step 3

Cut the elastic in half (15cm). Use an elastic hook or needle to lead the elastic through the tunnel that you just made. Secure the ends so that it doesn't fall out (optional: if you have a serger you can use this on the ends, or you can use a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine, to stop it from fraying). Right sides facing, sew the ends of the cuff together, with a 1cm seam allowance. 

Step 4

Turn right side out.

The Bows (make two)

Step 1

Cut the gingham ribbon into 6 pieces: 2 x 17cm, 2 x 11cm and 2 x 3cm. 

Step 2

Fold one 16cm length ribbon in half and sew the edges together (overlapping the edges about 1cm to form a loop.

(I hadn't taken a photo of this, so I've shown it here with different ribbon)

Step 3

Flatten the loop with the stitch line on the back centre and place on top of the 11cm ribbon about halfway down, matching centres. Sew down the centre where the ribbons touch.

Step 4

Fold the 3cm ribbon edges to the middle (you can sew this if you find it tricky to handle) and wrap around the other piece, sew edges together. To get a perfect bow, you can fold the top one in half, and then fold it backwards in a concertina way. I've attempted to show this here with a different ribbon as I realised it was a bit confusing.

Step 5

Optional: Seal the raw edges of the ribbon with the candle. Be very careful! Light the candle, and then hold the ribbon edges close to BUT NOT TOUCHING the flame. The edges should melt together. As soon as it does, take it away from the candle. Blow the candle out, and NEVER leave a candle unattended.

Strawberries (make 4)

I'm assuming you know the basics of crochet and amigurumi, but if not, head over to Instructables where they have a great beginners guide. Pattern is written in US terms, because although I'm from the UK, I learned the US way which is the most common online.

Abbreviations:

• CH = chain
• SL = slip stitch
• SC = single crochet
• HDC = half double crochet
• DC = double crochet
• SC2 = 2 single crochet increase
• SC2tog = 2 single crochet decrease
• st/s = stitch/es
• rep = repeat

Strawberry (make 4)With red crochet cotton,

R1:  6 SC into magic ring (6 sts)
R2: *1 SC in st, 2 SC in next st* rep to end (9 sts)
R3: *2 SC in st, SC in next 2 sts* rep to end (12 sts)
R4: SC in next 2 sts, *2 SC in st, SC in next 3 sts* x 2, 2 SC in st, SC in next st (15 sts)
R5: *2 SC in st, SC in next 4 sts* rep to end (18 sts)
R6: SC in next 3 sts, *2 SC in st, SC in next 5 sts* x 2, 2 SC in st, SC in next 2 sts (21 sts)
R7: *2 SC in st, SC in next 6 sts* rep to end (24 sts)
R8: SC in next 4 sts, *2 SC in st, SC in next 7 sts* x 2, 2 SC in st, SC in next 3 sts (27 sts)
R9: *2 SC in st, SC in next 8 sts* rep to end (30 sts)
R10: SC to end (30 sts)
R11: SC to end (30 sts)
R12: SC to end (30 sts)
R13: SC in next 2 sts, SC2tog, *SC in next 3 sts, SC2 tog* x 5, SC in next st (24 sts)
R14: *SC2tog, SC in next 2 sts* rep to end (18 sts)
R15: *SC  in next st, SC2tog* rep to end (12 sts)(stuff the berry with a little cotton stuffing)
R16: *SC2tog* rep to end (6 sts), SL in next st, fasten off, weave in ends

Top of Strawberry (make 4)
With green crochet cotton,R1: 6 SC into magic ringR2: SC in next st, *CH 5, SC in next st* rep to end, SL in next st, fasten off, weave in ends
Sew to the top of the strawberry.

Stems (make 4)With green crochet cotton,
CH 7, turn
SL to end, fasten off, weave in ends

Leaves (make 4)With green crochet cotton,CH 6, turnSC to end, turn (5 sts)1 HDC in next st, 2 HDC in next st, SC in next 2 st, SL in last stAt the top CH 2, SL into same spaceCrochet opposite side: SL in next space, SC in next 2 sts, 2 HDC in next st, 1 HDC in next stSL in base of leaf, fasten off and knot tail, weave in one end

Flowers (make 4)

With yellow crochet cotton,

R1:  10 SC into magic ring (10 sts)
Change to white crochet cotton,
R2:  CH 2, 1 DC in same st, 1 SC in same st, SL in next st, *2 DC in next st, 1 SC in same st, 1 SL in next st* x 4, SL in next st (beginning chain), fasten off, weave in white end.

ConstructionUsing the white crochet thread, embroider dots onto the strawberry by sewing over some of your crochet stitches.

Sew the leaves to the top of each stem. On one stem, weave in the ends of the leaf and cut. With the second stem, attach leaf and use the tail to sew to the other leaf. In the centre of both leaves, the cotton thread around the middle a few times. Weave in and cut the thread.

Attach the strawberries to each stem, weave the thread down through the centre of the strawberry and cut. 

Sew the flower to the centre of the leaves, where they join to the stem.

Sew the gingham bows onto the wrist cuffs (on the opposite side from the seam), then sew the completed strawberries on top, with the flower part in the centre of the bow.

You're done! I'd love to see your finished project. If you have any trouble following these instructions, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to help you.

I'm also available for commissions if you'd rather shop than sew! Follow my DIY Pinterest Board for more lolita patterns.

Regarding the inconsistency in the photos and lack of them in places – I hadn't planned to write this into a tutorial at the time so I apologise for this. If I have time, I will go back and take more photos to explain some of the points more clearly. Please let me know if there are any shots in particular that you would like to see.