This Asian-owned small business specializes in squeeworthy amigurumi (the Japanese art of making small stuffed animals from yarn) kits and provides tutorials for every step of the process on their site, so even total novices won’t feel lost. The kit comes with yarn, stuffing, plastic eyes, an already-started piece of crochet material, a stitch marker, a needle, a PDF pattern download, a carrying bag, and an optional crochet hook if you don’t already have one. You can even access extra support over email any time!
After writing about this awesome biz many times, I was finally influenced to try them for myself — which is a huge vote of confidence for anyone who knows me, considering I am very lazy, not particularly artistically inclined, and my “hobbies” primarily rhyme with Schmetflix. However, I have now made four Woobles and purchased several more! The videos are suuuuper detailed so like they promise, anyone can learn to crochet with them. Once you get the hang of it, it’s so soothing and hard to stop, and it becomes — get this — a great thing to do with your hands while watching said Schmetflix! And of course, the finished products are so, so cute and great to keep for yourself or give as gifts. I made the rainbow version of this dino for my boyfriend and it honestly might be the cutest one I’ve ever made. The spikes and arms were really fun to do, too!
Promising review: “Fred was the first thing I ever crocheted. I decided to give Woobles a try after my daughter made several Woobles animals. It was very easy to get started and the videos were very easy to follow. I’m so happy with Fred and plan on making him a tiny birthday hat and gifting him to my 3-year-old for his birthday.” —Tiffany Z.
Shipping info: Orders ship within a few business days and standard shipping is free on orders over $45.
Get it from The Woobles for $25+ (available with or without a crochet hook). Find more animals here.
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/katyherman/best-gifts-under-50-2023