Amigurumi proportion and safety eye calculator

Designing your own amigurumi? This planner splits a total height into head, body and legs for a chosen style, gives the rounds and widest stitch counts for each part at your gauge, and suggests a safety eye size, the rounds to place the eyes on and how far apart. It also reminds you when safety eyes are not suitable.

How to use the planner

1. Choose the proportions: chibi, kawaii or classic doll.
2. Enter the total height and your stitch and round gauge.
3. Tick the box if the toy is for a child under 3 or a pet.

How the planner works

The height is split by the style's head : body : legs ratio: 1 : 0.8 : 0.7 for chibi, 1 : 1 : 0.7 for kawaii and 1 : 1.5 : 1.8 for a classic doll.

Head height = total height ÷ (sum of the ratios)

The head is assumed round, so its widest round is the circumference in stitches, rounded to a multiple of 6 for the usual 6 increases a round:

Head widest round = π × head height × stitch gauge

The body starts at ¾ of the head's width and the legs at ⅜. The eyes go 55 to 62% of the way down the head, about 16% of the head's stitches apart, and are about 14% of the head height across, rounded to a standard safety eye size.

Reading your results

• Head height: with its rounds and widest round.
• Safety eye size: the nearest standard size.
• Eyes on round: the rounds to place them on, counted from the top, and the stitches between them.
• Parts table: height, rounds and widest round for the head, body and legs.

Worked example

An 8 in chibi toy at 5 stitches and 5 rounds per inch (20 per 4 in):

• Head: 8 ÷ 2.5 = 3.2 in, 16 rounds. Widest round: π × 3.2 × 5 = 50.3, rounded to 48 stitches.
• Body: 2.56 in, 13 rounds, widest 36 stitches. Legs: 2.24 in, 11 rounds, widest 18 stitches.
• Eyes: about 14% of 3.2 in is 11.4 mm, so 12 mm eyes, on rounds 9 to 10, 8 stitches apart.

Safety

Plastic safety eyes can be pulled or chewed off and are a choking hazard. Do not use them for children under 3 or for pets: embroider the eyes with yarn instead. Even for older children, eyes can loosen in loose stitches, so check them. Toy safety standards, such as ASTM F963 in the US and EN 71 in Europe, apply to toys you sell.

Accuracy and limits

• The arithmetic is exact and covered by our automated tests, but the ratios and percentages are design starting points for a cute look, not rules.
• The head is treated as a ball; a long or flat head needs its own shaping.
• Adjust any part to your design, and recheck the stitch counts with the amigurumi sphere calculator.

Common mistakes

1. Placing the eyes too high. Eyes slightly below the middle of the head look cuter; count rounds down from the top.
2. Fitting eyes after stuffing. Safety eye backs must go on before you close and stuff the head.
3. Eyes too far apart. Wide-set eyes change the expression; start with the suggested spacing and pin them before fixing.

Tips for more accurate results

• Try the eyes in place with pins, or push them in without backs, before fixing them.
• For a bigger or smaller version of an existing toy, the amigurumi size calculator scales everything at once.

Frequently asked questions