The year was 2009. I was studying animation and decided to crochet some puppets for my senior stop-motion film. I knew absolutely nothing about crochet, but I was crafty, so how hard could it be?

One hour and $100 in supplies later, I still couldn't figure out how to keep the yarn on my hook. Turns out, I was missing a crucial step that somehow wasn't mentioned in any of the tutorials I found. Thankfully, I had a friend who knew how to crochet and was able to help me bring my puppets to life. (You can view my crochet stop motion here. Please forgive my terrible animation skills.) 

Once I finally learned how to crochet, I went hard. And The Pudgy Rabbit started as a way to share all the amigurumi I was making each week.

I started doing markets and meeting so many lovely people who also enjoyed crochet. But I kept hearing the same thing: they wanted to learn how to crochet, but had no idea where to start. The yarn aisle alone was overwhelming. There were just so many options.

So I developed my crochet kits with one thing in mind: making it possible for a true beginner to pick up a kit, start from the beginning, finish the project, and actually learn how to crochet along the way.

Over the years, I've listened to your feedback and continued tweaking the kits, improving the yarn, adjusting the amigurumi patterns, and most importantly, adding video tutorials.

People often ask me, "Why get a crochet kit? Couldn't I just buy my own yarn and supplies and find a tutorial online?" That's what I thought, too. But having everything together and some guided direction really does make a difference.

And that's where our tutorials come in. It's what sets our kits apart from the others. They walk you through each step from beginning to end, so you don't have to be like me and spend an hour staring at your yarn while it repeatedly falls off the hook and wondering what you're doing wrong.

One of my favorite parts of doing this is seeing all the amigurumi you make, especially the little touches you add to make them your own.

So endless thanks to everyone who's ever enjoyed my patterns, shared their thoughts, and supported me along the way. Here's to lots more yarn, crochet, and learning a new craft!

-Vanessa