Floppy neck in Amigurumi

 So I am scrolling through a crochet group on Facebook and I see this post about how to fix a floppy neck. The responses at the time were nearly 30 but in my opinion only 3 were the best advice. Well that is not entirely true, some were good only if it is going to be displayed as art and not a toy for a child.

Some info to consider (as seen in the pic) the original post had a finished body with a already sewn on head, loose stitches, loose stuffing, one arm sewn on and the head was floppy. 

Here are some of the responses:

1) slide wooden dowels or twisted pipe cleaners inside to hold a frame
2) a dowel running from the chest through the neck INTO the head halfway up
3) Wood dowel.
4) put a wooden dowel 
5) Try taking a needle to rearrange the stuffing in her neck
6)use a needle and put a stitch on each side of the neck
7) Stuff neck and use mattress stitch
8) Crochet a tube to insert into the neck
9) the foam part of a hair roller would work
10) Try attaching the other arm and see if that doesn't straighten it out, maybe the one arm has

it off kilter
11) remove her head and reattach it
12) please don't use a wood dowel or wire if this is for a child remove her head then crochet a

sausage shape and stuff firmly, your sausage should be the same size as the neck hole then

about the same size as the head in length, push the sausage half into the body and sew it in place

then push the other half inside the head and sew to the neck. This is much safer and if you use the

same colour as your skin will hide any gaps as well as keep the head upright without ever getting

floppy. Over time stuffing does compact but by using this method the stuffing has no-where to go

so stays stiff
13) sew another row round for support
14) I read some time ago about using foam curlers and that's a perfect fix the next time I make a

doll or bear, etc.
15) When you sew the head on leave a space then start pushing stuffing in between the neck and

body then finish sewing
16) Stuffing and more stuffing. I make a lot of toys and you need to put an extreme amount. You

can also add a crochet ring inside the neck , plastic Tube, wood dowel etc but I don’t usually have

to unless it's a ginormous head
17) I stuff the body and then stick Qtips in the stuffing, leaving approx two inches of the Qtip

sticking up out of the stuffing. Continue crocheting the neck and head, stuffing as you go.
18) A ruffled collar
19) I have found that if I start from the feet up (or butt up) and continue to the head without it being

a separate piece that needs to be sewn on the head doesn't flop around as much.
20) I would also suggest that you go down a full size hook to make stitches tighter
21) Tighter or smaller stitches might make her more steady (and as a bonus, less stuffing showing

through!)
22) Put the other arm on. See if that fixes it. If not try pipe cleaners or popsicles stick in the center

of the stuffing in the neck
23) Work a chopstick down from top of her head, thru neck, into body, in center of stuffing.
24) use dowel rods most of the time. You can also attach the head one row further down. Or sc

crochet a strip long enough to wrap around the neck then sew into place
25) When doing Amigurumi or any dolls a good rule of thumb is to use a hook size 2 mm smaller

that the recommended size for that yarn. I also, when making dolls, crochet a tube that I insert,

smaller than the neck size and at least 2" up into the head and 2" into the body that I stuff very tight.

It keeps the head from wobbling.
26) I had this problem when I made some rabbits that had thin necks. Someone suggested

crocheting a tube that fit into the neck but also went into the head and body a bit.
27) More stitches could help stabilize the neck
28) Tack it down tighter with more stitches
29) Sew it on straight

Okay first of all, did you laugh? I sure did!

Some of these responses cracked me up, made me shake my head and worst of all made me say wtheck!

Dowels: if it is going to be an art piece then fine, by all means go ahead but PLEASE do not put a wooden dowel or any other hard object in the neck if it is going to be given to a child. The last thing you want is to be responsible for a child inuring themselves on your toy.

Stuffing: Rearranging the stuffing may work but not in the long run because over time and with use the stuffing will condense and you'll have a floppy head again.

Firm, solid stuffing is preferred but remember not to over stuff to the point of seeing your stuffing through the stitches.

Foam rollers: I have actually used this method before and it can work well depending on the roller you use (nothing with hard plastic parts, just foam) but again I wouldn't recommend it if it is a toy that will be given to a child to play with. If you don't have any rollers and need a quick fix, you might consider cutting a small piece of a foam pool noodle.

I am thinking that #17 must make super tiny necks for Q-tips to be used but again I don't recommend adding hard object unless it is going to be a art piece.

Okay #10, 18, 22, 29 cracked me up!

I can't say that the mattress stitch won't work but I have never used it.

Sometimes doing a resew can be just the trick, maybe it was sewn too loosely or some stitches were missed.

#13, 6... I don't know what they thinking or how they think that might work.

#19... True

#20, 21... Critiquing her work

#8, 12, 25 and 26... Thank you for giving what I believe to be the best advice. A crochet tube the same size or just a stitch or two smaller does the trick every time and there is not cause to worry about injury to a child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So over all a 1/3 of the responses suggested putting a hard object in the neck! I hope those were art pieces and not toys for children.

Well, I know this piece was long but maybe it will help you in deciding how to fix a floppy neck.

Happy Crocheting!

"Subscribe" pop up is annoying...

 

I know this is not entirely crochet related, it's more of an overall websites issue, crochet and otherwise. "Subscribe" pop ups are all over the place, nearly every site you go to nowadays has one.  I get you want subscribers, I want them too. A website is nearly nothing without subscribers and audiences, I get it, I do. 

I have spent the day browsing around other crochet sites and even some other sites (just depends on how sidetracked I get).

The #1 aggravation is....

The pop up subscribe form!

I may want to subscribe after I see what you offer. 

I no sooner than get the page opened and the subscribe pops up and you can't view what is on the page till you make it go away. Most all the sites I went to today were new sites I had never been to before and that is how you greet someone? 

With a high pressure subscribe form before I can see what your page is about?

I am not impressed with that tactic. I mean you could at least wait till I am about to leave and throw it up there, I might actually be inclined to fill it out then, if I liked the content of your site.

I visited this one site where I made the pop up go away, viewed the content and thought "I just might want to get their newsletter" but guess what, it is not available anywhere on their site other than the pop up.  They obviously didn't think that one through very well.

When I decided to do a newsletter I actually thought about doing a pop up but I couldn't figure out how to do it without it being the first thing you see, so I opted out of that. Last thing I want to do is annoy my potential customers and audience. 

Maybe that is why they are all at the beginning of your visit, maybe they can't find how to move it just like me. 

If you are planning to add a subscribe pop up, you might want to think twice about when to present it and make sure there is an alternate way to subscribe later in their visit.