Three potted cacti, each wearing its own colorful little sombrero, make a fun fiesta-style shelf trio. It is a complete amigurumi crochet kit for beginners: you crochet the pieces, stuff them and stitch them together into a little keepsake you made yourself.
Cacti store water in their thick stems and can go weeks without a drink, which is why they became the go-to desk plant; a crocheted one needs no water at all. Amigurumi, from the Japanese words for crocheted (ami) and stuffed doll (nuigurumi), is the craft of crocheting small stuffed figures in the round.
Why this kit: a little plant that never needs watering; each pot is worked separately, so you can finish them one at a time or give them away individually; and practice yarn, a step-by-step brochure and video tutorials, so a first-time crocheter can keep up.
Kit includes: green, grey, brown, orange, yellow, pink and red yarn, practice yarn, a crochet hook, a yarn needle, stitch markers, fiberfill, a basic brochure and crocheting instructions, in a gift box. Video tutorials are available to follow along. Not included: scissors.
Start with the video tutorials and practice the basic stitches on the practice yarn, then follow the pattern one piece at a time: crochet each part in rounds, mark the start of every round with a stitch marker, stuff it with fiberfill and sew the parts together with the yarn needle. The finished pieces are decorations for adults and teens, not toys for young children, as small parts can be a choking hazard.
Finished size: about 4.9-5.7 in (12.5-14.5 cm) tall. It is a natural fit for a desk, a bookshelf or a sunny windowsill, and makes a thoughtful gift for a plant lover who keeps forgetting to water.
