Crochet Penguin DIY Kit - Crochet Kit From Aliexpress?!

 I know that winter is almost over but I couldn't help myself and bought a €5 crochet kit from Aliexpress to make a penguin amigurumi. I see those cute guys a lot on my social media profiles and wanted to make one but when I saw that there were crochet kits for this specific amigurumi available on Aliexpress, I decided that it would be perfect opportunity to test it out.

Whenever I see them, they remind me of another company that sells crochet kits for much, much more than €5. You know, the one that starts with a W. I'm not sure why and if it's a direct rip off, as I haven't had an opportunity to try the W-company crochet kit yet, but with current crochet kit market full of different quality products, I'm hesitant to say that it is indeed a rip off.

I made an unboxing video for my YouTube channel, where I go over the contents of this penguin crochet kit, as well as finished work.

I have to say that I enjoyed making this little guy and crochet kit itself surprised me in a very positive way. If I'm not mistaken, company that makes these is called Handicrafts. I saw that they have multiple kits available on Aliexpress for very little money. Pattern was written well, using US crochet terms and they also offer video tutorials for complete beginners that are available on their YouTube channel.

This fact alone - that they offer the video tutorials - makes them stand out from the other crochet kits that I already unboxinged on my YouTube channel.

Yarn included in this penguin crochet kit is a cotton blend. The blue yarn is not as soft as white and yellow, at least at the beginning. It's also not as soft as milk cotton blend but it wasn't bad to work with. I like the way it turned out in finished project.

My only criticism when it comes to contents of this kit is the fact that safety eyes didn't come with back pieces to secure them in place. I used back pieces that I had at home already but I would skip the safety eyes if I didn't have them. I'm afraid that just putting them in between stitches would lead to them falling out. 

Aside from that, I would definitely recommend this crochet kit for beginners. Or more advanced crocheters, if you want to make something small and cute. Maybe try out making amigurumi for the first time. For less than €5 you get a nice booklet with the pattern and all materials needed to make this amigurumi. I know that listings say that it is on 'sale' but I've never seen it go for its 'regular' price.

I'm really positively surprised with quality of this kit. I know that the fact that it comes from China might be concerning for some, but to be honest, most of crochet kits available on the market are sourced from there due to lower production costs. So if you're looking for affordable crochet kit suitable for all levels of crochet skills, this is a good option.

And with a nice pattern booklet, I'm definitely going to make more crochet penguins in the future! 😁