Behind the craft: how a Nyra Atelier crochet piece is made

Every handmade crochet piece at Nyra Atelier is made in Porto by Sónia Bizarro, the founder of the atelier, one at a time and entirely by hand, with cotton yarn, a hook and many hours of stitches. This is how a piece goes from yarn to finished object, using The Nyra Bunny Family, our signature crochet collection, as the example.

It starts with the yarn

Our crochet pieces are worked in high-quality cotton yarn and filled with soft polyester fibre. Cotton gives crisp, even stitches with a soft matte surface, so the texture of the work stays visible.

Stripes, such as Luna’s grey and cream or Rosa’s pink and beige, are crocheted in as the piece grows, row by row.

Handmade crochet, stitch by stitch

Like most amigurumi, a bunny is shaped part by part: the head, the body, the arms and legs and, for five of the six, the long ears. A single piece can take 15 to 20 hours of work.

Because every stitch is made by hand, the tension changes a little from one piece to the next. That is why no two are exactly alike, and why each one ends up with a personality of its own: a slightly different tilt of the head, a softer curve to an ear.

A face embroidered by hand

The sleepy eyes and the little nose are embroidered by hand in thread. There are no glued-on or plastic parts: the whole face is thread and yarn, which gives our pieces their calm expression.

The finishing: outfits and details

Most of the bunnies have an outfit or accessory of their own, crocheted separately so that it comes off and goes back on. Mia has a navy blue dress with a ruffled hem and a bow headband. Theo has light blue overalls with crossed straps, a neck bow and ruffled socks. Celeste wears a sky blue dress and Sol a yellow one, and Luna has a grey flower headband. Rosa is crocheted in pink and beige stripes and finished with a pink bow.

Decorative, not a toy

Our crochet pieces are designed as decorative collectibles, not toys (14+). They are made to be displayed and kept: on a shelf, in a bedroom or a reading corner, or given to someone who collects handmade things. For ideas, read how to style handmade crochet pieces at home.

To care for them, spot clean with a damp cloth and mild soap, do not tumble dry, and reshape gently while they dry flat.

The Nyra Bunny Family

Our signature crochet collection is a family of six siblings, each with a name and a look of their own: Mia, Theo, Celeste, Sol, Luna and Rosa. Mia, the petite one, is about 28.5 cm (11.2 in) tall; her five siblings are about 37 cm (14.6 in), ears included. All six are in the shop.

The same hands also knot our macramé, such as Suspenso Terra. See all our crochet and amigurumi, or meet the family →