Now that the Mini Kitty Amigurumi Crochet Along has come to an end, I thought I’d compile all three parts of the pattern into one post. Thank you to everyone that joined in on the CAL! It was so exciting to see all of the cute little Kitty Amigurumi photos shared in the Facebook Group!
This Mini Kitty Amigurumi is worked from the bottom up. The legs, body, and head are made as one piece and then the arms and ears are sewn on at the end.
When finished, your Mini Kitty Amigurumi will measure approximately 6.5 inches tall!
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This pattern is featured in week 4 of the September Makes Blog Hop! From Sept. 25 – Oct 2, you can download this PDF pattern for free from my Ravelry shop! Here’s how:
- Step 1: Head to the Blog Hop post here (or click the Blog Hop button below) to get the coupon code for week 4 of the September Makes Blog Hop.
- Step 2: Come back here and click the “Download free PDF” button further down in this pattern post to head to the pattern on Ravelry. Add it to your cart and enter the coupon code at checkout to get it for free!
- Step 3: Click the button below to head back to this week’s pattern roundup and grab any (or all) of the FREE PDF downloads this week using the same coupon code!
Materials
- Worsted weight yarn – I used a mixture of Red Heart Soft and Caron Simply Soft. You will need a main kitty color (I used off white for one and grey for the other), an accent color for the feet/arms/dress/skirt, and a light pink for the nose/mouth (or any color you’d like!). As an option, I used another accent color for the belt and bow. I found all of my yarn for this project at Michaels!
- Safety eyes – I used 9mm size safety eyes. If you’d like the option of crocheting the eyes rather than using safety eyes, here’s a great tutorial!
- Crochet hook – I used a 3.5mm crochet hook. If you prefer to use a different size for amigurumi projects, feel free to use it! You just might end up with a slightly larger or smaller kitty. I always use (and love) my Clover Amour hooks!
- Black crochet or embroidery thread – for stitching on the eyelashes (optional)
- Stuffing – Any fiber stuffing will work for stuffing your mini kitty amigurumi
- Yarn needle – bent yarn needles work great for sewing amigurumi pieces together!
Stitches Used
- Ch – chain
- Sl St – slip stitch
- SC – single crochet
- HDC – half double crochet
- DC – double crochet
- SC INC – single crochet increase – two single crochet stitches worked into one stitch. SC INC Video Tutorial HERE.
- INV DEC – invisible single crochet decrease – insert hook into front loop of next stitch, then insert your hook into the front loop of the following stitch (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 remining loops on hook. INV DEC Video Tutorial HERE
Important Notes:
- Magic Circle – Make a circle with your yarn, insert crochet hook into circle and draw up a loop. Use this loop to start your first chain 1 of the pattern. Check out this magic circle video tutorial on my YouTube Channel.
- Continuous Rounds – This pattern is worked in continuous rounds without joining. After you finish the stitches of one round, start right on the next without joining between. I find it handy to use a stitch marker (or a piece of yarn) to mark the start of each round so you know when each round starts/ends.
- Color Changes – change colors at the end of the round in the last stitch of the round. Complete last single crochet of the round until the last yarn over. Yarn over with new color and pull through last step of the single crochet. So your single crochet will go like this: insert hook into last stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over with new color, pull through both loops on hook. Optional – To make your color changes even less noticeable, make your first stitch of the next round a slip stitch instead of a single crochet.
- Stuff as you go – Add stuffing to the legs, body and head as you work it up. Make sure you are finished stuffing the legs and the body section before your decreases make the opening too narrow when starting the head. Also, be sure to add a generous amount of stuffing to the neck area before you move on to the head. This will help keep the head secure and prevent it from wobbling.
- Finished size – When you’re done, your Mini Kitty Amigurumi will measure about 6.5 inches tall.
The Pattern
LEGS (make 2)
*Stuff the legs as you go. Make sure that you firmly stuff the legs and body sections, but not so firmly that you can see the stuffing through the stitches.
Round 1: In accent color, magic circle, chain 1, 6 SC into ring. (6)
Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around. (12)
Rounds 3-4: SC in each stitch around (12)
Change to main kitty color (see notes on working color changes above)
Rounds 5-9: SC in each stitch around (12)
Add one extra SC stitch to the first leg and then fasten off and cut yarn (leaving a tail). This extra stitch will help keep your color change more in between the legs and less visible. Follow the instructions above again to work up the second leg.
Stuff the legs about ¾ of the way up (leaving space at the top of the leg so that when you start working the body, the stuffing isn’t getting caught in your stitches).
When you finish working up the second leg, do not fasten off. Instead, add an extra SC stitch to the second leg (just like you did on the first leg) and then continue to the body instructions below to join the legs and work up the body.
BODY
Round 1: Joining the legs. On the second leg, chain 2, and then join the legs with a SC in the next stitch on the first leg (after where you fastened off). Continue to SC in each stitch around the first leg. When you are around to the chain stitches, SC in each of the 2 chains and then continue to SC in each of the stitches on the second. Lastly, SC in each of the 2 chain stitches again (this will be on the other side of the chain). You’ll have made a total of 28 SC stitches this round. This is the end of round 1 of the body and you’ll start round 2 from here (use a stitch marker to keep track of where your rounds start and end, if needed). See the photo below for help with joining the legs.
Note – When joining the legs, if you are having trouble working the SC stitches into both sides of the chain 2, I find it helpful to keep my chain flat and insert my hook into each of the chain stitches from the bottom of the chain. This helps make sure that I am crocheting in one side of the chain in the first part of the round, and then crocheting in the other side of the chain in the last part of the round, without twisting the chain.
I made a quick video tutorial to help you with the steps below for joining legs in amigurumi projects. The only difference in the video is that there are no chain stitches between the legs, otherwise the steps will be the same. You can find the video tutorial on this page or on YouTube HERE! (It would also be super awesome if you subscribed to my channel while you’re there! 😊)
Rounds 2-3: SC in each stitch around (28)
Change to accent color
Round 4: SC in each stitch around (28)
Round 5: Work this round in the back loops only. BLO SC in each stitch around (28)
Rounds 6-8: SC in each stitch around. (28)
Round 9: INV DEC, SC in next 5 stitches, repeat around. (24)
*Reminder to continue stuffing the body as you go, making sure you add enough stuffing to the legs/body before you get to the head.
Rounds 10-12: SC in each stitch around (24)
Round 13: INV DEC, SC in next 2 stitches, repeat around (18)
Round 14: SC in each stitch around (18)
Round 15: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (12)
Round 16: SC in each stitch around (12)
Change to main kitty color.
Now you are ready to start working up the head, but first you have a little choice to make! Depending on your preference, you might like to add a round of SC in your main kitty color before you start increasing for the head. This would create a bit of a neck. If not, you can move right on to the head instructions here and work the increases.
In the white kitty above, I added one round of SC in white before I went to adding the increases for the head. This created a bit of a neck separation between the body and head. In the grey kitty, I went right to the increases and did not create a neck. I couldn’t decide which option I liked better, so I thought I’d put both options in this pattern so you could decide which look you like best. If you’d like your kitty to have the neck, just add one round of SC in each stitch around in the main kitty color before you move onto the round 1 of the head below.
HEAD
*Start stuffing the neck and head area after you have added the eyes and sewn on the facial features. This is so the stuffing isn’t in the way when you are adding these features on. After the facial features are finished, make sure the neck is firmly stuffed and continue stuffing as you go until you get to the top of the head.
In main kitty color
Round 1: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)
Round 2: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)
Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)
Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 4, repeat around (36)
Rounds 5-12: SC in each stitch around (36)
*Insert safety eyes between rounds 9 and 10, about 7 stitches apart. If you’d like your kitty to have eyelashes, first place your safety eyes where you’d like them to be, but don’t secure them yet. Next, remove the eyes and use your yarn needle to stitch on the eyelashes. This will create a hole to help you see where you want the eyelashes to go. Then insert the eyes again and secure the back. Below, I’ve included a photo to help with this step.
It’s also easier to stitch on the nose and mouth at this point. Place the nose one or two rows down from the bottom of the eyes. I used my yarn needle to pass the pink yarn around the 4 stitches in the middle between the eyes. I passed the yarn through the same stitches 3-4 times, but you can do it as many times as you like depending on how big of a nose you’d like. When you are happy with the nose, continue using your yarn and needle to make a larger stitch straight down 2-3 rows from the middle of the nose. Then make a diagonal stitch on each side to create the mouth. Use the photo below to help you with making the nose and mouth.
Round 13: INV DEC, SC in next 4 stitches, repeat around (30)
Round 14: INV DEC, SC in next 3 stitches, repeat around (24)
Round 15: INV DEC, SC in next 2 stitches, repeat around (18)
Round 16: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (12)
*Make sure you have added enough stuffing to the head by this point.
Round 17: INV DEC around (6)
Fasten off and sew top of head closed. Weave in ends and then cut your yarn.
EARS (make 2)
Round 1: In main kitty color, magic circle, chain 1, 4 SC into ring. (4)
Round 2: 2 SC first stitch, SC in next stitch, repeat (6)
Round 3: 2 SC first stitch, SC in next stitch, repeat (9)
Rounds 4-5: SC in each stitch around (9)
Fasten off leaving a tail to sew onto head.
Sew ears onto kitty’s head. I lined the top of the ear up in the 3rd round from the top of the head. The bottom of the ear lines up with the 6th round from the top (a couple of rounds up from where you placed the eyes. Sew in and out of each stitch on the ear, passing in and out of the head each time. Weave in ends, cut yarn ends.
SKIRT
The skirt is worked in joined rounds, not continuous rounds like the rest of the pattern. This means you will join the last stitch to the first with a slip stitch, chain 2 and then continue with the next round.
Round 1: Make a slip knot with your accent color. With the legs facing you, and the head facing away, join the slip knot through one of the front loop stitches on the back of round 5 of the body. You will be able to see the front loops because they are where you made the round of back loop stitches. Chain 2, HDC in same stitch and in each stitch around. Join to top of first HDC with a Sl St. Chain 2. (28)
Round 2: 2 HDC in each stitch around. Join, ch 2. (56)
Round 3: 2 HDC in each stitch around. Join to first stitch. (112) Fasten off, weave in ends and cut yarn.
ARMS – make 2
*Lightly stuff the bottom half of the arms, or if you’d prefer, leave them unstuffed.
In main kitty color
Round 1: Magic circle, ch 1, 6 SC into ring (6)
Round 2: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (9)
Round 3: SC in each stitch around (9)
Change to accent color
Rounds 4-12: SC in each stitch around (9)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.
Sew the top of each arm closed by passing your yarn needle through each stitch at the top of the arm. Make sure you are working through both layers of stitches.
Sew the arms onto the sides of the body, lined up in the first round at the top of the body. This will be where your last round of the accent color is before the head starts. To keep the color changes less noticeable on the arms, try to line up the color change side of the arms between the inner arm and the body. Weave in ends, cut yarn.
Next, you can make the belt and bow to sew on, if you’d like your kitty to have those.
BELT
Make a chain long enough to fit around the middle of the your kitty. Fasten off and use your yarn needle to sew it on right above the ridge where the skirt is attached. I started at the back and then just added stitches in a few places around the kitty to keep the belt in place. Weave in ends and cut yarn.
BOW
To make the bow, follow the instructions below. I also have a photo tutorial and video tutorial on my blog for making the bows that you can find HERE. Note that the only difference is that the bow on my blog starts with a chain 3 and treble crochet stitches whereas the one in this pattern is made in the same way with only a chain 2 and double crochet stitches.
Bow Instructions: Magic circle, chain 2. Work 3 double crochet stitches into the ring, chain 2 and make a slip stitch to the center of the ring. Chain 2 again, make 3 double crochet stitches into the ring again, chain 2, slip stitch to center ring again. Pull the magic circle tight. Wrap the yarn ends around the middle of the bow a few times. I wrapped one of the yarn tails around one way and then went the opposite way with the other yarn tail. Use your yarn tails to make a knot at the back of the bow. Weave one of the yarn tails in and cut yarn. The other tail will be used to sew the bow onto the kitty’s head.
You are now all finished your Mini Kitty Amigurumi! I really hope you enjoyed making this pattern!
Remember to share your finished Mini Kitties in the Facebook Group or on Instagram (tag @loopsandlovecrochet and #loopsandlovecrochet so I see it)!
If you’re looking for other fun kitty cat themed crochet patterns, check out the Kitty Lovey , Cat Purse, or the Cute Kitty Beanies. Both are free patterns on the blog!
*You may make and sell any items made from my patterns, but please link back to my blog or Loops & Love Crochet as the designer. Please do not copy this pattern or photos and share as your own, in part or in whole. Instead, link back to the Loops and Love Crochet blog (especially when selling items you make from my patterns). Thank you!