Elephant Lovey – Free Crochet Pattern

Crochet loveys are perfect gifts for little ones, or as a baby shower gift for a mom-to-be. This elephant lovey is a super fun and cute crochet project that can be personalized with different colors, and by adding eyelashes or a bow, depending on who you are making it for.

Introducing Ellie the Elephant Lovey! Our Kitty and Puppy Loveys needed a new friend to play with! Which animal should be next?

For this Elephant Lovey pattern, the amigurumi and blanket parts will be worked up separately and sewn together at the end. I change hook size for the two parts, so watch out for that in the pattern. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy making this Elephant Lovey!

If you are interested in other animal loveys, be sure to check out the Puppy Lovey and Kitty Lovey patterns on the blog too!

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The Elephant Lovey crochet pattern is available for FREE on this website. If you’d like an ad-free, printable PDF version, you may purchase it for a small fee from my Etsy or Ravelry shops. Thank you so much for supporting Loops & Love Crochet!

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Materials:

• Worsted-weight (#4) yarn – You can use any worsted-weight yarn for this project. The elephant lovey shown in this pattern was made with WeCrochet/Knit Picks Brava Worsted yarn in Dove Heather (~170yds), Cornflower (~50 yds), and White (~8yds).
• Crochet Hooks – 3.5mm for the amigurumi parts (head, trunk, ears, arms) and 5mm for the blanket. I always use and love my Clover Amour hooks!
• Safety Eyes – 10 mm size
  • As an alternative to safety eyes, here is a great tutorial for making crochet eyes.
• Stuffing – any fiber-based stuffing
• Yarn needle for sewing pieces together and weaving in ends. Bent yarn needles are my favorite for sewing amigurumi parts together.

Stitches Used:

• Sl St – Slip Stitch
• MC – magic circle
• SC – single crochet
• DC – double crochet
• Cluster V-stitch – Make 2 double crochet stitches, chain 1, and make 2 more double crochet stitches – all in the same stitch.
• 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.
• Continuous Rounds – The amigurumi parts of this pattern (elephant head, trunk, ears, arms) are worked in continuous rounds. Do not join at the end of each round. Use a stitch marker to help you keep track of the rounds, if needed.
• Joined Rounds – The blanket part of this pattern is worked in joined rounds. At the end of each round, you will be joining the last stitch of the round to the first stitch with a slip stitch.
• Starting Each Round – Start the first stitch of each round in the same stitch as the chain 2. Chain stitches do not count towards the stitch count of each round.
• Color Changes – change colors at the end of the round before joining. Complete the last stitch of the round as normal until the last yarn over. Yarn over with the new color and pull through the last step of the stitch you are making.  Then join with a slip stitch to the first stitch of the round.  Work your next stitches over the tail of the first color. Make sure it is secure before cutting it off.
• Finished Size – When complete, this elephant lovey is about 11 inches tall from the top of head to the bottom of blanket. When the blanket is laid flat, it is about 17 inches wide.

Elephant Lovey – The Pattern

For the amigurumi pieces of the elephant lovey, use your 3.5mm hook (head, ears, trunk, and arms).

Head

The head is worked from the bottom up. Remember to use your 3.5mm crochet hook for this part. 

Add stuffing as you go. Make sure you’ve added enough stuffing to the head before the opening gets too small when you’re working the decrease rounds.

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)

Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)

Round 5: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)

Round 6: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 4, repeat around (36)

Round 7: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 5, repeat around (42)

Round 8: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 6, repeat around (48)

Rounds 9-18: SC in each stitch around (48)

*Insert safety eyes between rounds 15 and 16, approximately 8 stitches apart. If you’d like to your elephant 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.

Round 19: INV DEC, SC in next 6 stitches, repeat around (42)

Round 20: INV DEC, SC in next 5 stitches, repeat around (36)

Round 21: INV DEC, SC in next 4 stitches, repeat around (30)

Round 22: INV DEC, SC in next 3 stitches, repeat around (24)

Round 23: INV DEC, SC in next 2 stitches, repeat around (18)

Round 24: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (12)

*Make sure you have added enough stuffing to the head.

Fasten off and sew top of head closed. Weave in ends and then cut your yarn.

Ears (make 2)

Round 1: In accent color, magic circle, ch 1, make 6 SC into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each st around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first st, SC in next st, repeat around. (18)

Round 4: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 2 sts, repeat around. (24)

Fasten off.  You can weave in the yarn tail now, or crochet over it in the next step to secure it. This circle will be the inner ear part.

Next, using the main color, repeat rounds 1-4. Do not fasten off on the second circle.

Place the first circle in the accent color on top of the second circle in the main color and line up the stitches. Pass your hook through a stitch on the top circle and grab the loop of yarn on the back

circle and pull it through to the front. Chain 1 and follow rounds 5-7 below, making sure to work through both layers. (See photos below – note that they are from another pattern, so the number of stitches and rounds are different, but the steps are the same).

Round 5: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 3 sts, repeat around. (30)

Round 6: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 4 sts, repeat around. (36)

Round 7: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 5 sts, repeat around. (42)

Fasten off. Leave a long tail to sew the ear onto the elephant’s head.  Repeat rounds 1-7 again for the second ear. 

Next, add some shape to the ears by pinching a fold in the top of each ear and using your yarn needle and yarn tail to sew the fold together about a quarter to a third of the way into the ear. 

Trunk

Stuff the trunk as you go. Make sure you stuff it firmly to keep its shape, but not so firm that you can see the stuffing through the stitches.

Round 1: In main color, magic circle, chain 1, make 6 SC into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 5 sts (7)

Round 3: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 6 sts (8)

Round 4: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 7 sts (9)

Round 5: SC in each stitch around (9)

Round 6: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 8 sts (10)

Round 7: SC in each stitch around (10)

Round 8: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 9 sts (11)

Round 9: SC in each stitch around (11)

Round 10: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 10 sts (12)

Round 11: SC in each stitch around (12)

Round 12: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 11 sts (13)

Round 13: SC in each stitch around (13)

Round 14: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 12 sts (14)

Round 15: SC in each stitch around (14)

Round 16: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 13 sts. (15)

Round 17: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 14 sts (16)

Round 18: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 15 sts (17)

Round 19: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 16 sts (18)

Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing.

Make sure the trunk is stuffed well enough. The trunk should have a little bit of a natural curl in it due to how the increases were worked.

Next, we will add some stitches to give the trunk a little more of an upwards curve at the end. Using your yarn needle, run the yarn tail under a few of the stitches on the top of the trunk. When you pull the yarn tighter, it will raise the end of the trunk creating more of a curve upwards. Now you can run your needle back underneath stitches nearby and then travel back up again to strengthen the curve you created. When you are happy with the curve in the trunk, secure it by weaving in the yarn tail.

Arms (make 2)

*Stuff the arms as you go. Firmly stuff the bottom of the arms, but gently stuff the rest of the way up, depending on how firm you’d like the arms to be.

Round 1: In accent color, magic circle, chain 1, make 6 SC into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each st around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first st, SC in next st, repeat around. (18)

Round 4: 2 SC in first st, SC in next 2 sts, repeat around. (24)

Change to main color.

Rounds 5-7: SC in each stitch around (24)

Round 8: INV DEC, SC in next 2 sts, repeat around (18)

Round 9: SC in each stitch around (18)

Round 10: INV DEC, SC in next st, repeat around (12)

Rounds 11-22: SC in each stitch around (12)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Use your yarn needle to sew the top of each arm closed.

You have now completed making the amigurumi parts for the elephant lovey. Next, continue below for working up the blanket part of the pattern. At the end of the pattern, there are instructions for attaching the head, ears, trunk, and then assembling the lovey.

Elephant Lovey Blanket

Use your 5mm hook for making the lovey blanket.

For the blanket part of the lovey pictured, three colors were used. You can choose the striping pattern and number of colors based on your preference. The blanket shown alternates 2 rounds of the main color (grey) and then one round of each accent color (turquoise and white). To make the lovey blanket as pictured, color A is grey, B is white, and C is turquoise.

*You can easily change the length of the lovey blanket depending on the yarn you are using, your size preference, or how you want the color pattern to look. If you want a shorter lovey blanket, just fasten off at the end of whatever round you’d like. If you want to make it longer, you can continue the stitch pattern to add extra rounds after round 11. Just continue increasing the number of DC stitches as shown in the previous rounds of the pattern.

Round 1: In color A, magic circle, ch 2, 12 DC in circle. Join to first DC. (12 DC)

Round 2: Ch 2, cluster V-stitch in first stitch, skip a stitch, cluster V-stitch in next stitch, repeat around. Join with a sl st to first stitch. (6 Cluster V-stitches)

Round 3: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first stitch, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next stitch, *skip a stitch, DC in next stitch, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next stitch. Repeat from * around. Change to color B. Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 12 DC stitches)

The cluster V-stitches will form the points of the star shaped blanket. If you are unsure of how to place your double crochet stitches around the V-stitches, here is a photo to help:

Round 4: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 2 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 2 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 2 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 2 stitches. Repeat from * around. Change to color C.  Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 24 DC stitches)

Round 5: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 3 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 3 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 3 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 3 stitches. Repeat from * around.  Change to color A. Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 36 DC stitches)

Round 6: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 4 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 4 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 4 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 4 stitches. Repeat from * around.  Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 48 DC stitches)

Round 7: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 5 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 5 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 5 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 5 stitches. Repeat from * around. Change to color B.  Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 60 DC stitches)

Round 8: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 6 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 6 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 6 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 6 stitches. Repeat from * around. Change to color C.  Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 72 DC stitches)

Round 9: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 7 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 7 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 7 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 7 stitches. Repeat from * around. Change to color A.  Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 84 DC stitches)

Round 10: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 8 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 8 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 8 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 8 stitches. Repeat from * around. Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 96 DC stitches)

Round 11: Sl st to next stitch, ch 2, DC in first 9 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 9 stitches, *skip a stitch, DC in next 9 stitches, cluster v-stitch (in v-stitch space from previous round), DC in next 9 stitches. Repeat from * around. Change to color B. Join to first stitch. (6 cluster v-stitches, 108 DC stitches)

Fasten off. Weave in all ends. Continue to instructions on assembling your lovey.

Putting it all together – Assembly Instructions

1) Sew the ears and trunk to the head

First, line up the ears where you’d like them on either side of the head. Make sure the eyes are centered. I lined up the ears about 2-3 rows above the eyes. Use your yarn needle and the yarn tails from the ears to sew the ears to the head. Weave in the ends and cut yarn.

2) Sew the trunk to the head:  

Make sure the trunk is stuffed all the way to the top. Line the trunk up on the head in the center, 1-2 rounds below the eyes. Use your yarn needle to sew the trunk to the head by working your way around each stitch along the last round of the trunk and then passing through a stitch on the elephant’s head.  Weave in end and cut yarn.

3) Sew the arms to the lovey blanket:

Start by laying the blanket flat, with the right side of the stitches facing up (the side that was facing you as you were crocheting). Pick where you’d like to be the front and center of the lovey. Next, sew the arms to the blanket directly across from each other, one on each side of the center round of the blanket, leaving a little space to sew on the head in the middle.  Make sure to sew in and out of each stitch at the end of the arms, passing in and out of a stitch on the blanket with each stitch.  Keep an eye on the back of the blanket to make sure that the stitches aren’t showing up too much on the other side.

4) Sew the head to the lovey blanket

To attach the head, start by cutting a strand of yarn in the main color to use as your “thread.”  Place the head in the middle of the blanket and line it up so the elephant’s face is centered to where you’d like it to be.  Use your yarn needle to sew around the stitches of the bottom of the head, in the 2^nd or 3^rd round from the bottom, and passing in and out of the stitches in the middle round of the blanket. The tighter you sew the head and the more stitches you pass through in the second and third round, the less wobbly it will be. If you only sew around the very bottom round of the head, it’ll be quite wobbly. Secure your yarn tails, weave them in and cut your yarn.

That’s it! You’re all done making your Elephant Lovey! I hope you loved working up this pattern and how your lovey turned out!

If you liked making your elephant lovey, check out the many other patterns you can find on the blog right HERE!

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*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!