Free Pattern
Step-by-Step
Crochet
AmigurumiA little crochet elephant amigurumi worth collecting
A small elephant amigurumi built from single crochet rounds — arms, legs, and a one-piece body and head
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 1.75 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
Pattern highlights
- Start the arm with a magic ring of six single crochet and build outward through the increase rounds.
- Finish the arm's twenty rounds, then make a second identical arm before moving on.
- Make two legs with the same magic-ring start, working back loop only at rounds five and six, through all twenty rounds.
- Begin the body and head with its own magic ring, letting the increases widen it round by round.
- round thirteen, crochet the legs directly into the body round, or set them aside to sew on later.
- Continue through all twenty-three rounds of the body and head without a break for shaping.
- Insert the safety eyes before the head closes, then stuff and finish the opening.
- Attach the arms, and the legs if not already joined, to the finished, stuffed body.
About This Pattern
An elephant finds its way into most amigurumi shelves eventually. It sits between the practical toys and the slightly sentimental ones, small enough for a pocket, round enough to look friendly from any angle. I keep adding animals to my own collection for exactly this reason. This one earns its place with a plain, honest build.
What comes off the hook is a compact elephant, built from three parts: a pair of arms, a pair of legs, and a combined body and head. The body and head run as one continuous piece across twenty-three rounds, so there is no seam at the neck. Paired with ten millimeter safety eyes, the finished shape reads as elephant well before any ears are implied.
Worth knowing
I like a pattern that keeps its part count honest. This one asks for arms, legs, and a combined body and head, so joining the pieces stays simple and clear. The satisfaction is in the back loop only rounds on the arms and legs, a small textural shift that breaks up the plain single crochet. Watching the standard increase sequence carry the body straight into the head, round after round, without a seam, is the kind of quiet engineering I notice in a pattern. It is not flashy. It is just well put together, and that is enough reason to pick up the hook.
Common mistakes
- Loose magic ring at round Pull the tail snug before working round two so no gap shows at the center of the arm, leg, or body.
- Working both loops instead of back loop only Check rounds four and five on the arm, and rounds five and six on the leg, since missing the back loop only step erases the ridge detail.
- Losing count through the increase rounds Count stitches at the end of each round and compare against the number given before moving on.
- Attaching safety eyes after stuffing Place and secure the eyes while the head is still flat enough to reach the backing washer from inside.
- Uneven decrease spacing near the final rounds Mark each decrease point with a stitch marker so the dec stitches land evenly around the round.
Intermediate
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The kit
Yarn
- YarnArt jeans (you can use the colour you like).
Crochet hook size
- 1.75 mm.
Tools
- Safety eyes size: 10 mm.
- Sewing needle of any size (better to use the small one).
Arms
Round 1MR 6 sc
Round 26 inc (12)
Round 3(1 sc, inc)*6 (18)
Rounds 4–5BLO 18 sc
Rounds 6–818 sc
Round 9(1 sc, dec)*6 (12)
Rounds 10–1912 sc
Round 20(2 sc, dec)*3 (9)
If you sew the arms, fold in a half and crochet together with 4 sc. Leave a long tail for sewing.
If you crochet the arms to the body, then leave them like those.
Legs
Round 1MR 6 sc
Round 26 inc (12)
Round 3(1 sc, inc) *6 (18)
Round 4(2 sc, inc)*6 (24)
Rounds 5–6BLO 24 sc
Rounds 7–824 sc
Round 9(2 sc, dec)*6 (18)
Rounds 10–1418 sc
Round 15(1 sc, dec)*6 (12)
Rounds 16–2012 sc
If you sew the legs, fold in a half and crochet together with 6 sc. Leave a long tail for sewing.
If you crochet the legs to the body, then leave them like those.
Body and head
Round 1MR 6 sc
Round 26 inc (12)
Round 3(1sc,inc)*6 (18)
Round 4(2sc,inc)*6 (24)
Round 5(3sc,inc)*6 (30)
Round 6(4sc,inc)*6 (36)
Round 736 sc
Round 8(5sc,inc)*6 (42)
Round 9(6sc,inc)*6 (48)
Round 10(7sc,inc)*6 (54)
Round 1154 sc
Round 12(8sc,inc)*6 (60)
Here I crochet the legs to the body.
Round 1312 sc 6 sc with a leg, 24 sc, 6 sc with a leg, 12 sc.
Rounds 14–2060 sc
Round 2118 sc, (6sc,dec)*3, 18 sc (57)
Round 2218 sc, (5sc,dec)*3, 18 sc (54)
Round 2354 sc
Finishing
- Weave in the magic ring tail on the arms, legs, and the body and head once each piece is complete.
- Insert the ten millimeter safety eyes into the head before the final rounds close the opening.
- Stuff the body and head firmly, close the last round, then attach the arms and legs, if not already crocheted in at round thirteen, to the body.
Why it works
Both the arm, the leg, and the body and head open with six single crochet into a magic ring, then move through the standard inc, (1 sc, inc), (2 sc, inc) sequence, so the shaping rate is identical at the start of each piece.
The arm's rounds four and five, and the leg's rounds five and six, work back loop only, which leaves the front loops free and creates a visible ridge separating the smooth lower rounds from the rest of the limb.
The body and head is listed as a single part worked across twenty-three rounds rather than two pieces joined later, so the increases that widen the body carry straight into the head shaping without a seam. The legs are crocheted directly into round thirteen of the body, or sewn on afterward if made separately.
What it becomes
- A shelf piece alongside other small amigurumi animals, where its compact size keeps the lineup tidy.
- A handmade gift for a child who already has a stuffed animal collection growing.
- A desk companion for anyone who likes a small, soft object near a keyboard.
Original pattern: https://onrecip.com/little-crochet-elephant-amigurumi-free-pattern/
FAQ
Can I use a different yarn instead of YarnArt Jeans?
Any yarn of a similar weight should hold the stitch definition this pattern needs. Jeans-type yarns give a dense, smooth fabric, so a comparable cotton-acrylic blend works well.
Why such a small hook size for this pattern?
A 1.75 mm hook with a jeans-weight yarn keeps the stitches tight enough that stuffing will not peek through. It also helps the small increase rounds hold their shape.
Is this pattern suitable for a beginner?
The stitch work itself is simple single crochet and increases, but the back loop only rounds and the single long piece for body and head ask for some confidence. I would call it intermediate rather than first-project territory.
Do the safety eyes need to be exactly 10 mm?
That is the size given in the materials, and it suits the proportions of this particular head. A different size would still work but would shift how the face reads.