Chubby Crochet Bunny Pattern (Free Amigurumi)

Why You’ll Love This Crochet Bunny

• Single crochet from start to finish. Add a magic ring and an invisible decrease and you have every technique the bunny needs.
• Ears with a lining. Each ear is two flat layers crocheted together, so it stands up on its own and the pink inside never curls.
• It sits by itself. A round of back-loop stitches gives the body a flat base, and the feet are set forward so the bunny stays upright on a shelf.
• A clean join at the neck. Head and body close on the same 18 stitches, which keeps the neck firm and the head straight.
• Good for gifts. In cotton it washes well and holds its shape, and it is quick enough to make one for Easter, a baby shower or a birthday.

Materials You’ll Need

• Worsted weight (4) cotton yarn in two colors: oatmeal cream for the bunny (about 180 yd / 165 m, two 50 g balls) and blush pink for the inner ears and the face (about 15 yd / 14 m).
• 3.5 mm (US E-4) crochet hook. This is smaller than the label suggests on purpose; see the hook size chart if your hook only shows one system.
• Two 9 mm black safety eyes with their washers.
• Polyester fiberfill, about 2 oz (60 g).
• Locking stitch markers, a yarn needle, scissors and a few pins.
• Pom-pom maker or a 1½ in (4 cm) strip of cardboard for the tail.

Cotton gives the crisp, defined stitches you see in the photos. A soft acrylic works too and makes a cuddlier toy, but the stitches look rounder. If your label only says “aran” or “10 ply”, the yarn weight guide shows which names match worsted.

Gauge, Size and Skill Level

• Skill level: Easy. You should be comfortable with single crochet in a spiral; the rest is explained below.
• Finished size: about 7½ in (19 cm) tall including the ears, and about 4 in (10 cm) wide at the feet.
• Gauge: 5 sc and 5½ rounds = 1 in (2.5 cm). Gauge is not critical for a toy, but the fabric must be tight enough that fiberfill does not show between the stitches. If you can see white through the fabric when you stretch it a little, go down half a hook size.

Abbreviations and Special Stitches

The pattern uses US terms. If you learned with UK terms, sc is a UK double crochet; the US/UK stitch converter and the full pattern terms list translate everything else.

• Magic ring (mr). Wrap the yarn around two fingers, insert the hook under the strands, pull up a loop and chain 1. Work the first round into the ring, then pull the tail to close the center completely.
• Invisible decrease (dec). Insert the hook in the front loop of the next stitch and the front loop of the stitch after it (three loops on the hook), yarn over and pull through both front loops, yarn over and pull through the two loops on the hook. It leaves no gap or bump on the outside.
• Back loop only (BLO). Insert the hook under the back loop of the stitch only. The unworked front loops form the ridge that turns the base and the soles into flat circles.

Pattern Notes

• The head, body, arms and feet are worked in a continuous spiral. Do not join the rounds; move the stitch marker up to the first stitch of every round.
• The ears are worked in joined rounds around a foundation chain, which makes the color change on the front layer clean.
• The number in parentheses at the end of each round is the stitch count for that round.
• Stuff firmly as you go. A bunny that looks full on the needle settles a little after a few days, so add one more pinch than you think you need.

How to Crochet a Bunny, Step by Step

This crochet bunny pattern is worked in pieces, in this order: head, body, arms, feet, ears, then the tail. Making the head first lets you place the eyes and embroider the face while the opening is still wide, which is much easier than doing it on a closed ball.

The head starts from a magic ring and grows by six stitches a round until it reaches 48 stitches. At Round 8 the increases stop, and the straight rounds that follow turn the flat circle into a bowl, as in the photo below. Ten straight rounds give the head its height, and the eyes go in before you start decreasing.

Once the eyes and nose are in, the decreases bring the head down to 18 stitches. Start stuffing at Round 21 and fill the head until it is firm and round, then leave the last round open: it is sewn to the body later.

The body also starts with a magic ring. Round 8 is worked in back loops only to turn the corner from base to sides, and the decreases at Rounds 14, 17, 20 and 22 narrow it gently into a pear shape. The arms and feet are small tubes: the arms close flat, the feet stay open and are sewn on stuffed. Each ear is two flat ovals worked around a chain, a pink-and-cream front and a plain cream back, joined with a round of single crochet.

Assembly and Finishing

Lay all the parts out before you sew anything. It is much easier to judge the ear and arm positions when you can see the whole bunny in front of you.

1. Head to body. Turn the body so the jog at the end of its rounds faces the back. Hold the head on top with the face forward, line up the two open rounds and whipstitch them together through both loops, one stitch to one stitch, with the long body tail. Push a little more stuffing into the neck just before you close it.
2. Ears. Pinch the bottom of each ear in half, pink side forward, and pin it on top of the head over Rounds 6 to 8, about 8 stitches apart, so each ear sits above an eye. Sew all the way around the pinched base so the ear cannot flop.
3. Arms. Pin the flat top of each arm to the sides of the body over Rounds 18 and 19, just under the head, angled slightly forward. Sew along the closed edge.
4. Feet. Pin the feet to the front of the body over Rounds 8 to 12 with the soles facing forward and about 5 stitches between them. Check that the bunny sits straight before you sew around the opening of each foot.
5. Tail. Tie the pom-pom to the center back over Rounds 9 and 10 with its long ties, then knot them inside the body and hide the ends.
6. Ends. Weave each tail through the stuffing and out the other side, pull gently and cut it close.

Tips for Success

• Keep a marker in the first stitch. In a spiral it is very easy to add or lose a stitch. Count at the end of every increase and decrease round.
• Hook the yarn the same way every time. Yarn over (not yarn under) on every single crochet gives the neat V stitches in the photos.
• Stuff in small pieces. Pull the fiberfill apart into small tufts and push them in one at a time. Large lumps leave dents you can see from outside.
• Keep the base flat. Press the bottom of the body on the table while stuffing, and put most of the fiberfill above Round 10.
• Use pins, not guesswork. Pin every piece before sewing, step back and adjust. Unpicking a sewn ear is the slowest part of any amigurumi.

Variations and Color Ideas

• A crochet Easter bunny. Make it in white with pale yellow or lilac inner ears and tie a ribbon bow at the neck.
• Classic brown bunny. Light brown body with cream inner ears and a cream pom-pom.
• Floppy ears. Sew the ears on the sides of the head instead of the top, and they will fall forward like a lop-eared rabbit.
• A softer toy. Work the same pattern in a smooth acrylic or a chenille yarn with the hook size the label recommends. The bunny grows a little and becomes very cuddly.
• A pair. One cream and one gray amigurumi bunny side by side make a lovely nursery shelf or a twin gift.

If this is your first bunny crochet pattern, try the cream and pink version first. The light color shows every stitch, so you can see exactly where you are.

Care Instructions and Safety

Spot clean with a damp cloth and a drop of mild soap, or hand wash in cool water, squeeze gently in a towel and let the bunny dry sitting upright. Do not tumble dry: heat can loosen the safety eyes.

For babies and children under 3, leave out the safety eyes and the pom-pom. Embroider the eyes with black yarn instead, and crochet a small ball for the tail. Check every seam with a firm pull before you give the toy.