I'm excited to show you how to make a crochet penguin with my Free Crochet Penguin Pattern. This snuggly penguin is perfect for those cold winter days!
Penguins are fascinating creatures, and I've always loved them. I think they are some of the coolest birds around (no pun intended).
Whenever I visit the zoo with my family, I can't help but gaze at them. One of my biggest dreams is to travel to Antarctica and meet penguins at the South Pole.
Did you know there's a cruise that goes to Antarctica? It’s wild! There's even a post office in Antarctica nicknamed the Penguin Post Office because so many penguins hang out outside of it. Truly a sight I hope to see one day.
But for the meantime, I’ll just make a crochet penguin to fill the void.
So, let's begin making this adorable amigurumi penguin!
Jump to:
✏️ Things to Note:
- Choose Your Yarn Wisely: While I used acrylic yarn for my crochet penguin pattern, you can use any type of yarn you prefer. Cotton and chunky yarn are excellent options, but keep in mind that chunky yarn will result in a larger penguin.
- Consider Yarn Weight: Selecting the right yarn weight will affect your penguin’s final size. If you want a snuggly penguin, stick with medium-weight yarn like acrylic or cotton.
- Know the Finished Size: This crochet penguin pattern will measure approximately 7 inches high when using a 5mm hook. Be sure to adjust your hook size accordingly if you use a different yarn weight to achieve your desired size.
🪡 Materials Needed
- Yarn colors: 1 skein of light blue (or grey, or black - this is the main color for the penguin so you can make it whatever color you want), small ball of white for the stomach, and a small ball of light to medium yellow acrylic yarn.
- Safety Eyes
- H hook (5mm)
- Tapestry needle for weaving in the ends and sewing pieces together
- Polyfill
💭 Abbreviations to Remember (US Terms)
- Magic ring (MR)
- Single crochet (sc)
- Increase (inc) - 2 stitches in the same stitch
- Chains (ch)
- Decrease (dec) - 1 stitch in 2 stitches
🧋 Variations
Use different colors for the penguin!
🍵 Instructions for Free Crochet Penguin Pattern
For this pattern, we will mostly be working in rounds.
Round 1: Using the light blue yarn (or whatever your main body color is), make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12)
Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (18)
Round 4: Inc, sc x2, inc, sc x2 and repeat until end of round (24)
Round 5: Inc, sc x3, inc, sc x3 and repeat until end of round (30)
Round 6: Inc, sc x4, inc, sc x4 and repeat until end of round (36)
Round 7: Inc, sc x5, inc, sc x5 and repeat until end of round (42)
Round 8: Inc, sc x6, inc, sc x6 and repeat until end of round (48)
Round 9: Inc, sc x7, inc, sc x7 and repeat until end of round (54)
Round 10: Inc, sc x8, inc, sc x8 and repeat until end of round (60)
Round 11: Sc in every stitch (60)
Round 12: Inc, sc x19, repeat for the rest of the round (63)
Round 13: Sc in every stitch (63)
Round 14: Inc, sc x20, repeat the rest of the round (66)
Round 15 -34: Sc in every stitch (66)
Round 35: Dec, sc x9, repeat for the entire round (60)
Round 36: Dec, sc x8, repeat for the entire round (54)
Round 37: Dec, sc x7, repeat for the entire round (48)
Round 38: Dec, sc x4, repeat for the entire round (40) [START TO STUFF THE BODY] Also place the safety eyes if you haven’t done so already.
Round 39: Dec, sc x3, repeat for the entire round (32)
Round 40: Dec, sc x2, repeat for the entire round (24)
Round 41: Dec, sc, repeat for the entire round (16)
Round 42: Dec, repeat for the entire round (8)
Slip stitch, fasten off and sew shut. I forgot to take a finished photo of this step, but it should almost look like a blue gumdrop candy at this stage.
Wings x2:
Round 1: Using the light blue yarn (or whatever your main body color is), make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12)
Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (18)
Round 4: Sc x18 (18)
Round 5: Inc, sc x8, inc, sc x8 (20)
Round 6: Sc x20 (20)
Round 7: Inc, sc x9, inc, sc x9 (22)
Round 8-12: Sc x22 (22). Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing arms to the body.
Feet x2:
For this part we will be working rows. Make sure to make this pattern twice because it will be single crochet together to give the feet more stability so they do not curl up. It also makes it have a cleaner finish.
Row 1: Using the yellow yarn, ch x7 + 1 turning chain (turning chains are just to help turn your work when you get to a new row, these do not count as stitches so do not crochet into them)
Row 2: In the second chain from the hook, make a sc. Do this for the rest of the row. (7). Ch 1 and turn.
Row 3-13: Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
Row 14: Now turn the piece on its side so the rows you just worked (which are normally horizontal) are vertical. You have the raw edge on the top, you are now going to work in the edge, you should be able to see small holes made by the turning chain. Each row you previously made is equal to 1 sc for the edge in these holes. So if there isn't any confusion, let's begin.
Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
Row 15-18: Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
After making 2 of these, line them up best you can and sc all around the edge. Do not stuff the feet otherwise your penguin may have a balancing issue.
Beak:
Round 1: Using the yellow yarn, make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12) Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing.
White belly:
Round 1: Using the white yarn, make a MR and make sc x8 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x8 in the second chain from the hook. (8)
Round 2: Inc in every sc. (16)
Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (24)
Round 4: Inc, sc x2, inc, sc x2 and repeat until end of round (32)
Round 5: Inc, sc x3, inc, sc x3 and repeat until end of round (40)
Round 6: Inc, sc x4, inc, sc x4 and repeat until end of round (48)
Round 7: Inc, sc x5, inc, sc x5 and repeat until end of round (56) Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing onto the penguin.
Sewing:
Sew the white belly to the penguin body first. This will help you with placement with the other pieces.
Stitch the wings on each side of the penguin by the white circle edge but not on the white.
Stitch the feet to the bottom of the penguin, making sure to have the feet poke out a little from underneath the penguin.
And finally add the beak to the top of the white belly by the penguins eyes.
And now you have a crochet penguin stuffed animal to love and cherish made from me free crochet penguin pattern!
🐌Expert Tips
- Choosing Yarn: Consider using cotton yarn for a smoother finish or acrylic yarn for more durability.
- Safety Eyes Placement: Place safety eyes before stuffing to visualize their positioning better.
- Stuffing: Use a small amount of stuffing at a time to avoid overstuffing and maintain the penguin's shape.
- Sewing Technique: Use a whip stitch to attach the pieces securely for a cleaner finish.
🧵 Pattern FAQs
I use sewing pins to help keep them in place!
Before I start decreasing my penguin body, I slightly stuff it to see the shape and then place my eyes, remove the stuffing, and secure them in place with their backings. Then I continue to decrease and restuff the body until it is sewn shut.
Use a small amount of stuffing at a time to avoid overstuffing. This will help maintain the penguin's shape and prevent it from becoming too firm.
🧶More Crochet Animal Patterns
If you tried this Free Crochet Penguin Pattern (or any other pattern on my website), please let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Free Crochet Penguin Pattern
Materials
- 1 skein light blue, grey or black yarn (for the main body)
- 1 small ball white yarn (for the stomach)
- 1 small ball light to medium yellow acrylic yarn (for the beak and feet)
- 5mm crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Polyfill
- Safety eyes
Abbreviations (US terms)
- mr = Magic ring
- sc = Single crochet
- inc = Increase
- ch = Chain
- dec = Decrease (1 stitch in 2 stitches)
Instructions
- Round 1: Using the light blue yarn (or whatever your main body color is), make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
- Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12)
- Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (18)
- Round 4: Inc, sc x2, inc, sc x2 and repeat until end of round (24)
- Round 5: Inc, sc x3, inc, sc x3 and repeat until end of round (30)
- Round 6: Inc, sc x4, inc, sc x4 and repeat until end of round (36)
- Round 7: Inc, sc x5, inc, sc x5 and repeat until end of round (42)
- Round 8: Inc, sc x6, inc, sc x6 and repeat until end of round (48)
- Round 9: Inc, sc x7, inc, sc x7 and repeat until end of round (54)
- Round 10: Inc, sc x8, inc, sc x8 and repeat until end of round (60)
- Round 11: Sc in every stitch (60)
- Round 12: Inc, sc x19, repeat for the rest of the round (63)
- Round 13: Sc in every stitch (63)
- Round 14: Inc, sc x20, repeat the rest of the round (66)
- Round 15 -34: Sc in every stitch (66)
- Round 35: Dec, sc x9, repeat for the entire round (60)
- Round 36: Dec, sc x8, repeat for the entire round (54)
- Round 37: Dec, sc x7, repeat for the entire round (48)
- Round 38: Dec, sc x4, repeat for the entire round (40) [START TO STUFF THE BODY] Also place the safety eyes if you haven’t done so already.
- Round 39: Dec, sc x3, repeat for the entire round (32)
- Round 40: Dec, sc x2, repeat for the entire round (24)
- Round 41: Dec, sc, repeat for the entire round (16)
- Round 42: Dec, repeat for the entire round (8)
- Slip stitch, fasten off and sew shut. I forgot to take a finished photo of this step, but it should almost look like a blue gumdrop candy at this stage.
Wings x2:
- Round 1: Using the light blue yarn (or whatever your main body color is), make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
- Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12)
- Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (18)
- Round 4: Sc x18 (18)
- Round 5: Inc, sc x8, inc, sc x8 (20)
- Round 6: Sc x20 (20)
- Round 7: Inc, sc x9, inc, sc x9 (22)
- Round 8-12: Sc x22 (22). Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing arms to the body.
Feet x2:
- For this part we will be working rows. Make sure to make this pattern twice because it will be single crochet together to give the feet more stability so they do not curl up. It also makes it have a cleaner finish.
- Row 1: Using the yellow yarn, ch x7 + 1 turning chain (turning chains are just to help turn your work when you get to a new row, these do not count as stitches so do not crochet into them)
- Row 2: In the second chain from the hook, make a sc. Do this for the rest of the row. (7). Ch 1 and turn.
- Row 3-13: Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
- Row 14: Now turn the piece on its side so the rows you just worked (which are normally horizontal) are vertical. You have the raw edge on the top, you are now going to work in the edge, you should be able to see small holes made by the turning chain. Each row you previously made is equal to 1 sc for the edge in these holes. So if there isn't any confusion, let's begin.
- Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
- Row 15-18: Sc x7 (7). Ch 1 and turn.
- After making 2 of these, line them up best you can and sc all around the edge. Do not stuff the feet otherwise your penguin may have a balancing issue.
Beak:
- Round 1: Using the yellow yarn, make a MR and make sc x6 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x6 in the second chain from the hook. (6)
- Round 2: Inc in every sc. (12) Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing.
White belly:
- Round 1: Using the white yarn, make a MR and make sc x8 in the circle. If you find it difficult making a magic ring you can chain 2 and then crochet sc x8 in the second chain from the hook. (8)
- Round 2: Inc in every sc. (16)
- Round 3: Inc, sc, inc, sc and repeat until end of round (24)
- Round 4: Inc, sc x2, inc, sc x2 and repeat until end of round (32)
- Round 5: Inc, sc x3, inc, sc x3 and repeat until end of round (40)
- Round 6: Inc, sc x4, inc, sc x4 and repeat until end of round (48)
- Round 7: Inc, sc x5, inc, sc x5 and repeat until end of round (56) Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing onto the penguin.
Sewing:
- Sew the white belly to the penguin body first. This will help you with placement with the other pieces.
- Stitch the wings on each side of the penguin by the white circle edge but not on the white.
- Stitch the feet to the bottom of the penguin, making sure to have the feet poke out a little from underneath the penguin.
- And finally add the beak to the top of the white belly by the penguins eyes.
- And now you have a crochet penguin stuffed animal to love and cherish made from me free crochet penguin pattern!
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