Pattern by Fil Mignon Crochet

Meet Boris before he was the fully grown beaver that he is. He will go on to be one of the most hard-working beaver in the forest, shaping it into a very cozy place to call home, but for now, he is small and very cute!

Pattern notes

This pattern uses US terminology.

When attaching pieces (legs and arms) don’t go through the sl st. Go over it and into the st the sl st is made in.

This pattern is crocheted in continuous rounds (do not join the yarn after each round).

Be careful with rounds 26 to 31. When adding a lot of increases rapidly, stitches can become harder to see, so be sure to count after the round!

Amigurumi tips

Magic ring

Video

The magic ring is how you start most amigurumi pieces. It can be hard to master, but some trial and error will get you there! I will show you how to make it, but instead of making a magic ring, you can do a chain of 2 and make the stitches you would make in the magic ring in the second chain from the hook. It will work, but might leave a little bit of a gap.

Here are the instructions (note: I am right-handed, if you are left-handed, you might want to change the steps a little bit):

1. Wrap the yarn end around your fingers 2 times two
2. Put your hook under the first two loops, grab the third one and make it pass under the first two
3. Chain 1

When making your making your first round, go over both loops of the ring.

loops around fingers, hook under 2 loops, after chain 1

Now, here’s how to close the ring after your first round:

1. Pull on the loop that seems connected to the loose strand of yarn (this will close the ring)
2. Pull on the loose stand of yarn (this will get rid of the loop that was created)

Finally, you can cut the excess yarn tail, leaving an inch or two. Personally, I like to crochet over it in round 2 of my pieces to make the ring extra secure, but it is optional.

Single crochet variation

Video

You might notice that my amigurumi projects have a certain look. The single crochets look more like “x” than “v”. This has to do with the single crochet variation I use; it is very simple. 

1. Put the hook through the stitch
2. Yarn under, pull through the stitch
3. Yarn over pull through the stitch

The only difference is in step 2 where we yarn under instead of yarn over. I prefer this method even with chenille yarn, in my opinion, it gives more texture and definition to your amigurumi project and is a very small change to make!

Using yarn as a stitch marker

Video

When making an amigurumi project, always taking out and putting in the stitch marker can be frustrating; it breaks to pace. For that reason, I like to use a piece of yarn a couple of weights down from the yarn I am using (if I am using chenille yarn, I’ll use a worsted weight yarn, for example).

After the desired round, pull the strand of yarn through the last stitch of the previous round, then, from now on, before making your last stitch, pass the yarn over it and crochet over it. When you are finished, simply pull the strand out and rearrange the stitches a little bit if there are some gaps.

Bobble stitch

Video

This pattern uses the bobble stitch, this stitch is used a lot in no-sew patterns. It can be a bit tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it!

1. Yarn over, insert the hook through the stitch, yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops on the hook)
2. Repeat the first step 4 more times (6 loops on the hook)
3. Yarn over, pull through all the loops
4. Continue your round normally and after you finish the round, push out the stitch to make sure the stitch is a bump and not a hole

Let’s crochet!

Arms

Start with the brown yarn.

R1: 6 sc in MR. (6)

R2: (2 sc, inc) x 2. (8)

R3-R7: 8 sc. (8)

Switch to the white yarn.

R8: 8 sc. (8)

Switch to the blue yarn.

R9: 8 sc. (8)

Fasten off with a slip stitch.

Tail

Use the charcoal (or the black) yarn.

R1: 6 sc in MR. (6)

R2: 6 inc. (12)

R3: (sc, inc) x 6. (18)

R4-R10: 18 sc. (18)

R11: (sc, dec) x 6. (12)

Fold the piece in half and make single crochets across it, you will have 6 single crochets on top of it.

Fasten off with a chain.

(Optional) Snout

If you wish to make a more detailed snout and sew it on the head, here are the instructions to do so. If not, there is another way to make the snout later on with bobble stitch.

Start with the black yarn.

R1: 6 sc in MR. (6)

R2: 6 inc. (12)

The next rounds will be half off-white and half white. The teeth will be made using white. The color will be specified before the corresponding instructions.

R3-R5: (Off-white) 6 sc, (brown) 6 sc. (12)

R6: (Off-white) 2 sc, (white) 2 BO, (off-white) 2 sc, (brown) 6 sc. (12)

R7: (Off-white) 6 sc, (brown) 6 sc.  (12)

Fasten off with a slip stitch and leave a long tail for sewing.

Legs, body and head

Start with the brown yarn.

R1: 6 sc in MR. (6)

R2: 6 inc. (12)

R3: (5 sc, inc) x 2. (14)

R4-R8: 14 sc. (14)

For the first leg, fasten off with a slip stitch. For the second leg, continue with the body.

In the next round, we will be attaching the legs together. To do so, we need to make a chain, crochet into all the stitches of the first leg, crochet into the chains of the chain, crochet into all the stitches of the second leg and, finally, crochet into the chains of the chain. Here are the instructions written out:

ch 2.

R9: (In the first leg) 14 sc, (in the chain) 2 sc, (in the second leg) 14 sc, (in the other side of the chain) 2 sc. (32)

R10-R11: 32 sc. (32)

R12: (14 sc, dec) x 2. (30)

It is time to attack the tail; we will do so in the last 3 stitches of round 13 and the first 3 stitched of round 14. To do so, we will switch to the black yarn. Beginning in round 14, we will be crocheting the stripped shirt. After the first 3 stitches of round 14, switch to the white yarn and then alternate between blue and white until we change back to the brown yarn.

R13: (Brown) 27 sc, (black, start attaching the tail) 3 sc. (30)

R14: (Black, finish attaching the tail) 3 sc, (white) 27 sc. (30)

R15: 30 sc. (30)

R16: (3 sc, dec) x 6. (24)

R17-R18: 24 sc. (24)

R19: (2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)

In round 20, we will be attaching the arms, this is a lot like attaching the legs together, but without making a chain first. You want to place the arms on the sides of the body. I will write out the instructions I use, but these could differ a little bit, depending on your tension.

R20: (In the body) 5 sc, (in the first arm) 8 sc, (in the body) 5 sc, (in the second arm) 8 sc, (in the body) 4 sc.   (34)

If the arms are not aligned to your liking, you can change the first section we do in the body (add or remove some single crochets). The difference will have to be applied in the last section we did in the body (ex. if you added 2 sc in the first section, you need to make 2 sc less in the last section).

R21: (15 sc, dec) x 2. (32)

R22: (2 sc, dec) x 8. (24)

R23: (2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)

R24: (sc, dec) x 6. (12)

Switch to the brown yarn.

R25: 12 sc. (12)

R26: 24 sc. (24)

R27: (sc, inc) x 12. (36)

R28: (5 sc, inc) x 6. (42)

R29-R31: 42 sc. (42)

In round 32, we will make the no-sew snout (if you are making the sewed snout version, make round 32 like in rounds 29 to 31). The snout is one bobble stitch made with black yarn. Just like the arms, the position of the snout might differ in your case. If it does, you can adjust it the same way we adjusted the arms.

R32: (Brown) 28 sc, (black) BO, (brown) 13 sc. (42)

R33-R36: 42 sc. (42)

Add the eyes between round 33 and round 34. If the snout is sewed, add them 2 stitches away from it. If it is not, add them 8 stitches apart, centered around the nose.

R37: (5 sc, dec) x 6. (36)

In round 38, we will add the ears. I will give out specific instructions about where to make the bobble stitches, but you might need to adjust where you make them, depending on your tension. If you do so, I recommend doing my instructions, but to add some stitches before, make the last decrease of round 37 a couple of stitches before. This will be the new start of round 38.

R38: (4 sc, dec) x 2, 3 sc, BO, dec, (4 sc, dec) x 2, 3 sc, BO, dec. (30)

R39: (3 sc, dec) x 6. (24)

R40: (2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)

R41: (sc, dec) x 6. (12)

R42: 6 dec. (6)

Cut the yarn and close the opening by going through each front loop, going from the inside to the outside. Pull on the tail, to close. Be carful not to pull too hard, because this will result in a little spike forming.

Hide the remaining tail and cut the excess yarn.

Congratulations, you are done!

I hope you enjoyed crocheting this cute amigurumi! Don’t hesitate to share it on Instagram, I would love to see your renditions! If you have any questions, you can send me a message on Instagram.