The Cuddly Caterpillar - A Free Amigurumi Crochet Pattern

Oh how sweet Spring is! All the flowers blooming, sun shining, and my daughters finding bugs in the garden! Yes, you read that right. 

They love to find a bowl, fill it with grass and leaves, and start hunting. Looking for potato bugs, caterpillars, lady bugs and worms to name a few. 

The hardest part? Telling them they can't keep them or bring them in the house.... so I have made them one they can keep.

In case you were wondering, yes they do pretend to feed her real leaves! In fact, they have found that they can have her hold her own leaf by sticking the stem into the bottom of her arm (gotta love the imagination of 3 and 5-year-olds).

If you have a little one who is fascinated with bugs and insects they will love this cuddly caterpillar too! The body is worked as one piece and the arms are made for fast and easy sewing, making this a perfect pattern for beginners. 

This is also a great way to use up left over yarn as each segment only requires a small amount!

If you are new to amigurumi be sure to check out my tips and materials page to help get you started!

Want to accessorize your caterpillar? It would be so cute with a bow for a girl (like the one used on Holly the Honey Bear) or a bow tie for a boy (like this one used on the Berry Patch Bunny!). You can easily adapt this pattern for a boy by switching up the colors and excluding the eyelashes!

This pattern uses my favorite alternative for plastic safety eyes, I used the 12 mm size to have a nice pop! Since she was a 'cuddly' caterpillar I really wanted the eyes to sparkle with that reflection! 

If you would prefer to use a plastic safety eye it would still look equally cute!

If you have any questions along the way or want to share your project with us, join the Grace and Yarn Crochet Group on Facebook! I'll also keep you updated on new patterns, giveaways and tutorials!

You may make and sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell, share or reproduce the actual pattern. If you sell finished items online (Etsy, etc) please provide a link to the pattern and credit to me as the designer, thank you. I hope you enjoy this pattern! 

The Cuddly Caterpillar measures about 14 inches from top to bottom! 

This is a free pattern here on my blog, if you would prefer an ad-free printable version you can purchase one for a small fee from Ravelry or Etsy. 

Don't forget to PIN this pattern and save to your favorite board!

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Materials:

• Size 4 worsted weight yarn in your choice of colors 
• 25g for each of the 4 segments 
• Small amount for: 
• Antennae 
• Arms 
• Cheeks 
• 3.5 mm and 2.25 mm crochet hooks 
• Black and white crochet thread for eyes and mouth 
• Scissors 
• Tapestry/Sewing needle
• Stuffing (Poly-Fil and Morning Glory are my top favorites!)
• Stitch markers (optional)

US Abbreviations: 

SC- Single crochet
SC INC- Single crochet increase
INV DEC- Invisible decrease
HDC- Half double crochet
Sl st- Slip stitch
Rpt- Repeat

*Slowly stuff as you go, you want it to be firm but not stretched. You will be working in the round, I like using a stitch marker at the beginning of each round.

Let's get crocheting! Using 3.5 mm hook throughout (eyes are made with 2.25 mm)

Body- 

The body is worked from the bottom up and is one continuous piece.

Round 1: Create a magic circle with 6 SC

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

Round 3: SC in the first stitch, SC INC in the next, rpt around (18)

Round 4: SC in the first 2 stitches, SC INC in the next, rpt around (24)

Round 5: SC in the first 3 stitches, SC INC in the next, rpt around (30)

Round 6: SC in the first 4 stitches, SC INC in the next, rpt around (36)

Round 7: SC in the first 5 stitches, SC INC in the next, rpt around (42)

Round 8: SC in the first 6 stitches, SC INC in the next, rpt around (48)

Rounds 9-16: SC around (48)

Round 17: SC in the first 6 stitches, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (42)

Round 18: SC in the first 5 stitches, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (36)

Round 19: SC in the first 4 stitches, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (30)

Round 20: SC in the first 3 stitches, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (24)

Round 21: SC in the first 2 stitches, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (18)

Rounds 22-75: Repeat rounds 4-21 three times (to have a total of 4 segments)

Round 76: SC in the first stitch, INV DEC in the next, rpt around (12)

Round 77: INV DEC around (6)

Fasten off and sew remaining part closed, weave in your end

Arms- 

Make 6

*Either leave unstuffed or stuff only the very bottom, this will allow arms to have more movement*

Round 1: Create a magic circle with 6 SC

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

Rounds 3-4: SC around (12)

Round 5: SC in the first stitch, INV DEC, rpt around (8)

Rounds 6-15: SC around (8)

At the end of round 15 pinch the arm flat and make 4 SC across the top to close, fasten off and leave a long tail to sew onto the body.

Antennae- 

Make 2

Round 1: Create a magic circle with 6 SC

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

Round 3: SC in the first 3, SC INC in the next, rpt around (15)

Rounds 4-6: SC around (15)

Round 7: SC in the first stitch, INV DEC, rpt around (10)

Rounds 8-12: SC around (10)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing and fill lightly with stuffing

Cheeks – 

Make 2

Make a magic circle with 6 SC, join with a slip stitch and fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing

Eyes –

 Make 2

With 2.25 mm crochet hook and black crochet thread

Round 1: Create a magic circle with 8 HDC, join with a sl st to the first HDC, ch 1 (8)

Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch, join with a sl st to the first SC (16)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing, with white thread pass your needle through a stitch once or twice to create reflection

Assembling everything together-

•  Sew each antenna on starting at the 3rd round and ending at the 6th 
•  Next, sew the arms angled in on each side making sure they are centered with the antennae (to keep them even I sewed each one on between the 5th and 8th round of each segment) 
• Lastly, using the pictures below sew on the eyes and cheeks. Using your crochet thread embroider a smile by passing your thread through in either a ‘U’ or ‘V’ shape 

Your Cuddly Caterpillar is complete! I hope you have enjoyed making this pattern. 

Let me know if you have any questions with this pattern or any of my other patterns, I would be happy to help!

Thank you for stopping by, 

Stephanie