Intermediate
What the pattern's own author called it. Nothing here is graded again.
Amigurumi 37 Laid out for paper No account, no download
Crochet koala amigurumi with a cinched booty shape
A 19-round koala amigurumi: color-changed belly panel, cinched booty shape, 6.0mm hook.
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Yarn weight
- Chenille
- Hook
- 6.0 mm
- Rounds
- 37
Chenille
What the sample was worked in. Any weight works; the size moves with it.
37
Each one is typed out whole and gets its own line.
A 19-round koala amigurumi: color-changed belly panel, cinched booty shape, 6.0mm hook.
Common mistakes and their fixes
- Using safety eyes smaller than specified
- Stick to the 18-20mm size the pattern calls for; smaller eyes change the proportions of the face and lose the intended expression.
- Pulling the booty cinch too fast
- Pull the needle and yarn through slowly and evenly during the booty shaping step, checking the round shape as you go instead of yanking it tight in one motion.
The materials list
- Grey, white and pink chenille yarn
- Black yarn (for the nose)
- Fluffy white yarn
- 6.0mm hook (or any size you are comfortable using)
- Safety eyes (18-20mm)
- Stuffing
- Darning needle
- Scissors
- Stitch markers
Listed by the pattern's own author, in their words.
Key to this pattern, 10 short forms
Head / Body
Start with grey yarn. Stitches that are in bold have to be in white yarn.
Round 1
8 sc in MR (8)
Round 2
8 inc (16)
Round 3
(sc, inc) * 8 (24)
Round 4
(2 sc, inc) * 8 (32)
Round 5
(3 sc, inc) * 8 (40)
Rounds 6–8
(3 rounds): 40 sc (40)
Round 9
16 sc, 7 sc , 17 sc (40)
Rounds 10–13
(4 rounds): 15 sc, 9 sc , 16 sc (40)Add safety eyes between R6-7 approximately 4-5 visible sts apart from each other.
Round 14
(4 sc, inc) * 2, 5 sc, sc in the same st, 4 sc, inc, 5 sc , sc in the same st, (4 sc, inc) * 3 (48)
Round 15
(5 sc, inc) *2, 5 sc, inc, 5 sc, inc, 6 sc , sc in the same st, (5 sc, inc) * 3 (56)
Rounds 16–21
(6 rounds): 19 sc, 16 sc , 21 sc (56)
Round 22
(5 sc, dec) * 2, 5 sc, dec, (5 sc, dec) * 2 , (5 sc, dec) * 3 (48)
Round 23
17 sc, 13 sc , 18 sc (48)
Round 24
(4sc, dec) * 3, (4 sc, dec) * 2 , (4 sc, dec) * 3 (40)
Round 25
16 sc, 8 sc , 16 sc (40)Cut white yarn. Continue with the main color. Start stuffing and continue as you go.
Round 26
(3 sc, dec) * 8 (32)
Round 27
(2 sc, dec) * 8 (24)
Round 28
(sc, dec) * 8 (16)
Round 29
8 dec (8)Close the hole and FO. Leave a long tail to make the booty later.
Nose
In black. Chain 4. Start in the second stitch from the hook.
Round 1
2 sc, 3 sc in the last st of the row. Continue on the other side of the row. 2 sc, inc in the last st (8)
Round 2
8 sc (8)
FO. Leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff lightly. Sew the nose between R4-5 and R9-10, the smallest part on top.
Arms (make 2)
In grey.
Round 1
5 sc in MR (5)
Round 2
5 sc (5)
Round 3
(inc, sc) * 2, inc (8)
Rounds 4–6
(3 rounds): 8 sc (8)
Round 7
(inc, sc) * 2. End your round here. FO and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff lightly. Sew between R12-13 and R17-18 approximately 4-5 sts away from the eyes. The last sts you did on R7 must be oriented outwards.
Ears (make 2)
With grey yarn
Round 1
3 sc in MR, ch 1 and turn (3)
Round 2
3 inc, ch 1 and turn (6)
Round 3
(sc, inc) * 3, ch 1 and turn (9)
Round 4
(2 sc, inc) * 3, ch 1 and turn (12)
Round 5
(3 sc, inc) * 3, ch 1 and turn (15)
Round 6
9 sc, (3 dc in the same st, slst) * 3 (21)Make 6 sc across the chain. FO and leave a long tail for sewing. Sew the top of the ear between R3-4, the middle on R7-8 and the bottom between R12-13. The two ears must be approximately 4 sts away from each other.
Feet
With grey yarn.
Round 1
6 sc in MR (6)
Round 2
(sc, inc) * 3 (9)
Round 3
in BLO, 9 sc (9)
Round 4
(2 sc, inc) * 3 (12)
Round 5
12 sc (12)FO and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly. Sew the feet between R20-21 and R25-26 approximately 5 sts away from each other.
Details
Add blush below the eyes with pink yarn.
Make a small loop with the color of your choice around his neck.
Sew white fluffy yarn in the hollow of the ears.
To make the booty, insert the yarn from the body with a needle into the center of the hole you closed and pull it out between R27-28. Then insert the yarn between R19-20 and pull it out again between R27-28. Pull tight to shape the booty and FO.
Check these before you start
- The pattern's 6.0mm hook size is a suggestion, not a requirement; work at a size that keeps your fabric dense enough to hold stuffing without gaps.
- Stuff the body a little at a time as you close in the booty cinching rounds, since even stuffing makes the pull-and-shape step easier to control.
On one line
| Rounds | 37 |
|---|---|
| Parts | 6 |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Time | 4-6 hours |
| Hook | 6.0 mm |
| Yarn | Chenille |
Set-up
- Confirm you have enough grey, white, and pink chenille yarn plus a separate length of fluffy white yarn for the ears before casting on.
- Read through the Head / Body rounds once to spot which stitches are marked in bold, since those are the white belly-panel stitches.
- Place a stitch marker at the start of round 1 and plan to move it up each round; the color changes make this section easy to lose count in otherwise.
- Set aside the 18-20mm safety eyes separately from any smaller eyes in your stash so you reach for the right size without checking twice.
Finishing
- Weave in all loose ends left behind by the grey-to-white color changes on the Head / Body before moving to assembly.
- Stuff the body firmly, then use the needle-and-yarn booty technique to cinch and round the bottom, pulling slowly and evenly.
- Sew the fluffy white yarn into the inner ears last, after the ears and nose are already attached, for a clean finish.
Construction
The Head / Body increases by 8 stitches per round through the early rows (8, 16, 24, 32), the standard spiral shaping that builds a rounded sphere before the color-change rounds begin.
The nose is worked flat rather than in the round: it starts with a chain of 4 and is built up one side and down the other, which produces the small oval shape that gets stuffed and sewn on separately.
Time per section
| Head / Body | about 2 to 3 hours, because the 19 rounds involve repeated color changes between grey and white |
|---|---|
| Arms, Ears, and Feet | about 1 to 1.5 hours, because each piece is small but made twice and needs careful shaping |
| Nose and finishing | about 30 to 45 minutes, because the flat nose shape and the fluffy ear yarn both require slow, deliberate sewing |
Photographs of this one
Every one was taken by whoever published the pattern, in the order the source listed them.
Common questions
These answers came from whoever first published the pattern, kept word for word.