Adzuki the Chubby Red Panda Free Crochet Pattern – Red Panda Amigurumi

Adzuki the Chubby Red Panda is my newest amigurumi animal free crochet pattern!

Read on to learn more about my design process and inspiration, or scroll to the end to get the free pattern. If you’re in a hurry and need to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here.

The newest addition to the Chubbies family!

One of my most popular patterns of all time is Waffle the Chubby Bear (middle photo below). I can totally see why because it’s also one of my favorites. It’s simple, chubby, and super adorable!

I made a second animal in the same body shape, Bingsoo the Chubby Penguin, and I’m absolutely in love with him too!

However, it’s been a few years and although I’ve really wanted to continue adding to this series I haven’t had the time or the right inspiration.

I attempted a red panda version a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely loved how it came out. I went with a similar body design with a slightly oval muzzle, and the cutest white tipped ears.

This project is very simplistic in its design which makes it an even easier make. I used darker red yarn for the ears and arms, but you could also go with brown or black depending on the type of red panda you want to make.

Tips making this pattern!

This pattern is relatively straightforward with only a few pieces, which makes it perfect for beginners.

The only tricky step in this project is the Foundation Chain. This is a method of starting amigurumi that creates an oval shape, which can be really helpful for creating unique body shapes.

I use this method in all the animals in the Chubbies series, because I find that the oval body shape give them a really cute and adorable look.

For this red panda, I also used this technique to create a slightly more elongated muzzle. This creates a super cute facial expression!

If the foundation chain is new to you, just click the tutorial below for a photo and video tutorial.

How to Crochet an Oval around a Foundation Chain (amigurumi)

More blog posts for amigurumi beginners:

• Easiest Crochet Whale for Absolute Beginners!

• My Foolproof Guide to Crocheting Amigurumi for Beginners
• What’s the best stuffing for amigurumi? (+ how to stuff!)
• How to Sew Amigurumi Parts Together (easy photo tutorial!)

Technical Notes

• If you want to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here!

Description

Adzuki the Chubby Red Panda is a spherical red panda with small limbs that balances on a round bottom. His adorable shape makes him a breeze to make and is perfect as a stress ball, desk companion, or gift to a
friend (or yourself!). This is a great project for confident beginners who want to learn a how to crochet an oval and basic color changes.

Yarn

Confused about materials? For all my personal recommendations of my most-used tools, yarns, and supplies, check out my favorites in this complete guide!

• Hobbii Fluffy Day XL (bulky)
  • (<1 skein) Spicy (brown)
  • (<1 skein) Rust (dark red)
  • (<1 skein) White

Notions

• Size G 4.00mm Clover Amour hook
• 8.0mm safety eyes
• black embroidery thread
• fiberfill stuffing
• tapestry needle
• stitch markers

Technical Notes

1. Crochet in continuous spiral rounds, unless specified otherwise. Use a stitch marker or piece of yarn to keep track of the last stitch in each round.

2. When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness within the amigurumi.
3. To avoid large holes in the crochet fabric, increase tension until the holes cannot be seen, or choose a crochet hook a size down. Check out this blog post here on how to avoid holes and stuff correctly.
4. Stuff the head and the body firmly at the openings so that the neck is stable upon completion.
5. Use sewing pins to secure parts of the amigurumi before you sew them.

Special Stitches

• How to embroider a nose: see this tutorial
• How to invisible finish off: see this tutorial

Final Size

4″ x 5″

The Pattern

BODY (in Brown)

• Begin: Chain 7.
• Round 1: Beginning in the second chain from hook, sc 12 all around the foundation chain. There will be 2 stitches in each chain stitch. For help on crocheting around a foundation chain, see here. (12 sts)
• Round 2: inc x12 (24 sts)
• Round 3: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
• Round 4: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
• Round 5: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42 sts)
• Round 6: (6 sc, inc) x6 (48 sts)
• Round 7-10 (4 rnds): sc all around (48 sts)
• Round 11: (7 sc, inc) x6 (54 sts)
• Insert 9.0mm safety eyes between rounds 9 and 10 with 7 stitches in between. The body is in an oval shape with two long sides and two short sides. Make sure you place the eyes on a long side of the oval.
• Round 12-19 (8 rnds): sc all around (54 sts)
• Round 20: (8 sc, inc) x6 (60 sts)
• Round 21-25 (5 rnds): sc all around (60 sts)
• Round 26: (8 sc, dec) x6 (54 sts)
• Round 27: (7 sc, dec) x6 (48 sts)
• Round 28: (4 sc, dec) x8 (40 sts)
• Round 29: (3 sc, dec) x8 (32 sts)
• Begin stuffing.
• Round 30: (2 sc, dec) x8 (24 sts)
• Round 31: (sc, dec) x8 (16 sts)
• Finish stuffing.
• Round 32: (dec) x8 (8 sts)
• Round 33: (dec) x4 (4 sts)
• Cut yarn, leaving a short tail. Using a needle, thread the yarn through all 6 stitches in the last round, and pull it tight so the opening cinches like a drawstring bag (tutorial here). Finish off (fig. 1).

EARS (in White, make two)

• Rnd 1: 4 sc in MR (4 sts)
• Switch to Dark Red (tutorial here)
• Rnd 2: (sc, inc) x2 (6 sts)
• Rnd 3: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
• Rnd 4: (3 sc, inc) x2 (10 sts)
• Do not stuff and fold flat. Finish off, leaving a short tail for sewing (fig. 2). Make another identically. Sew the ears between the 3rd and 8th rounds from the top of the body, off to the left and right (fig. 5).

MUZZLE (in White)

• Begin: Work 5 chains (5 sts)
• Round 1: Beg from the 2nd chain from the hook, sc around the foundation chain (tutorial here) (8 sts)
• Round 2: (sc, inc) x4 (12 sts)
• Round 3: (sc, inc) x6, sl st to first st (18 sts)
• Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. You will stuff as you go after embroidering the nose.

Embroider a triangular nose on the muzzle: Begin from the middle of the nose and
outline out a small pie slice shape extending 2 rounds using vertical stitches. Fill in the
outline and make one single horizontal stitch across the top for a cleaner look. See my
tutorial here! Then, embroider two small lines going out from the bottom of the
triangular nose. See figure 3.

Sew muzzle to head between 9th and 14th rounds from the top, with the top of the
muzzle at the same level as the top of the eyes (fig. 5). Stuff gently as you go.

SMALL FACE MARKINGS (in White, make two)

• Begin: Work 3 chains (3 sts)
• Row 1: Beg from the 2nd ch from hook, sc 2 across the chain (2 sts)
• Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically.

LARGE FACE MARKINGS (in White, make two)

• Begin: Work 5 chains (5 sts)
• Row 1: Beg from the 2nd ch from hook, sc 4 across the chain (4 sts)
• Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically.
• Sew the face markings around the eyes and muzzle as pictured in fig. 5.

ARMS (in Dark Red, make two)

• Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
• Round 2-4 (3 rnds): sc all around (6 sts)
• Do not stuff. Fold the piece flat, and finish off, leaving a tail for sewing (fig. 6). Make another identically. Sew the arms on the body between the 15th and 17th rounds from the top (fig. 8).

TAIL (in White)

• Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
• Switch to Dark Red.
• Round 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
• Round 3: sc around (8 sts)
• Switch to White.
• Round 4: (3 sc, inc) x2 (10 sts)
• Round 5: sc around (10 sts)
• Switch to Dark Red.
• Round 6-7 (2 rnds): sc around (10 sts)
• Gently stuff. Fold the tail in half. Then, insert the hook through both sides of the round and work 5 sts across the opening to seal it closed (see fig. 7 for photo tutorial).
• Sew the tail to the back of the body, 8 rounds from the bottom of the body. To keep the tail tucked against the body and slightly raised, make an extra stitch near the base of the tail to secure it against the body.

Adzuki the Chubby Red Panda is all done! I hope you enjoyed crocheting it and found the pattern helpful. I would love to see your finished amigurumi, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy.