Easy Crochet Cactus – Beginner Amigurumi Project

This Easy Crochet Cactus pattern is my newest plant-themed 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.

An easy amigurumi made from a rectangle!

This adorable mini cactus is an excellent way to get started with amigurumi if you’re mostly familiar with working back and forth.

The entire cactus is worked purely from a small rectangle in back loop only single crochet stitches, which creates the subtle ridges of the cactus.

Once the rectangle is finished, you’ll slip stitch it together to form a tube, then seam the top to close it.

You can choose to customize your cactus by adding flowers, (like in my mini heart cactus pattern) or embroidering a cute smile!

I designed this pattern as an accessible way to get started with amigurumi without having to crochet in the round.

I also made an entire video tutorial that walks you through in depth (for complete beginners with no experience)!

My hope is that if you’ve been eager to get started with amigurumi but are intimidated by the magic ring or crocheting in the round, this can be a place for you.

Tips for your first amigurumi project!

If you’ve never made amigurumi before, here are a few essential tips to get you on your way. First of all, you should read my complete amigurumi beginner’s guide, which includes tips on how to hold a hook, read a pattern, and source materials.

However, here are some quick and dirty tips for first timers as well as some solutions to common problems:

  • If you’re having trouble completing each stitch when it’s time to pull the hook through, make your loops bigger by tugging on the hook as you work each yarn over.
  • The beginning is the hardest part, so if your work looks terrible after the first few rounds, keep going because it gets easier.
  • You can optionally flip your work inside out after round 5 or 6. Most amigurumi makers (myself included) do this, and it does not affect the way the project is made in any way. However, if you don’t flip your work inside out then your project will look different. If you’re a first timer, it’s totally okay to skip this step for your first project, just keep this in mind for the future.
  • After you finish, if there are large gaps in your work or stuffing is peeking through, this is because your stitches are too loose. Of course, if this is your first try and you need looser stitches just to be able to finish your single crochet stitches, this is to be expected. Just practice with a few more projects and you’ll gradually be able to work smaller and smaller stitches to avoid this problem.
    • If your stitches are extremely tight and you’re still getting gaps, make sure that the hook you’re using is 1-2mm smaller than what’s stated on the yarn label (see my blog post on what hook to use for amigurumi!)

More blog posts for amigurumi beginners:

The Pattern

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

Description

This adorable mini cactus is made from a simple rectangle worked back and forth. This is the ideal project for amigurumi beginners since it is worked flat, but still introduces some basic amigurumi techniques like stuffing, sizing down a hook, and using safety eyes.

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!

  • WeCrochet Brava Sport (sport)
    • (<1 skein) Peapod (green)

Notions

Abbreviations

  • BLO: back loop only
  • ch: chain
  • CC: contrast color
  • dec: decrease
  • hdc: half double crochet
  • inc: increase (work two single crochets in one stitch)
  • MC: main color
  • MR: magic ring
  • rnd: round
  • RS: right side
  • sc: single crochet
  • x sc: work x number of single crochets
  • sl st: slip stitch
  • st(s): stitch(es)
  • WS: wrong side
  • (x sts): total number of stitches for the round
  • (…) x: work all steps within parentheses x number of times

Technical Notes

  1. Crochet in turned rows, unless specified otherwise. Use a stitch marker or piece of yarn to keep track of the last stitch in each round.
  1. When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness within the amigurumi.
  2. To avoid large holes in the crochet fabric, increase tension until the holes cannot be seen, or choose a crochet hook a size down.
  3. Use sewing pins to secure parts of the amigurumi before you sew them.

Final Size

1″ x 2″

CACTUS (in green)

Since this is a complete beginner’s pattern, I strongly recommend that you follow along with my video tutorial above while reading this pattern.

  • Row 1: Chain 11 (11 sts)
  • Row 2: Beginning from the second chain from the hook, sc across, chain and turn (10 sts)
  • Row 3-14 (12 rows): Working in the BLO, sc across, chain and turn (10 sts)
  • You should have a rectangle now with ridges (see fig. 1). Do not finish off.

Seaming: Fold the rectangle in half and slip stitch across both sides (see fig. 2) to seam the two short ends of the rectangle into a tube.

Your work should now look like figure 3.

Cinching the top: The last step is to fasten off, leaving a 10 inch tail for the sewing step. Using a tapestry needle, weave the needle in and out of one end of the tube, and pull it shut like a drawstring bag. Watch my video tutorial here for a visual reference. Sew across the sealed end of the tube several more times to make sure it doesn’t come undone and tie a knot.

Fig. 4: Work after sewing one end of the tube closed.

Flip your work inside out so that the knot is hidden on the inside. At this point, you can add safety eyes about half an inch down from the top of the cactus (read my guide on safety eyes for extra help!).

Get your fiberfill stuffing and pull it apart into smaller pieces, and gently stuff the cactus from the bottom to the top. I have an amazing step by step guide on how to stuff amigurumi the correct way without any lumps!

Stuff your amigurumi until it’s firm to the touch but not so full that you can see the stuffing showing through. Your work should look like figure 5.

Fig. 5: Cactus after stuffing and adding safety eyes.

You can optionally choose to embroider a simple mouth with black embroidery thread.

At this point, your cactus is done and you can place it into the mini pot! If you wish, you can seam the bottom closed to prevent stuffing from coming out, or you can just glue it into the pot. I didn’t use any glue to secure it in place and it’s perfectly fine!

Your mini cactus amigurumi 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.