Jumbo Penguin Free Crochet Pattern

My Jumbo Penguin pattern is my newest giant 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 biggest crochet penguin ever!

This is the largest amigurumi I’ve ever made and it’s safe to say that the end result is a little larger than life! Crocheting with jumbo velvet yarn can be tough and my hands were definitely tired after finishing this masterpiece but I’m really happy with how it came out!

The good part about this penguin is that if you’re not used to velvet, it’s a good opportunity to practice because the pieces are fairly straightforward and if you get off you can tell how it’s supposed to look.

Fair warning: if you like this pattern and want to make it with a smaller weight of yarn, use my other pattern designed for sport weight yarn.

This is because jumbo yarn is so large that I have to specifically accommodate it in my pattern, and if you use worsted size yarn your finished piece will end up very warped. I cover this in my article on how to resize amigurumi, so if you’re curious head over there to read more!

Tips for working with velvet yarn!

If you’ve never worked with jumbo velvet yarn before, here are a few tips to get you going on your way. Generally, velvet yarn isn’t too big a step up from regular cotton or acrylic yarn, so it’s a good first “novelty” yarn for novices to try.

  • Velvet yarn, especially jumbo velvet yarn, sheds very easily when frogged. Because velvet/chenille yarn generally is made up of a lot of tiny bristles stuck onto a central string, if you frog it, the friction can easily lead to a lot of shedding and stray yarn pieces. The best solution to this is to try to avoid frogging, and also working in a place that can be easily cleaned.
  • Patterns designed for jumbo velvet yarn cannot be easily sized down to worsted weight yarn. This means that if you use worsted weight yarn for this pattern, your result may be different and it might not turn out well. For more information on this, check out my blog post on when and how to resize amigurumi!
  • If your jumbo penguin fabric is too loose and you can see the stuffing poking through, size down your crochet hook so that it’s tighter. If it’s too tight and the crochet stitches are warping or too stiff, size up your crochet hook to get that perfect balance.

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The Pattern

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

Description

This jumbo penguin is pillow sized and works as an adorable accent cushion for a child’s room or an eccentric couch pillow!

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!

  • Sweet Snuggles (jumbo)
    • (2 skeins) Pink
    • (<1 skein) White
    • (<1 skein) Yellow

Notions

  • Size I 5.5mm Clover Amour hook
  • 10.0mm safety eyes
  • fiberfill stuffing
  • tapestry needle
  • stitch markers

Abbreviations

ch: chain

CC: contrast color

dec: decrease

inc: increase (work two single crochets in one stitch)

MC: main color

MR: magic ring

rnd: round

sc: single crochet

x sc: work x number of single crochets

sl st: slip stitch

st(s): stitch(es)

(x sts): total number of stitches for the round

(…) x: work all steps within parentheses x number of times

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. Jumbo velvet yarn sheds very easily, so keep that in mind while working.
  3. When creating the magic ring at the beginning, pull the circle as tight as possible before working into it. Otherwise, sometimes the circle gets stuck and it’s difficult to cinch tight.
  4. If your amigurumi has gaps, size down your hook.
  5. When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness within the amigurumi.
  6. To make this amigurumi child safe, use black felt and hot glue for the eyes rather than safety eyes, which are not child-safe.

Color Coding

For this pattern, the MC is Pink, CC1 is Yellow, and CC2 is White.

Final Size

Approx. 10″ (26 cm) wide, 12″ (30 cm) tall

HEAD/BODY (in MC)

  • Begin: Chain 9.
  • Round 1: Beginning in the 2nd chain from hook, sc 7, 2 sc in the last chain, along the other side of the foundation chain sc7. For help on crocheting around a foundation chain, see here (16 sts)
  • Round 2: inc x16 (32 sts)?
  • Round 3: (3 sc, inc) x8 (40 sts)
  • Round 4: (4 sc, inc) x8 (48 sts)
  • Round 5: (5 sc, inc) x8 (56 sts)
  • Round 6: (6 sc, inc) x8 (64 sts)
  • Round 7-10 (4 rnds): sc around (64 sts)
  • Round 11: (7 sc, inc) x8 (72 sts)
  • Round 12-19 (8 rnds): sc around (72 sts)
  • Insert 10.0mm safety eyes between rounds 12-13, with 9 stitches in between.
  • Round 20: (8 sc, inc) x8 (80 sts)
  • Round 21-24 (4 rnds): sc around (80 sts)
  • Round 25: (8 sc, dec) x8 (72 sts)
  • Round 26: (6 sc, dec) x9 (63 sts)
  • Round 27: (5 sc, dec) x9 (54 sts) ?
  • Round 28: (4 sc, dec) x9 (45 sts)
  • Round 29: (3 sc, dec) x9 (36 sts)
  • Stuff.
  • Round 30: (2 sc, dec) x9 (27 sts)
  • Round 31: (sc, dec) x9 (18 sts)
  • Round 32: dec x9 (9 sts)
  • Cut yarn, leaving a tail for sewing. Using a tapestry needle, thread the tail through the front loops of all 9 stitches in the last round, and then cinch tight. Bury the tail and cut the yarn (fig. 1).

WINGS (in MC)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)?
  • Round 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)?
  • Round 3: (3 sc, inc) x2 (10 sts)?
  • Round 4: (4 sc, inc) x2 (12 sts)?
  • Round 5: (5 sc, inc) x2 (14 sts)?
  • Round 6: (6 sc, inc) x2 (16 sts)?
  • Round 7: (7 sc, inc) x2 (18 sts)
  • Round 8: (8 sc, inc) x2 (20 sts)
  • Do not stuff. Flatten the wing so that your hook is on the right side, and then sc 10 through both sides of the wing. See fig. 2. Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically. Sew to the body between rounds 13 and 14 (counting from the top), 6 stitches to the left and right of the eyes. Check out my photo tutorial here for how to sew amigurumi parts together.
  • BEAK (in CC1)
  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
  • Round 3: sc around (8 sts)
  • Round 4: sc around, slst to the first stitch (8 sts)
  • Stuff lightly (I use the tail end of the yarn). Invisible finish off (video tutorial here), and weave in end, leaving a tail for sewing (fig. 3). Sew to the body between rounds 12 and 13. It should be directly between the eyes (fig. 3).

BELLY (in CC2)

Round 1: 8 sc in MR (8 sts)
Round 2: inc x8 (16 sts)
Round 3: (sc, inc) x8 (24 sts)
Round 4: (2 sc, inc) x8 (32 sts)
Round 5: (3 sc, inc) x8 (40 sts)
Round 6: 2 sc, (4 sc, inc) x7, 2 sc, inc (48 sts)
Round 7: (5 sc, inc) x8, sl st (56 sts)
Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing (fig. 4). Sew to the body
between rounds 15-25 (counting from the top).

Your Jumbo Penguin 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. Once again, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me with a direct message on Instagram or through email at littleworldofwhimsy@gmail.com. Happy crocheting!

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