Mini bear keychain pattern
A bear face with a contrast muzzle for bags and keys. Amigurumi, about 6 cm tall.
Difficulty: 3 out of 5. Medium: several techniques.
Sizes may vary with the materials you use. We suggest making a small sample first.
- Height
- 6 cm
- Gauge
- 26 stitches and 28 rows in 10 cm
- Stitches
- 840
You will need
- DK (3) yarn in the colours listed
- 3 mm crochet hook, or the size that matches your swatch
- Polyester fibre stuffing, yarn needle, stitch marker
- Keyring or lobster clasp
- Colour C yarn for the eyes and nose
- Pins, to try out where things go
- A: Light brown
- B: Cream
- C: Dark brown
Before you start
- Size depends on how tight you crochet. Fewer stitches per 10 cm makes a larger toy.
- Make a small test piece first. If it comes out larger than the gauge, try a smaller hook. If it comes out smaller, try a larger hook.
- A number in brackets at the end of a line, such as (24), is how many stitches you should have. Count them before moving on.
- Made a mistake? Pull the yarn gently to undo the stitches back to the mistake, then carry on from there.
- Toys are worked in a spiral, so rounds are not joined. Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round. When you come back to the marked stitch, the round is done: take the marker out, work that stitch, and put the marker in the stitch you just made. That is the first stitch of the new round.
- Keep your stitches tight so the stuffing does not show. A smaller hook than the yarn label suggests helps with this.
- Add stuffing a little at a time, and shape it with your fingers before closing a part.
Abbreviations
| MR | magic ring. Make a loop with the yarn tail, work the first stitches into it, then pull the tail to close the hole. |
|---|---|
| sc | single crochet. Put the hook in a stitch, wrap the yarn, pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), wrap again and pull through both. |
| inc | 2 sc in the same stitch. One stitch becomes two. |
| dec | invisible decrease: sc 2 together through front loops. Two stitches become one. |
Head
Colour A (Light brown). Work in a spiral. After the last round, cut the yarn leaving about 20 cm and thread it on a yarn needle. Take the needle through the front loop of each of the 6 remaining stitches, always from the hole outwards. Then pull the yarn to close the hole.
| Rnd 1 | 6 sc in MR | (6) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 3 | (1 sc, inc) × 6 | (18) |
| Rnd 4 | (2 sc, inc) × 6 | (24) |
| Rnd 5 | 1 sc, inc, (3 sc, inc) × 5, 2 sc | (30) |
| Rnd 6 | sc around | (30) |
| Rnd 7 | 2 sc, inc, (4 sc, inc) × 5, 2 sc | (36) |
| Rnd 8 | (5 sc, inc) × 6 | (42) |
| Rnds 9–16 | sc around | (42) |
| Rnd 17 | 2 sc, dec, (5 sc, dec) × 5, 3 sc | (36) |
| Rnd 18 | (4 sc, dec) × 6 | (30) |
| Rnd 19 | sc around | (30) |
| Rnd 20 | (3 sc, dec) × 6 | (24) |
| Rnd 21 | 1 sc, dec, (2 sc, dec) × 5, 1 sc | (18) |
| Rnd 22 | (1 sc, dec) × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 23 | dec × 6 | (6) |
After round 21, add most of the stuffing. After round 22, check the shape and add a little more if needed. Then work the last round and close.
Ear × 2
Colour A (Light brown). Work in a spiral. When finished, cut the yarn and leave a long tail. You will use it to sew this part on.
| Rnd 1 | 6 sc in MR | (6) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 3 | sc around | (12) |
| Rnd 4 | (1 sc, inc) × 6 | (18) |
Leave this part flat, with no stuffing.
Muzzle
Colour B (Cream). Work in a spiral. When finished, cut the yarn and leave a long tail. You will use it to sew this part on.
| Rnd 1 | 6 sc in MR | (6) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 3 | (1 sc, inc) × 6 | (18) |
| Rnd 4 | sc around | (18) |
Add the stuffing when this part is finished, just before you sew it on.
Assembly
| 1. | Stuff the head firmly and close it. Round 1 is the top of the head and the closed end is the chin. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Eyes: on round 11, mark two places with 6 stitches between them. In Colour C, make an upright oval about 1 stitch wide and 2 rounds tall, going through the same two points 6 to 8 times. | |
| 3. | Muzzle: put a little stuffing in it. Pin it to the middle of the face with its centre on round 15, so its top edge sits just below the eyes. Sew around the edge with the long tail. While a small gap is left, check the stuffing, then finish the seam. | |
| 4. | Nose: on the upper half of the muzzle, make a small triangle in Colour C with its point down. Make the top edge about 3 stitches wide, then bring a few stitches from that edge down to one point, about 2 rounds lower. | |
| 5. | Ears: flatten the open edge of each ear a little, with the hollow side facing forward. Pin it to the head on round 7, about 9 stitches from the middle of the face, so the ears sit at the upper corners of the head and match each other. Sew along the open edge, taking one stitch through the ear and one through the head. | |
| 6. | Attach the keyring: fold about 80 cm of strong yarn in Colour A in half and thread it on a yarn needle. Set the keyring on top of the piece, on round 1. Pass the needle under a stitch on round 3, across the top, and out through the stitch opposite, then through the keyring. Repeat 4 times, choosing different stitches on rounds 2 to 4 each time, so the pull is shared by several stitches and not by one knot. | |
| 7. | Leave about 1 cm between the keyring and the piece. Take both yarn ends into the piece, tie them firmly and tug gently so the knot slips between the stitches and stays inside. Take the ends through the piece and cut them close to the surface. | |
| 8. | Pull the keyring firmly a few times to check that it holds. |
These places are only a suggestion, and the face is left without a mouth to keep it simple. You can add one, move the ears higher or lower, or set the eyes closer together. Pin everything in place first, look at it, then sew.
