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We are on Day 4 of the Spring 2025 Mini Amigururmi Crochet Along, a third of the way through! The animal that s joining the Little Safari today is the... Little Cheetah!
I went back and forth on which spotted big cat I wanted to do for this crochet along, a cheetah or a leopard (spoiler, I only chose one so there will only be a cheetah, no separate leopard pattern, but keep reading to see how you can make a leopard using this pattern). They were just too similar to differentiate enough in a 3 inch tall crocheted version. I ended up choosing a cheetah mostly because cheetahs have spots and leopards have more of a splotchy pattern that has brown in the center and black around it, so a leopard pattern just seemed more complicated.
The Little Cheetah is made using the same body style, but instead of making it all in one color I added black stitches throughout to make the spots. I just carried the black yarn inside of the body, switching to it when I needed it. I did spots for the body/head, and the legs, but for the tail I just made it striped on the end since when you look at a cheetah's tail the spots kind of merge on the tail to form almost a striped effect, and it was easier on that small of a piece to switch colors each row instead of just for a few stitches.
The little ears are made in just the main color, and the nose or muzzle portion is made in a cream color since they tend to have some lighter coloring under or around their nose. I also stitched lines with black yarn from near the eyes to down around the muzzle to represent the lines on a cheetah's face.
I decided to use a gold color for my cheetah, because they are more of a warm golden tan color rather than the light tan color of a lion or even a leopard. The gold may be a little too yellow for a real cheetah, but I think it worked to give the look I was going for with the color options that I had to work with.
After making the cheetah I decided that I needed to use the pattern to see if I could turn it into a leopard so I could have both after all, without making a separate pattern. Just changing the color from gold to light tan, adding a little bit of cream to the paws, putting spots instead of stripes on the tail, and leaving off the black lines on the face I feel like it worked pretty well to turn the little cheetah into a little leopard. The spots don't have the brown centers that leopard spots have, but I think it works pretty well. So with this pattern you can make a couple simple changes and you kind of get a two for one.
What animal do you think Day 5 will bring? Come back tomorrow to find out!
How to Crochet a Little Cheetah
Finished Size: about 3.5" tall sitting
You will need:
- medium weight yarn in gold, black, and cream (sample made in Loops and Threads Impeccable in Gold, Black, and Aran)
- G crochet hook (4/4.25 mm)
- 2- 6 mm safety eyes
- Polyfil fiberfill
- yarn needle
- stitch markers
- black embroidery floss and embroidery needle
- scissors
Instructions:
The body and head are made in one piece, the other pieces are made separately and sew on. All pieces, except the ears, are made beginning with a magic ring (mr).
The spots are made by making one stitch every few stitches in black, to do this carry the black yarn inside the piece, no need to cut yarn in between. Also when you change colors you will want to switch to the new color when you pull through the last loop of the stitch prior. For example: work your single crochet in gold as you normally do to start- insert the hook in the stitch, pull up a loop, then rather than doing your yarn over and pull through with the gold yarn switch to the black yarn, yarn over with black, pull through both loops on the hook, then repeat that process with the black yarn switching back to the gold yarn with the yarn over.
Body
Make 1 starting with gold and adding black stitches where indicated, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: in mr, ch 1, 6 sc (6 sc)
Round 2: [2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next stitch in black, 1 sc in same st in gold, 1 sc in next st in gold, 1 sc in same st in black] repeat (12 sc)
Round 3:in gold [2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st] repeat around (18 sc)
Round 4: [1 sc in each of first 2 sts in gold, 1 sc in next st in black] repeat around (18 sc)
Round 5: 1 sc in each st in gold (18 sc)
Round 6: [1 sc in first st in gold, 1 sc in next stitch in black, 1 sc in next st in gold] repeat around (18 sc)
Round 7: 1 sc in each st in gold (18 sc)
Round 8: [1 sc in first st in black, 1 sc in each of next 2 sts in gold] repeat around (18 sc)
Begin stuffing and continue stuffing as you work
Round 9: in gold sc2tog around (9 sc)
Round 10: [2 sc in first st in gold, 1 sc in next stitch in black, 1 sc in same st in gold, 1 sc in next st in gold, 1 sc in same st in black] repeat around (18 sc)
Round 11: in gold [2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts] repeat around (24 sc)
Round 12: [1 sc in each of first 2 sts in gold, 1 sc in next st in black] repeat around (24 sc)
Round 13: 1 sc in each st in gold (24 sc)
Round 14: [1 sc in first st in gold, 1 sc in next stitch in black, 1 sc in next st in gold] repeat around (24 sc)
Round 15: 1 sc in each st in gold (24 sc)
Round 16: [sc2tog in black, sc in next 2 sts in gold] repeat around (18 sc)
Insert safety eyes between rounds 13 and 14 about 3 stitches apart
Round 17: in gold [sc2tog, sc in next st] repeat around (12 sc)
Round 18: in gold sc2tog around (6 sc)
Finish off, weave in ends
Nose
Make 1 with cream yarn, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: in mr, ch 1, 6 sc (6 sc)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st (12 sc)
Round 3: 1 sc in each st (12 sc)
Finish off and cut yarn leaving long tail for sewing
Embroider a nose and mouth by stitching a Y shape with an upside down v at the bottom onto the front of the nose piece, you can fill in the nose part to make a black triangle or leave it as an open shape
Add a little bit of stuffing and sew the nose to the head just below the eyes
Use black yarn to stitch a line from near the eyes around the side of the nose
Ears
Make 2 with gold yarn, beginning with chain
ch 3
Row 1: sl st in ch closest to hook, sc in next ch, dc in last ch
Finish off and cut yarn, leaving long tail for sewing
Sew ears to the top of the head towards each side
Legs
Make 4 starting with gold and adding black stitches where indicated, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: in mr, ch 1, 6 sc (6 sc)
Round 2: [2 sc in first st in gold, 1 sc in next st in black] repeat around (9 sc)
Round 3: [sc2tog, 1 sc in next st] repeat around (6 sc)
Round 4: [1 sc first st in gold, 1 sc in next st in black, 1 sc in next st in gold] repeat (6 sc)
Round 5: 1 sc in each st in gold (6 sc)
Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for sewing
Sew the 2 of the legs/arms to the side of the body just below the head, sew the other 2 to the bottom side of the body in a sitting position
Tail
Make 1 starting with gold and switching to black where indicated, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: with gold in mr, ch 1, 4 sc (4 sc)
Round 2: switch to black, 1 sc in each st (4 sc)
Round 3: switch to gold, 1 sc in each st (4 sc)
Round 4: switch to black, 1 sc in each st (4 sc)
Round 5: switch to gold, 1 sc in each st (4 sc)
Rounds 6-7: 1 sc in each st (4 sc)
Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for sewing
Sew tail to the bottom back of the body
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