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It is time for another Mini Amigurumi Crochet Along! Today is Day 1 of the Spring 2025 Mini Amigururmi Crochet Along, and in case you missed it the theme for this year's spring crochet along is Little Safari. This crochet along will include 12 little mini amigurumi animals that you would see on an African Safari, and today is the first animal- Little Lion.
I decided to start with a lion since the lion is the King of the Jungle. Interesting little side note, when I thought about a lion being the king of the jungle I thought about how weird that is because they don't live in the jungle, so naturally I googled it to find out why it is called that and it turns out it comes from a word that really means wilderness or wasteland, not specifically jungle. But regardless of what the lion is the king of, it still seemed like it is such a symbol of the African Savannah that it seemed like the perfect animal for Day 1 of the Little Safari.
The Little Lion, like all of the animals in this set will be, is made in a sitting position like a teddy bear. It sits about 4" tall. The Little Lion has a big, fluffy mane around his head, two tiny ears, and a long tufted tail. To make a matching female lion you could just leave the mane off. I used tiny 6mm safety eyes for my lion and embroider the nose/mouth on with black embroidery floss.
The lion is made in the same style as many of my previous mini amigurumi animals. The body and head pattern used here will pretty much be the same for all of the animals in this set (there will be a couple small variations), different legs, ears, and noses, or sometimes other things like wings, manes, and tails, will be switched up to create the different animals.
I chose to use Loops and Threads Impeccable for all of the animals in this mini amigurumi series. I chose that because there is a Michaels close to me so it was convenient and easy to get, and I liked the variety of shades of browns, tans, and other neutral colors, as well as a few other colors that I wanted to use. Any similar medium/worsted weight acrylic yarn will work well. In the past I have used yarns like Red Heart Super Saver, Big Twist Value Worsted, Lion Brand Basic Stitch, etc.
Be sure to come back tomorrow to see what Day 2's Little Safari Animal will be!
How to Crochet a Little Lion
Finished Size: about 4" tall sitting
You will need:
- medium weight yarn in tan, brown, and cream (sample made in Loops and Threads Impeccable in Almond, Chocolate, and Aran)
- G crochet hook (4 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. Most pieces are made beginning with a magic ring (mr), the beginning of each piece will indicate if it starts with a magic ring or a chain.
Body
Make 1 with tan, 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: [2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st] repeat around (18 sc)
Rounds 4-8: 1 sc in each st (18 sc)
Begin stuffing and continue stuffing as you work
Round 9: sc2tog around (9 sc)
Round 10: 2 sc in each st (18 sc)
Round 11: [2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts] repeat around (24 sc)
Round 12-15: 1 sc in each st (24 sc)
Round 16: [sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts] repeat around (18 sc)
Insert safety eyes between rounds 13 and 14 about 3 stitches apart
Round 17: [sc2tog, sc in next st] repeat around (12 sc)
Round 18: 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
Add a little bit of stuffing and sew the nose to the head just below the eyes
Mane
Make 1 with brown yarn, beginning with a chain and making chain loops down the length of the beginning chain
ch 21
sc in 2nd ch from hook, [ch 5, sl st in first ch of the 5 you just made, ch 5, sl st in same ch as previous sl st, sc in next ch from original ch] repeat to the end (40 ch loops)
Finish off and cut yarn, leaving long tail for sewing
Wrap the mane around the head and stitch in place with the ends meeting in the back of the head
Ears
Make 2 with tan yarn, beginning with magic ring
in mr, ch 1, 5 sc (5 sc)
Pull to tighten into a semicircle shape
Finish off and cut yarn, leaving long tail for sewing
Sew ears to the top of the head just in front of the mane
Legs
Make 4 with tan yarn, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: in mr, ch 1, 8 sc (8 sc)
Round 2-5: 1 sc in each st (8 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 with tan yarn
ch 8
sl st in the 2nd ch from hook and each ch to the end (7 sl st)
Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for sewing
cut 2 small pieces of brown yarn (about 4 inches)
fold the two pieces in half and insert the hook into the skipped ch on the tail, grab the folded end of the black strands (held together), pull through so that you have a loop, pull the cut ends through the loop making a larks head knot, pull tight to secure, trim ends so you have just a short brown tuft on the end of the tail
Thank you! This turned out so cute. Can't wait to make the others in this collection.
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