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When I was making the Bear of the Month for May, the Little Graduate Bear, I had the idea to make a few different animals in the same size that could fit the little grad cap. I looked up some of the most common animal mascots and started planning which ones to make. But then I realized that realistically I didn't have time to make a bunch of different animals, designing a bunch of new pattern, because graduation season is already here.
Then I realized that with all of the mini amigurumi animals I have made I already have a whole bunch of different animal patterns that are all the same size, and several of them could easily be adapted to make even more animals. So instead of making new animals and new patterns in a slightly larger, but still small size, like my bear, I decided to just make a little graduation cap that will fit the mini amigurumi.
I have several different animals that will fit the cap, some are animals that are likely to be mascots, and some are not. I figured animals like the cheetah/leapord, jaguar, and lion are all common mascots and could be used as such. But you could also easily make the cheetah or jaguar in a tan color with no spots, or the lion without the mane and you have a cougar or wildcat, make it black and you have a panther. Same thing with some of the birds, my daughter is graduating from a school whose mascot is the Eagles, but with some color changes you could easily turn that into a hawk or a falcon. A bear is another common mascot that I actually have a few different mini versions of. My horse pattern could be used for a school that is the Mustangs, Broncos, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, etc. You could even use the Macaw for a school that's mascot is the Pirates. And those are just a few examples.
A lot of the animals are not ones that you will likely see as mascots, but instead of a mascot you could also do a favorite animal. Capybaras are pretty popular and cute, so you could make a little capybara and add a cap in your schools colors. Maybe your grad's favorite animals is a cat, or a giraffe, or a monkey, so you could add a little grad cap to any of those. A bear is commonly used as a mascot, but a teddy bear is also just a traditional stuffed animal and if you don't want to make the larger one you could make a mini version and add a cap in your school's colors regardless of what the mascot is.
Below, in the pattern instructions I have a list of all of the mini animals that are the size I am using for these hats. I have a standard body that I use for most of my animals so there are a lot of them. Most of the animals that I have made as part of the Mini Amigurumi Crochet Alongs use that body/head. There are a few, especially in the Pond Pals that use different bodies and have smaller heads so I am not including those in the list, but even without those few there are still a lot of animals. There are also some animals, like the Woodland Christmas animals, that have extra hats and scarves, etc. that can be left off and instead replaced with the grad cap. I separated the list into categories based on animal type and which crochet along they were part of. I also included a few ideas of how they could be changed to make even more animals.
As samples I made an eagle using my Bald Eagle Pattern and added a little cap to it. My daughter is graduating from high school this month and her school mascot is the Eagles and their colors are blue and yellow so the eagle was based on her school. I wanted to make a couple different versions so I also make a little cougar. I don't have a cougar pattern but that is the mascot of the school closest to us. I used my jaguar pattern from my Little Amazon Crochet Along and make it in solid tan instead of spotted, I also make the ears a little less pointy by leaving off the first sl st. I wanted to show how you could easily adapt a pattern to make other similar animals if the one you need is not on the list. I also added a cord draped over the shoulders of the cougar as another optional accessory.
How to Crochet a Graduation Cap for Mini Amigurumi Animals
Finished Size: about 6" tall sitting + hat
You will need:
- medium weight yarn in desired colors for the cap, tassel, and optional cords (sample made in Red Heart Super Saver in Blue, Saffron, Paddy Green, and Lemon)
- G crochet hook (4/4.25 mm)
- yarn needle
- scissors
Instructions:
Below are links to all of the different animal patterns I have available, I will add to it as more animals are released. Scroll down for the cap and cord patterns.
Farm Animals
Cow (Make the horns a little longer/bigger, make a solid color for a bull, you can add a nose ring too)
Forest Animals (Camping CAL and Woodland Christmas Crochet Along)
Bald Eagle (change up the colors to make a different kind of eagle, or even turn it into a hawk or falcon)
Lop Ear Bunny (just leave off the hat in the pattern and replace it with the grad cap)
Fox (minus the scarf and tree)
Robin (leave off the earmuffs)
Deer (make body in solid color instead of adding striped sweater, or make in school colors, leave off wreath)
Raccoon (leave off scarf and Christmas lights)
Beaver (minus the hat, replace with grad cap)
Skunk (replace hat with grad cap)
Pond Pals
Safari Animals
Crocodile (could also be an alligator)
Cheetah (the Cheetah already includes a Leopard variation, make it in a solid tan color for a Cougar or Wildcat, or black for a Panther)
Polar Animals (Bitty Blizzard CAL)
Polar Bear (leave off the hat and scarf)
Penguin (leave off the the earmuffs and scarf)
Rainforest Animals
Macaw (could be used for Pirates mascot)
Harpy Eagle (similar to the Bald Eagle, leave off the head feathers and switch up the colors to make other birds of prey)
Pink River Dolphin (you could use this for a Dolphin mascot but to make more of a Bottlenose Dolphin look change the color to gray and make a more triangular dorsal fin)
Jaguar (same as the Cheetah, change up color or pattern to make other big cat options, leave off spots to make a cougar or make in black for a panther, etc.)
Cap
Base
Make 1 in cap color, beginning with ch
ch 12
join with sl st to make a circleRound 1: ch 1, sc in 5 st, hdc in next st, (dc, ch 2, sl st in first ch, dc) in next st, hdc in next, sc in next 4 sts, sl st to first sc to join (9 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc)
Finish off and cut yarn leaving long tail for sewing
Top
Make 1 in cap color, beginning with magic ring
Round 1: in mr, ch 1, 8 sc, sl st to first sc to join (8 sc)
Round 2: ch 1, [3 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st] repeat around, sl st to first sc to join (16 sc)
Round 3: ch 1, 1 sc in first st, 3 sc in next st, [1 sc in next 3 sts, 3 sc in next st] 3 times, 1 sc in last 2 sts, sl st to first sc to join (24 sc)
Finish off and cut yarn, leaving long tail for sewing
Sew the base to the center of the top square
Sew the cap to the head with the point at the center front of the head
Make a tassel in desired color by wrapping yarn 2-3 times around 3 or 4 fingers
Slide off and tie a piece of yarn around the middle leaving a long end to attach the tassel to the hat.
Fold in half (with the tied piece at the center) and tie a piece of yarn a little below the top, and trim the tassel to the length you want
Attach the tassel to the center of the hat using the long center string so that it hangs down over the edge of the cap
Cord
Make 1 with cord color yarn
ch 24
Finish off and cut yarn leaving tails to trim later
cut 2 pieces of yarn a few inches long and attach one to each end of the chain by folding the yarn in half, pulling the folded loop through the last chain on each end, then pull the ends through the loop and tighten
Trim all 3 strands, the 2 from the pieces you just added and the tail, to make the tassel at each end of the chain
Drape around the neck of the animal
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