Jingle the Elf Kitten: Free Christmas Cat Amigurumi Pattern

Jingle is a ginger kitten who has signed up as one of Santa's helpers. She wears a tall red and green striped elf hat with a little yellow bell on the tip, a red cord scarf, and white paws. She sits on her round bottom with her tail curled at the side.

She is built on the same simple round shapes as our other animals: a ball head, a pear body and short limbs, all in single crochet. The stripes are just a colour change every two rounds. Step-by-step photos show every part, and there is a grey tabby version at the end.

Jump to: Materials · Head · Face and Details · Body and Limbs · Assembly · Grey tabby elf kitten · FAQ

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Jingle the Elf Kitten Free Crochet Pattern

What You’ll Need

Sport / fine (size 2) cotton yarn in ginger, white, red, green and yellow, plus a little pink for the nose
2.5 mm crochet hook (a hook smaller than the yarn label suggests keeps the stitches tight)
A pair of 10 mm safety eyes
Fiberfill stuffing
Tapestry needle, sewing pins and a stitch marker

The finished size depends on your yarn and hook: thicker yarn and a bigger hook make a bigger Jingle.

Abbreviations (US terms)

MR magic ring
sc single crochet
inc increase: 2 sc in the same stitch
dec decrease (use the invisible decrease for a smooth finish)
sl st slip stitch
ch chain
R round; the number in brackets is the stitch count at the end of the round

Before You Start

Work in continuous rounds and move a stitch marker to the first stitch of each round.
New to safety eyes? See how to attach safety eyes to amigurumi.
Stuff as you go; this guide on stuffing amigurumi keeps the shapes smooth.

Head

Head (ginger, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: (1 sc, inc) ×6 (18)
R4: (2 sc, inc) ×6 (24)
R5: (3 sc, inc) ×6 (30)
R6: (4 sc, inc) ×6 (36)
R7: (5 sc, inc) ×6 (42)
R8-15: sc around (42)
Insert 10 mm safety eyes between Rounds 12 and 13, 7 stitches apart.
R16: (5 sc, dec) ×6 (36)
R17: (4 sc, dec) ×6 (30)
R18: (3 sc, dec) ×6 (24)
Stuff the head firmly and keep stuffing as you close.
R19: (2 sc, dec) ×6 (18)
R20: (1 sc, dec) ×6 (12)
R21: dec ×6 (6)
Fasten off, weave the tail through the front loops and pull the hole closed.

Face and Details

Muzzle (white, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: (1 sc, inc) ×6 (18)
R4-5: sc around (18)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Embroider a small pink nose over Rounds 1-2, then sew the muzzle below the eyes, stuffing it lightly.

Ears (ginger, make 2)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: (1 sc, inc) ×3 (9)
R3: (2 sc, inc) ×3 (12)
R4: sc around (12)
Do not stuff. Flatten the ear.
Close: 6 sc through both layers (6)
Fasten off, leaving a tail. Sew the ears to the top of the head over Rounds 5-7, pointing up, about 8 stitches apart.

Elf hat (green and red stripes, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: sc around (6)
R3: (1 sc, inc) ×3 (9)
R4: sc around (9)
Change to red.
R5: (2 sc, inc) ×3 (12)
R6: sc around (12)
Change to green.
R7: (3 sc, inc) ×3 (15)
R8: sc around (15)
Change to red.
R9: (4 sc, inc) ×3 (18)
R10: sc around (18)
Change to green.
R11: (5 sc, inc) ×3 (21)
R12: (6 sc, inc) ×3 (24)
Change to red.
R13: (7 sc, inc) ×3 (27)
R14: (8 sc, inc) ×3 (30)
Change to green.
R15: (9 sc, inc) ×3 (33)
R16: (10 sc, inc) ×3 (36)
Change to red.
R17: (11 sc, inc) ×3 (39)
R18: (12 sc, inc) ×3 (42)
Change to green.
R19-21: sc around (42)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Do not stuff. Set the hat on the back of the head, behind the ears, let the tip flop to one side and sew the brim down.

Bell (yellow, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: sc around (12)
Stuff lightly.
R4: dec ×6 (6)
Fasten off and sew to the tip of the hat.

Body and Limbs

Body (ginger, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: (1 sc, inc) ×6 (18)
R4: (2 sc, inc) ×6 (24)
R5: (3 sc, inc) ×6 (30)
R6-10: sc around (30)
R11: (3 sc, dec) ×6 (24)
R12-13: sc around (24)
R14: (2 sc, dec) ×6 (18)
R15: sc around (18)
Stuff firmly. Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew the body to the head.

Legs (white, then ginger, make 2)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3-4: sc around (12)
Change to ginger.
R5: (4 sc, dec) ×2 (10)
R6-8: sc around (10)
Stuff the foot lightly, then flatten the top.
Close: 5 sc through both layers (5)
Fasten off and sew the legs to the bottom front of the body so the toy sits.

Arms (white, then ginger, make 2)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2: (2 sc, inc) ×2 (8)
Change to ginger.
R3-9: sc around (8)
Stuff only the bottom half. Flatten the top.
Close: 4 sc through both layers (4)
Fasten off and sew to the sides of the body just below the neck.

Tail (ginger, make 1)

R1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6)
R2-13: sc around (6)
Stuff only the bottom half so the tail curls. Fasten off and sew to the back of the body near the bottom.

Scarf (red, make 1)

Ch 46. Row 1: sl st in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across (45)
Fasten off. Wrap the cord around the neck and tie a loose knot at the side, letting the ends hang.

Assembly

Sew the white muzzle below the eyes and embroider the pink nose; add three short whisker lines on each side with white yarn.
Sew the ears to the top of the head, pointing up.
Sew the bell to the hat tip, then sew the hat to the back of the head, behind the ears.
Sew the head to the body.
Sew the legs to the bottom front so she sits, then the arms below the neck and the tail at the back.
Tie the red scarf around the neck.

For invisible seams, follow how to sew amigurumi pieces together, and for the nose see how to embroider faces on amigurumi.

Make a Grey tabby elf kitten

Swap ginger for light grey and embroider three short darker grey stripes on the forehead. Make the hat stripes red and white with a red brim, and the scarf green.

FAQ

How do I keep the stripes neat?

Change colour in the last stitch of the round before, and carry the unused colour up inside the hat instead of cutting it. The small jog at the colour change sits at the back.

Can I make the hat without stripes?

Yes. Work the whole hat in one colour and keep the brim in a contrast colour.

Is it safe for babies?

Safety eyes can come loose with hard play. For a baby, embroider the eyes with black yarn and sew the bell on very firmly or leave it off.

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