Camilla Cactus Free Crochet Pattern

Hi, all! Amigurumi cacti have been really popular for about a year now. There are lots of awesome patterns out there, so today we are sharing ours! We think it would make such a cute office companion or house warming gift (for those of us who don’t have particularly green thumbs)!

Here’s what we used:

• • 3.5mm hook (I use THESE hooks!);
  • Bernat handicrafter cotton (worsted weight) in Jute for the pot;
  • Bernat handicrafter cotton (worsted weight) in Warm Brown for the soil;
  • A worsted weight cotton yarn in green for the cactus;
  • Bernat handicrafter cotton (worsted weight) in Tangerine for the flower petals;
  • Worsted weight cotton yarn in yellow for flower centre (we actually used a fine weight yarn and doubled it up because it’s what we had on hand and we liked the hue);
  • Safety eyes (optional);
  • Black yarn or embroidery/crochet thread for the mouth;
  • Fine or light weight pink yarn for cheeks;
  • A small piece of recycled plastic cut into a disc (we used a leftover strawberry container);
  • Stuffing;
  • Tapestry needle.

Terms and Special Stitches (US Terminology)

MR – Magic Ring

Slst – Slipstitch

Ch – Chain

Sc – Single Crochet

Inc – Increase. Work 2 sc into the same stitch.

Dec – Decrease. Work 2 sc together. When working in the round, I use the invisible decrease.

Hdc – Half double crochet

Dc – Double crochet

BLO – Back loops only

FLO – Front loops only

The Pot (In Jute coloured yarn):

*Work in continuous rounds*

Rnd 1: MR 6 sc (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: Sc, inc. Repeat around (18 sts)

Rnd 4: Sc 2, inc. Repeat around (24 sts)

Rnd 5: Sc 3, inc. Repeat around (30 sts)

Rnd 6: Sc 4, inc. Repeat around (36 sts)

Rnd 7: In BLO, sc around (36 sts)

Rnds 8-9: Sc around (36 sts)

Rnd 10: Sc 11, inc. Repeat around (39 sts)

Rnds 11-12: Sc around (39 sts)

Rnd 13: Sc 12, inc. Repeat around (42 sts)

Rnds 14-16: Sc around (42 sts)

Rnd 17: In FLO, dc around (42 sts).

Join and tie off. Fold down the row of dc sts to act as  the rim of the pot. At this point, we recommend you cut a small circular piece of plastic to insert in the bottom of the pot. This will allow the pot to sit (somewhat) evenly after stuffing.

Switch to brown yarn for the soil. Attach the yarn through the Back Loop Only of a stitch in Rnd 17. Ch 1.

Rnd 18: In BLO, sc around (42 sts)

Rnd 19: Sc 5, dec. Repeat around (36 sts)

Rnd 20: Sc 4, dec. Repeat around (30 sts)

Rnd 21: Sc 3, dec. Repeat around (24 sts)

Begin stuffing. Continue to stuff a little after each round.

Rnd 22: Sc 2, dec. Repeat around (18 sts)

Rnd 23: Sc, dec. Repeat around (12 sts)

Rnd 24: Dec around (6 sts).

Tie off leaving a tail for closing. Weave the tail in and out of the remaining 6 sts then down through the opening and out the back of the pot. Tug gently to close. Once closed, poke the tail back inside the pot using the back of your tapestry needle.

Cactus (in green yarn):

*Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row*

Row 1: Ch 30, sc along (29 sts)

Rows 2-21: In BLO, sc 29 (29 sts)

Join Row 1 and Row 21 together by slst together along the chains of Row 1 and the front loops of Row 21 to make a long tube. Tie off, leaving a long tail for sewing the cactus to the pot.

Cut a separate length of green yarn. With your tapestry needle, weave the yarn back and forth through the fabric around the entire circumference of the opening, a couple of cms from the top (the opposite end from the end with the yarn tail you just tied off). When you’ve woven the yarn all the way around, pull on the ends to close the top tightly. Tie a couple of tight knots then wrap the yarn around the opposite way and tie a couple more tight knots to secure.

And now for the trickiest part of this pattern: turn your tube inside out! Depending on how stiff your fabric is, this could be a little tricky. A good tip is to use the back of a crochet hook to help push the closed end down into the tube to turn it inside out. This is what the top should look like after turning:

Once your tube is inside out, place your safety eyes, mouth and cheeks. For the cheeks, we simply sewed some fine weight pink yarn through a stitch beneath each eye. If you prefer round cheeks: MR 5 sc, join and tie off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Stuff Camilla and then place her in the middle of the pot. Sew around the base using the green yarn tail. Continue stuffing after every few sts, if you need to.

Cactus Arm:

Row 1: Ch 15, sc along chain (14 sts)

Rows 2-4: In BLO, sc along (14 sts)

Join Row 1 and Row 4 together (through the chains of Row 1 and the front loops of Row 4) as follows: Slst 4, skip 2 sts, slst 1, skip 1 st, slst 1, skip 1, slst 1, skip 1, slst 2 (9 slsts total, and 5 skipped sts).

Tie off and leave a tail for sewing. The arm should now be curved. Sew up one end of the arm (it will be covered by a flower). Stuff. Attach the arm to Camilla on the side, a little over halfway up from the base of the soil.

Flowers (make 2):

In yellow:

Rnd 1: MR 10. Join and tie off.

Switch to petal colour:

Rnd 2: [Ch 2 (counts as first hdc), dc, hdc] all in same st. Slst to next st. *[hdc, dc, hdc] all in next st, slst*. Repeat from * around for remaining 3 petals. Join and tie off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Sew one flower to the top of the arm and the other to the top of the cactus. You are done!

Enjoy!