Penguin Ornament Free Crochet Pattern

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Penguin Ornament Free Crochet Pattern

I was browsing Instagram recently and, in my feed, I saw the most adorable little penguin Christmas ornament made out of felt. The sweet ornament was made by Maggy over at Red Ted Art.

I was so inspired when I saw it and knew it would make an equally sweet crochet ornament. So I reached out to Maggy to ask if she would mind if I designed a penguin ornament styled after her little felt one. I was delighted when she said, “please do!”.

I used Lion Brand 24/7 cotton for this ornament and I love the final look that this yarn gives. The colours and mercerized cotton really gives the ornament a vintage vibe, doesn’t it?

Before we dive in, check out my most recent full-sized amigurumi snowman pattern for more holiday crochet inspo. Or check out this post for a list of allll my other Christmas and holiday themed patterns, including lots of ornaments!

The Details

As usual, this pattern is made in the same style as my Ragdoll patterns; separate pieces worked in flat rows and then joined together to give them that unique 2-D look. This penguin ornament has 5 separate pieces. This pattern incorporates the tapestry (or intarsia) crochet technique and has a bit of colour-work involved so please be sure to read the “Reading this Pattern” section!

The finished measurements are approximately 9.5cm/3.75″ across.

Let’s get started! (Or Pin/Shop for later!)

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If you’d prefer a downloadable or printable version of this pattern, an inexpensive, formatted, and ad-free PDF can be purchased HERE or through the “Shop It” button above!

Materials:

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Reading this Pattern and Colour Changes:

Everything is worked in single crochet stitches, unless otherwise specified. So, in order to indicate the colour-changes, I have omitted the usual “sc” in front of the stitch counts in lines with colour-changes and I’ve used the associated colour letter instead. Here are some examples:

  • “Binc” means to work a sc increase in blue yarn.
  • “B10, W7” means to work the next 10 sc in blue and the next 7 sc in White.
  • “Bdec, W8, Bdec” means to work a regular sc decrease in blue, then work the next 8 stitches in white, then work another sc decrease in blue.

Due to the colour-changes, you will have two balls of yarn attached to your project at once. For example, cut off a couple of small balls of blue yarn so that you can use one on each side of the belly. That way, you do not need to carry the yarn inside the stitch or carry it all the way across the back of the panel.

When changing colours, you will insert your hook into the stitch for the last stitch of Colour X and pull up a loop. Then, with Colour Y, yarn over and complete the stitch by pulling through both loops with Colour Y. Drop your working yarn in Colour X and continue with Colour Y. You will pick your Colour X working yarn back up again on the way back in the next row when you need it.

Make sure to always drop your yarn on the WRONG side of your panel! This will be different depending on whether you’re working an odd or even row. So, for the front panel, whenever you are working an odd-numbered row (row 1, 3, 5, etc), the right side of your panel will be facing you. When you’re working an even-numbered row, the wrong side will be facing you.

Colour legend:

W – White

B – Blue

Terms and Stitches:

Ch – Chain

Slst – Slip stitch

Sc – Single Crochet (again, in rows with colour changes, sc stitches will be indicated with the Colour Legend letter instead of “sc”)

Inc – Increase. Work a regular sc increase

Dec – Decrease. Work a regular sc decrease

Pattern

Front Body Panel:

You will make 1 panel using a 3.25mm hook. Start with White. The panel is worked from the bottom up. Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row unless specified otherwise.

Rows 1 to 5 are worked entirely in white.

Row 1: Ch 8, starting in second ch from hook, sc 7 (7 sts)

Row 2: Inc twice, sc 3, inc twice (11 sts)

Row 3: Inc twice, sc 7, inc twice (15 sts)

Row 4: Inc, sc 13, inc (17 sts)

Row 5: Inc, sc 15, inc (19 sts)

In the next row we will start the colour-work.

Row 6: B1, W17, B1 (19 sts)

Row 7: Binc, W17, Inc (21 sts)

Row 8: B3, W15, B3 (21 sts)

Row 9: B4, W13, B4 (21 sts)

Row 10: B5, W11, B5 (21 sts)

Row 11: B6, W9, B6 (21 sts)

Row 12: B8, W5, B8 (21 sts)

All remaining rows are worked entirely in blue.

Rows 13-14: Sc across (21 sts)

Row 15: Dec, sc 17, dec (19 sts)

Row 16: Sc across (19 sts)

Row 17: Dec, sc 15, dec (17 sts)

Row 18: Dec, sc 13, dec (15 sts)

Row 19: Dec twice, sc 7, dec twice (11 sts)

Row 20: Dec twice, sc 3, dec twice (7 sts)

Row 21: Dec, sc 3, dec (5 sts)

Tie off. Set aside for assembly later.

Back Body Panel:

Using 3.25mm hook and blue yarn. The back panel is worked exactly the same as the front panel except it’s worked entirely in blue without any colour-work.

Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row unless specified otherwise.

Row 1: Ch 8, starting in second ch from hook, sc 7 (7 sts)

Row 2: Inc twice, sc 3, inc twice (11 sts)

Row 3: Inc twice, sc 7, inc twice (15 sts)

Row 4: Inc, sc 13, inc (17 sts)

Row 5: Inc, sc 15, inc (19 sts)

Row 6: Sc across (19 sts)

Row 7: Inc, sc 17, inc (21 sts)

Rows 8-14: Sc across (21 sts)

Row 15: Dec, sc 17, dec (19 sts)

Row 16: Sc across (19 sts)

Row 17: Dec, sc 15, dec (17 sts)

Row 18: Dec, sc 13, dec (15 sts)

Row 19: Dec twice, Sc 7, dec twice (11 sts)

Row 20: Dec twice, sc 3, dec twice (7 sts)

Row 21: Dec, sc 3, dec (5 sts)

Tie off. Set aside for assembly later.

Beak:

In yellow yarn using a 3.25mm hook. Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row.

Row 1: Ch 5, starting in second ch from hook, sc 4 (4 sts)

Row 2: Dec twice (2 sts)

Row 3: Dec (1 st)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching it on. Set aside for assembly later.

Feet (make 2):

Using 3.25mm hook and yellow yarn.

Row 1: Ch 2, sc 1 (1 st)

Row 2: 3 sc into the same st (3 sts)

Row 3: Dc in first st, slst in next, dc in last st, ch 1, slst in same st.

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching it on.

Move on to assembly below!

Assembly:

Step 1: Face

First, we need to attach and stitch on our facial features to the front panel.

Insert 10mm safety eyes into the front panel at row 15 and approximately 5 stitches in from each side.

Next, position the beak so that it is between the eyes, and lined up with the top of the belly. Stitch the beak in place using the long tail.

Finally, stitch the little feet onto each side of the belly and add some cheeks by stitching some pink yarn around a stitch under each eye a couple of times.

Step 2: Body

Okay, here are the pieces you should now have at this step.

Penguin

Place the two body panels together, matching up all sides and colours.

Make sure the front of your Penguin is facing you as you crochet around the outside of the piece.

Starting on the left side at the top, begin attaching the panels together by single crocheting around the outside of the panels starting in blue.

Be sure to crochet loosely around so that the edge keeps it’s nice curve!

Crochet down to the top of the belly. Change colours to white.

Continue single crocheting around the bottom. Switch back to blue when necessary.

Continue crocheting up the other side and stop when you reach the top. Stuff your penguin!

Continue single crocheting across the top. Top up stuffing as you go as necessary. Use the back of your crochet hook to even out the stuffing and keep the shape nice and round.

When you are satisfied with the stuffing, close with a slst to first st. Tie off. With your tapestry needle, poke the yarn tail back inside the piece. Finish with some needle sculpting for the eyes, add the loop for hanging, and you’re done!

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7 thoughts on “Penguin Ornament Free Crochet Pattern

  1. Oh, I so appreciate all of your posts. When I notice that I have a new email from you, I am always delighted with your creative talent, and once again, thank you so very much, you make my day brighter.

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