Jeremy the Giraffe: Free Giraffe Amigurumi Pattern

I have always loved stuffed animals, and the bigger they were, the better. There’s just something special about squishing into a cuddly toy that’s bigger than you are. When my cousin told me she was expecting a baby, I just knew I had to make her a giant giraffe amigurumi for her nursery. This was the first pattern that I designed, and I’m so excited to have new pictures to share with you along with the updated pattern. So, let’s get right into the giraffe amigurumi pattern!

Jeremy the Giraffe sits at just under 2 feet tall and if you count his legs, he’s a full three feet long! When I sat down to design this giraffe amigurumi pattern, I really wanted to get the legs right. I wanted the legs on my crochet giraffe to be pretty long and bobbly at the ends so that when you picked him up or wiggled him around, his arms and legs would swing around.

A few years ago, I had done that with a monster toy, and it was so much fun for the kids to play with that wanted to include it here too. I also made it so Jeremy would sit on the base of his body and his arms and legs would be long enough to hang off a shelf or sit in a chair.

 

The idea of a giraffe with a rainbow mohawk makes me laugh, but if you want to go the more traditional route, just go ahead and use yellows and browns instead. Another thing to note before I share the pattern is that because this was my first design, there are some things I would do differently now – mainly using the right size hook and yarn so there aren’t so many holes. I’ve updated the pattern to reflect that, so you don’t need to worry about making that adjustment, but you can see that the stitches in my amigurumi giraffe pattern aren’t as close together as they should be. 

The full free pattern is written out below. For those who’d prefer to print the pattern and take it with you for on-the-go and to markup as you go, you can buy the inexpensive printable PDF from my Etsy and Ravelry shops. The PDF is formatted without ads or comments, so it’s easy to read.

Materials:

• #4 medium weight yarn in body color (A) —I used 1.5 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver
• #4 medium weight yarn in color for the hooves, spots, horns, and mane (B) — I used scraps
• 15mm safety eyes
• 4.00mm crochet hook
• Locking stitch markers
• Tapestry needle
• Polyfill stuffing

Abbreviations:

• ch – chain
• SC – single crochet
• DC – double crochet
• HDC – half double crochet
• sl – slip stitch

Pattern Notes:

• Skill level: Beginner
• Sizing: 3 feet tall total

 

Jeremy the Giraffe Amigurumi Pattern

Body:

Round 1: With Yarn A, SC 4 into magic loop (4 stitches)

Round 2: Work 2 SC into each stitch (8)

Round 3: SC 1, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (12).

Round 4: SC 2, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (16).

Round 5: SC 3, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (20).

Round 6: SC 4, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (24).

Round 7: SC 5, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (28).

Rounds 8-15: Continue increasing in that pattern until you reach: SC 13, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (60).

Rounds 16-29: SC around (60). Add stuffing as you go. It’s easier to stuff as you make the shapes than to go back and try to stuff it evenly afterward.

Round 30: SC 13, work one decrease. Repeat all the way around (56).

Round 31-32: SC around (56).

Round 33: SC 12, decrease. Repeat all the way around (52).

Round 34: SC around (52).

Round 35: SC 11, decrease Repeat all the way around (48).

Round 36: SC around (48).

Round 37: SC 10, then decrease. Repeat all the way around (44).

Round 38: SC 7, decrease. Repeat all the way around (40).

Round 39: SC 4, decrease. Repeat until the last 6 stitches. SC 1, then decrease twice (32).

Shaping the Neck:

Round 40: SC 6, decrease. Repeat all the way around (28).

Round 41: SC 5, decrease. Repeat all the way around (24).

Rounds 42-66: SC around for 25 rounds, stuffing the neck firmly as you go (24). Bind off, leaving 1.5-2 feet of yarn for joining the head on later.

Head:

Round 1: With Yarn A, SC 6 into a magic loop (6).

Round 2: Work 2 SC into each space (12).

Round 3: SC 1, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (18).

Round 4: SC 2, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (24).

Round 5: SC 3, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (30).

Round 6: SC 4, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (36).

Round 7: SC 5, increase into the next space. Repeat all the way around (42).

Rounds 8-14: SC around (42)

Round 15: SC 4, decrease. Repeat all the way around (35). Add in the stuffing.

Round 16: SC 2 together all the way around until the last stitch. SC last stitch (18).

Now, you’ll make the second “bubble” of the head.

Round 17: Work 2 SC in each space (36)

Round 18: SC around (36)

Round 19: SC 1, increase into next space. Repeat all the way around (54).

Rounds 20-21: SC around (54).

Round 22: SC 7, decrease. Repeat all the way around (48).

Round 23: SC 6, decrease. Repeat all the way around (42).

Round 24: SC 5, decrease. Repeat all the way around (36).

Rounds 25-29: SC around (36).

Round 30: SC 4, decrease. Repeat all the way around (30).

Round 31: SC 3, decrease. Repeat all the way around (24).

Round 32: SC 2, decrease. Repeat all the way around (18).

Stuff firmly and determine where the eyes will go by making a small mark with a marker (which will be covered up later). then, remove the stuffing and insert the safety eyes where you marked them to go, and stuff the head again, firmly. Once you close the backings, they won’t open, so be sure you’re happy with it!

Round 33: Decrease all the way around (9)

Round 34: Decrease all the way around, SC the last stitch (5). Pull yarn through remaining stitches and bind off.

Arms (make 2):

Round 1: With Yarn B, SC 6 into a magic loop (6).

Round 2: Work 2 SC into each space (12).

Round 3: SC 1, increase into the next space. Repeat around (18).

Round 4: SC 2, increase into the next space. Repeat around (24).

Round 5: SC 3, increase into the next space. Repeat around (30).

Round 6: SC 4, increase into the next space. Repeat around (36).

Rounds 7-8: SC around (36).

Round 9: SC 4, decrease. Repeat around (30).

Round 10: SC 3, decrease. Repeat around (24).

Round 11: SC 2, decrease. Repeat around (18).

Round 12: SC 1, decrease. Repeat around (12).

Round 13: SC around (12). Bind off and stuff firmly to make the hoof. Switch to Yarn A to work the arm.

Rounds 14-43: SC around, stuffing as you go. Bind off, and leave a long tail for joining the arm to the body.

Legs (make 2):

Work the legs the same way as the arms, but make the legs 5 rounds longer than the arms (SC around for rounds 14-48).

 

Ears (make 2):

Round 1: With Yarn A, SC 3 into a magic loop (3).

Round 2: Work 2 SC into each space (6).

Round 3: SC 1, increase into the next space. Repeat around (9).

Round 4: SC 2, increase into the next space. Repeat around (12).

Round 5: SC 3, increase into the next space. Repeat around (15).

Round 6: SC 4, increase into the next space. Repeat around (18).

Round 7:  SC around (18).

Round 8: SC 4, decrease. Repeat around (15).

Round 9: SC 3, decrease. Repeat around (12).

Round 10: SC 2, decrease. Repeat around (9).

Round 11: SC 1, decrease. Repeat around (6).

Round 12-13: HDC around. Bind off, leaving a tail for joining to the head later.

 

Horns (make 2):

Round 1: With Yarn B, SC 5 into a magic loop (5).

Round 2: Work 2 SC into each space (10).

Rounds 3-4: SC around (10).

Round 5: Decrease all the way around (5).

Round 6-8: HDC around (5). Bind off and leave a long tail for joining to the head later.

 

Assembly:

Great, now let’s start putting the crochet giraffe together! First, place the head on the body/neck and align it however it looks best to you. Then, secure it in place for now using stitch markers or safety pins. Use the tail yarn from the body piece and sew the head on going through both loops on the neck and a space on the head. Once you go all the way around, make a knot, and cut the yarn.

Next, line up the limbs using the pictures here as a guide and sew them on as well. Finally, sew on the horns and ears, trying to keep them as evenly spaced as possible.

Mane/Tail:

Row 1: With a 5.00mm hook and Yarn A, chain 5 and turn (5).
Row 2-x: DC along the row, ch1, turn. Continue in this pattern until you have a long strip that stretches from the back of the giraffe’s head to the base of its body. This will make a template for you to build your mane onto. It’s easier to do this separately and then attach the whole thing to the crochet giraffe afterward, rather than to create the mane directly on the giraffe. However, if you want to attach the hair directly, go ahead and do that! I found it difficult to line the hairs up that way, though.

Cut 3-4 inch strips of yarn to make the hairs of the mane. Then, looping each strip to a spot on the template, create a tassel, and pull it tight. Once you add a bunch of these strips, the whole thing will start to look like a mane.

You can see more in-depth pictures of this process on my Aurora the Unicorn Plushie here.

When you reach the very bottom row of the template, use strips that are 10-12 inches long, fold them in half, and then loop them onto the bottom row. These longer strips will be the tail. You can leave them hanging down straight or you can braid them and secure it with a clear elastic as I did.

Now align the entire mane/tail-piece to the back of the crochet giraffe, beginning at the back of its head and ending at the base of the body. Finally, sew the whole thing into place, using stitch markers to keep it from moving around.

Spots:

There is no rhyme or reason to how I made the spots. I just used a few different colors and started to make some random shapes with them. First, I would start off with chains for different lengths, then work a few rows, turn and add more. I just played this part by ear and made a bunch of spots in different sizes. Then, I sewed them onto the giraffe. Once you’re all done, make sure to weave in the ends and trim any excess yarn.

And you’re done!

I love how this crochet giraffe amigurumi pattern turned out and it is still one of my very favorite makes! If you like making toys and plushies as much as I do, you can also check out some of my other toys here, or visit the pattern shop for the PDFs!

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today! Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter below if you want to get free patterns, tutorials, and tips sent right to your inbox every week. Just fill out or name and email and you’re good to go. That’s all for today but I’ll be back with a new pattern in no time!

See you soon 🙂

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