I hope you’re excited about another holiday plushie pattern because today is your lucky day! One of the first plushie characters I designed way back was a little leprechaun and it was something I had a vision for but, I didn’t really have the skills to design it the way I wanted at the time. I kept coming back to the idea though and playing around with it. And I finally came up with the free crochet plushie pattern that I had imagined! So, without further ado, let’s meet Seamus the Leprechaun!
Seamus isn’t your typical leprechaun. Although leprechauns are known for being mischievous and stirring up harmless trouble, Seamus never had an interest in playing pranks and getting into the things the other leprechauns did. Instead, he loved spending hours in his dad’s workshop, learning how to make the best shoes, especially shoes for exploring the forests around his home. As he’s gotten older though, and become a father, Seamus spends most of his time chasing after his own boys and keeping them out of trouble!
This free crochet plushie pattern has a lot of pieces, but they are all made with simple stitches like single crochets and half double crochets. As always, I wanted the outfit for this plushie to be removable and changeable, so although there are more pieces to Seamus, it was worth making them! I made Seamus his leprechaun hat and pot of gold of course, but I also make him a waistcoat and a jacket. Because he is a respectable figure, after all!
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:
- 3.25mm crochet hook / D hook*
- #4 medium weight yarn – I used Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Biscuit, White, Forest, Black, Honey and Lemon
- stitch markers*
- tapestry needle*
- 8mm safety eyes*
- Polyfill stuffing*
*denotes affiliate link
Abbreviations:
- ch – chain
- SC – single crochet
- DC – double crochet
- HDC – half double crochet
- sl – slip stitch
Pattern Notes:
- Skill level: Intermediate – some amigurumi experience is helpful but not necessary
- Sizing: 10″ tall with hat
- Gauge: 6S X 5R per inch
Seamus the Leprechaun: Free Crochet Pattern
Head:
Round 1: With yarn in Biscuit (skin color), create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).
Rounds 8-16: SC around for 9 rounds. Insert safety eyes to round 5 after the last increase round, about 5 stitches apart. Start to add the stuffing.
Round 17: *SC 5, dec* around (36).
Round 18: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Round 19: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Round 20: *SC 2, dec* around (18). Finish adding stuffing.
Round 21: *SC, dec* around (12).
Round 22: Decrease around (6). Cut the yarn and thread tail through a tapestry needle. Run the needle under the front loops of each stitch and secure the yarn. Weave in the end.
Body:
Round 1: With yarn in dark green, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).
Rounds 8-13: SC around for 6 rounds.
Rounds 14-16: Switch to white yarn color and SC around for 3 rounds.
Round 17: *SC 5, dec* around (36).
Round 18: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 19: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Rounds 20-21: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 22: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Rounds 23-24: SC around for 2 rounds
Round 25: *SC 2, dec* around (18). Then BO, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Arms (make 2):
Round 1: With yarn in Biscuit (skin color), create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Rounds 3-7: SC around for 5 rounds.
Rounds 8-20: Switch to white yarn. SC around for 13 rounds. BO, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Legs (make 2):
Round 1: With white yarn, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Rounds 3-7: SC around for 5 rounds.
Rounds 8-23: Switch to dark green yarn. SC around for 16 rounds. BO, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Beard:
Row 1: With orange yarn, chain 31. Turn, *HDC into the first stitch, slip stitch into the next* and repeat from * to the end of the row.
Row 2-4: *HDC into the first stitch, slip stitch into the next* across. BO and leaving a long tail for sewing it onto the face.
Hat:
Round 1: With yarn in dark green, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: SC around through BLO.
Rounds 7-13: SC around for 7 rounds.
Round 14: Through FLO, *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Rounds 15-17: SC around and then BO. Weave in the loose ends. With black yarn, work one round of surface slip stitches around the base of the hat (at about round 14) and BO.
Vest:
Row 1: Chain 16 with yellow yarn. Turn and SC along each space (15).
Rows 2-5: SC for 4 rows.
Row 6: Chain 5, skip the first 5 spaces and SC into the next 7 spaces. (7)
Row 7: Chain 1, turn and SC into each space along the row, including the chain stitches (13).
Rows 8-9: SC for 3 rows.
Row 10: Chain 1, turn. SC 2. Chain 1, turn, SC 2.
Row 11: Chain 1, turn, SC 3, working the last stitch into the row before. The next few rows will be worked in what’s known as short rows.
Row 12: Ch 1, turn, SC to end.
Row 14: Chain 1, turn. SC 3, chain 1, turn, SC 4, working the last stitch into the row before.
Row 15: Ch 1, turn, SC to end.
Row 16: Chain 1, turn. SC 4, chain 1, turn, SC 5, working the last stitch into the row before.
Row 17: Ch 1, turn, SC to end.
Row 18: Chain 1, turn. SC 5, chain 1, turn, SC 6, working the last stitch into the row before. Continue to SC until you reach the last two spaces, SC2tog. You should have 11 stitches now, with the short rows creating a curved triangle section.
Rows 19-20: SC in each space for 3 rows. Fasten off but leave a long tail for seaming the vest later.
Repeat Rows 1-20 to make the second half of the vest and seam them together in the middle using the tail yarn you left.
To finish, attach a new piece of yellow yarn anywhere along the edge of the vest and work one round of SC all the way around to give the edge a nice smooth finish. Then fasten off, weave in the loose ends, and trim the excess yarn.
Jacket
Sleeves (make 2):
Round 1: With dark green yarn, loosely chain 16. Be careful not to twist the chain and slip stitch to the first space to form a ring.
Rounds 2-19: SC around for 18 rounds. BO and leave a long tail to sew the sleeves on later.
Sides (make 2):
Row 1: Chain 11, turn, and SC along the row (10).
Rows 2-22: SC for 21 rows and BO.
Back:
Row 1: Chain 21, turn, and SC along the row (20).
Rows 2-22: SC for 21 rows. DO NOT BIND OFF.
Hold one of the side pieces next to the back piece with the long sides matching, and SC 9 across the top piece. Work 3 SC into the corner space, turn and SC along the long edge of the piece, work 3 SC into the corner piece, turn and SC across the 10 stitches of the side piece and the 20 stitches of the back, then the 9 stitches of the other side piece. Work 3 SC into the corner, turn and SC along the side, work 3 SC into the corner, and SC to the end of the back piece. BO and weave in the tail yarn.
To add the sleeves, insert the sleeve into the slit between the side and back pieces of the jack and use the tail yarn to seam around the sleeve to the jacket starting at the armpit. Once you’ve gone around the sleeve, use the tail yarn to work down the red line and seam the side and back piece closed. Repeat for the other sleeve. Weave in the tails and trim the excess yarn.
Pot of Gold:
Round 1: With yarn in black, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Rounds 7-11: SC around for 5 rounds.
Round 12: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Round 13: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Round 14: Work one round of crab stitch to make the rim. To do this, insert your hook into the stitch to the RIGHT instead of the left as you normally would, draw up a loop, YO and pull through the loops. It’s basically a SC going in the opposite direction. Continues round and then BO.
Gold:
Round 1: With yarn in gold, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 mini puff stitches into each (12).
mini puff (MP) – YO, insert hook into space and pull up a loop, YO and pull up another loop, YO and pull through all loops
Round 3: *MP, 2MP in one space to increase* around (18).
Round 4: *MP 2, inc* around (24). BO and leave a long tail for sewing. Fill the pot will stuffing and sew the gold on as a lid with the bumpy side out. Weave in the ends and trim the excess yarn.
Assembling the Leprechaun
Now that we’re finally done making all the pieces for our free crochet plushie pattern, it’s time to assemble! I know there were a lot of pieces, but we’re almost done now.
Add stuffing to the legs, body, and arms if you haven’t already. Then use the tail yarn you left to sew the arms onto the body. Use the tail from the legs to attach the legs to the body.
Next, use the tail from the body to attach the head, going through one space on the body to one space on the head. Embroider on a nose with small stitches and the same yarn as the head.
Then, place the beard onto the face and curve it around the head in a U shape so the ends are at his temples and the bottom of the U is his beard. Use the tail yarn to tack the beard in place in a few places along the top edge. Secure the yarn and tuck in ends inside the head.
Optional: With black yarn, work one round of slip stitches around his waist where the shirt meets the pants for a belt.
Dress the leprechaun in his vest. You can sew a small button to one side and use one of the spaces on the other side as a buttonhole to make the vest removable or just stitch the front of it closed. Next, put on his jacket and hat, and you are done!
Whew! That was a lot but I sincerely hope you enjoyed it!
This plushie had a lot more bits to make than my patterns usually do, but I really think the details make it stand out. Almost all of the pieces are made of SC stitches and the trick is just figuring out how to arrange them so don’t be intimidated by all of this! The only piece that used a more complicated technique was maybe the vest and I’ll have a video up for how to do that soon. Also, feel free to ask questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to help you out!
I love how Seamus the Leprechaun turned out and I hope you give him a try. If you liked this pattern and want to see more of my plushies and characters, check out some of my other collections below.
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See you soon 🙂
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