On a safari-themed nursery shelf, a crochet tiger amigurumi sits proudly between board books and wooden zoo animals. Tiger-mascot schools and Lunar New Year celebrations make great excuses to stitch the striped tiger plush, a cuddly orange gift with friendly pink cheeks. Striped tail and chunky white paws make this crochet tiger amigurumi sit up by itself without any wire or extra support inside. The muzzle, cheeks and ears are worked separately then sewn on. Stripes come from colour changes. Good pick if you want a jungle animal that stands rather than slumps. Crochet Tiger Amigurumi Dark stripes run across the top of the head and down a long curled tail, breaking up the orange body. The muzzle is white with a small stitched nose and pink cheeks either side, and the paws end in oversized white tips that let the whole thing sit upright on its own. Ears are rounded with dark centres. Parts come as head, body, four legs, tail and ears, all joined once each piece is stuffed. Colour changes for the stripes are the only fiddly step, and the rest is plain rounds. Beginners who have finished a simple animal will manage this without much trouble. What You Will Need Orange yarn White yarn Black yarn 3.5 mm or 4.0 mm crochet hook 10 mm or 12 mm safety eyes Fiberfill stuffing Tapestry needle Scissors Worked at 3.5 mm, this should finish somewhere around 15 to 18 cm tall once assembled. That is an estimate from the stitch counts rather than a number the pattern gives. Work in continuous rounds with a marker in the first stitch. Keep the fabric dense so stuffing does not show. Invisible decreases throughout. The Pieces Head, make 1 Muzzle, make 1 Ears, make 2 Body, make 1 Legs, make 2 Arms, make 2 Tail, make 1 The Pattern Head, Orange Yarn Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch [12] Round 3: 1 sc, inc, repeat 6 times [18] Round 4: 2 sc, inc, repeat 6 times [24] — flat disc still, roughly the size of a bottle cap Rounds 5 to 9: sc around [24] — five straight rounds turn the disc into a short cylinder; if it keeps widening you have picked up a stray increase Place safety eyes between rounds 7 and 8 Round 10: 2 sc, dec, repeat 6 times [18] Round 11: 1 sc, dec, repeat 6 times [12] — the head should read as a ball now, firm, with the eyes sitting just below centre Stuff firmly Continue decreasing if needed and fasten off leaving a tail Muzzle, White Yarn Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch [12] Round 3: 1 sc, inc, repeat around [18] — a flat white circle, about a third the width of the head Stuff lightly Sew to the lower half of the head Embroider a small inverted triangle nose Set the muzzle so its top edge meets the eye line. Light stuffing keeps it soft but readable. f rounds and stitch counts look confusing right now, don’t stress! The video tutorial below walks you through this plushie step by step. Ears, Make 2, Orange Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 1 sc, inc, repeat around [9] Round 3: sc around [9] — a tiny shallow cup that will flatten into a rounded triangle Flatten Sew to the top of the head Attach them toward the back half of the head rather than square on top. Body, Orange and White Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch [12] Round 3: 1 sc, inc, repeat 6 times [18] Round 4: 2 sc, inc, repeat 6 times [24] Round 5: 3 sc, inc, repeat 6 times [30] — still flat; this becomes the base the tiger sits on Rounds 6 to 12: sc around [30] — seven straight rounds give a tube noticeably wider than the head, which is intended Switch to white for 8 to 10 centre stitches in front to create the belly panel Round 13: 3 sc, dec, repeat 6 times [24] Round 14: 2 sc, dec, repeat 6 times [18] — the top should now narrow into a shoulder that the head can sit on Stuff firmly Fasten off and sew to the head Legs, Make 2, Orange Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch [12] Rounds 3 to 6: sc around [12] — a short stubby tube, wider than it is tall Add a black stripe round if desired Stuff lightly Sew to the bottom of the body Set them slightly forward so the tiger sits without tipping backward. Arms, Make 2, Orange Round 1: Magic ring, 6 sc [6] Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch [12] Rounds 3 to 5: sc around [12] — one round shorter than the legs, which is what keeps the proportions right Add a stripe if desired Stuff lightly Sew to the sides of the body Tail, Orange and Black Round 1: Magic ring, 5 sc [5] Rounds 2 to 15: sc around [5] Alternate 3 rounds orange and 1 round black Stuff lightly Sew to the back of the body A five stitch round on a 4 mm hook is narrower than the hook handle. You will be working this one mostly by feel, and it goes faster if you accept that early. Do not overstuff it. Eyes Safety eyes go between rounds 7 and 8, inserted before you begin round 10. Once the decreases start the opening closes fast, and by round 11 you cannot fit a hand inside to seat the washers. Stuff after the eyes are secured, not before. The pattern suggests 7 to 8 stitches between them. On a 24 stitch round that is a third of the way around the head, which gives a wide, slightly startled look. Push the posts through and check the face straight on before committing. Five or six stitches apart reads calmer if that is what you are after. Worth knowing: 12 mm eyes on a head this size are large. They will dominate the face. That may be exactly what you want, but try both sizes against the fabric before you snap anything on. For a child under three, skip the safety eyes. Embroider two black satin stitch ovals instead and work the ends deep into the stuffing. Putting It Together Order matters. Muzzle first, then ears, then head to body, then legs, then arms, then tail. Pin every piece before sewing. All of it. The muzzle and the ears in particular look correct in your hand and wrong once they are on, and pins let you walk away and come back to it. Sew the head to the body around the full 18 stitch opening rather than tacking it at four points, or the head will pivot. Arms sit just below the head seam, angled slightly inward. Legs go forward of centre. Check that the tiger sits flat on a table before you tighten the second leg. Stuffing Head very firm. It has to hold a round shape under the weight of nothing, so any softness shows. Body firm but slightly softer than the head. Limbs lightly stuffed. They should stay squashy. Tail barely stuffed at all. A little flex looks more like a tail. Over-stuffing shows first on the head across rounds 5 to 9, where the stitches spread and the fill starts showing through orange. Stripes and Finishing Embroider the black stripes last, after everything is sewn together and you can see the whole silhouette. A V shape across the forehead Short stripes beside the eyes on each side Longer stripes down the back Bands around the tail if you did not work them in Space them unevenly. Real tiger markings are irregular, and evenly spaced stripes read as a costume rather than an animal. Vary the length too. A couple of short stubby ones between the long ones does more than getting them all identical. FAQ My head came out oval instead of round. That is nearly always the five straight rounds pulling tighter than the increase rounds above and below them. Check your tension across rounds 5 to 9 on the next one. You can also push the shape a little with your fingers while stuffing, though only so far. Can I skip the separate muzzle and just embroider the face? You can, and plenty of tiger patterns do. You lose the snout depth, so the face goes flatter and reads more like a cat. If you go that route, embroider the nose slightly lower than you think, because a flat face needs the features dropped a little to look right. The legs will not hold the toy upright. Usually they are stuffed too lightly to bear the body, or set too far back. Add a little more fill and pin them further forward before sewing. A wider stance also helps more than a firmer one.
Pin This Crochet Pattern!
