
✨ New and Improved! I originally published the pattern for Harriet the Hippo in April 2018. As of June 2021, I have overhauled it for easier assembly and clearer instructions. No more sewing the snout to the head! 🎉
You’ll never guess what inspired my crochet hippo pattern… 😂
The first-ever animal I designed was a lion. I made it for my then-one-year-old nephew (before I had my own kids!) and gave it to him on a family trip.
On that same trip, my mom brought a hippo stroller to cart around my nephew. I thought it was absolutely adorable.
I took one look at that stroller and knew I would be expanding into a whole safari crochet pattern collection. A hippo would be next!

I made lots of rookie mistakes designing this hippo
Because this was one of my first patterns, there were many things I didn’t know I didn’t know about designing amigurumi.
In the previous version of the pattern, many of the pieces had to be made separately—then sewn together—when they could have been crocheted together as one piece.
For example, you had to sew the snout to the head, and sew the “pads” to the base of the arms & legs. It was difficult and time-consuming to get everything on straight. Not anymore!
Spend less time assembling (more time for crocheting!) 👏
I’ve updated this hippo amigurumi pattern to be as simple and streamlined as possible.
To better emulate a real hippo, I added nostrils. I also made the ears slightly smaller and eliminated the pink centers. Take a look through the new pattern below!

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Harriet the Hippo
Supplies
Yarn (acrylic, weight 4) – 265 total yards
- Medium Teal – 213 yards (I used Red Heart Super Saver – Jade)
- Aqua – 47 yards (I used Red Heart Super Saver – Aruba Sea)
- Dark Teal – 1 yard (I used Red Heart Super Saver – Real Teal)
- White – 4 yards (I used Red Heart Super Saver – White)
Notes
- ch – chain
- slst – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- inc – complete two single crochets within the same stitch
- dec – combine two stitches into one with an invisible decrease
- 2hdc – Complete two half double crochets in the same stitch. Also known as a double crochet increase. You do not need to chain before completing the 2hdc.
- BLO – crochet in the back loop only
- *sc x* – repeat the instructions between asterisks(*) the indicated number of times. If the pattern doesn’t tell you how many times to repeat, then repeat the sequence until you reach the end of the round.
General Instructions
- Work all stitches in both loops unless the pattern instructs otherwise.
- This pattern is worked in one continuous spiral. Do not join rounds unless the pattern indicates otherwise (in other words, do not slip stitch and chain to start a new round).
- Use a stitch marker to keep track of where one round ends and the next begins. I prefer to place my stitch marker in the last stitch of the round.
Recommended Sequence
Here are the steps to create your hippo, in order:
- Crochet the Snout & Head
- Crochet the Ears
- Attach the Ears to the Head
- Crochet the Teeth
- Crochet the Body
- Crochet the Belly
- Crochet the Arms
- Crochet the Legs
- Crochet the Tail
- Attach the Head to the Body
- Attach the Legs to the Body
- Attach the Arms to the Body
- Attach the Tail to the Body
- Attach the Belly to the Body
- Add the Nostrils
- Attach the Teeth
Crochet Video Tutorials
- Magic ring
- Slip stitch closed
- Chain 5 start
- Invisible finish
- Ultimate finish
- Perfect Arm Base
- Perfect Leg Base
Assembly Tutorials
- How to attach the head to the body
- How to attach the legs to the body
- How to attach the arms to the body
- How to attach the tail to the body
Snout & Head: Round 11 – Marking Stitches for the Teeth
Snout & Head: Round 16 – Additional Stitches
Snout & Head: Round 20 – Marking Stitches for the Eyes
Snout & Head: Round 29 – Marking Stitches for the Ears
How to Indent the Eyes
How to Attach the Ears
How to Crochet the Tail Tuft
Instructions
Snout & Head
With aqua yarn:01. Chain 5 start: ch5, inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc 2, 5sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 2, 3sc in the last ch [14]02. inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20]03. inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc, inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc [26]04. inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times, inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times [32]05. inc, sc 10, inc, sc 2, inc, sc, inc, sc 10, inc, sc 2, inc, sc [38]06. inc, sc 12, *inc, sc 2* 2 times, inc, sc 12, *inc, sc 2* 2 times [44]07. inc, sc 14, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 2, inc, sc 14, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 2 [50]08. inc, sc 16, *inc, sc 3* 2 times, inc, sc 16, *inc, sc 3* 2 times [56]09. *sc 26, dec* [54]10. sc in each st around [54]11. *sc 7, dec* [48]12. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]13. sc in each st around [42]14. *sc 5, dec* [36]15. sc in each st around [36] Now sc until your most recent stitch is centered perpendicular to your Chain 5 Start. See "Snout & Head: Round 16 – Additional Stitches" in the Notes section for more details. Switch to Medium Teal Yarn:16. BLO: slst in each st around [36]17. BLO: *sc 5, inc* [42]18. sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 5 times, sc 3 [48]19. *sc 7, inc* [54]20. sc 4, inc, *sc 8, inc* 5 times, sc 4 [60]Between rounds 19 and 20 (the last two rounds you completed), you are going to insert 2 markers. Center them above the snout with 18 stitches in between. See "Snout & Head: Round 20 – Marking Stitches for the Eyes" in the Notes section for more details. 21 – 29. sc in each st around [60] Between rounds 28 and 29 (the last two rounds you completed), you are going to insert 2 markers. Center them above the eye markers with 13 stitches in between. See "Snout & Head: Round 29 – Marking Stitches for the Ears" in the Notes section for more details. 30. sc in each st around [60]31. sc 4, dec, *sc 8, dec* 5 times, sc 4 [54]32. *sc 7, dec* [48]33. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]34. *sc 5, dec* [36]35. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30] Stuff head ¾ full and create indents for the eyes. See “How to indent the eyes” in the notes section. Insert your safety eyes and secure the backings. 36. *sc 3, dec* [24]37. sc, dec, *sc 2, dec* 5 times, sc [18]38. *sc, dec* [12]Finish stuffing.39. *dec* [6] Cut working yarn and close with an ultimate finish.
Ears (make 2)
With medium teal yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. *sc, inc* [9]03. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 2 times, sc [12]04. *sc 3, inc* [15]05. sc in each st around [15]06. *sc 3, dec* [12]07 – 09. sc in each st around [12] Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed.
Teeth (make 2)
With white yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. BLO: sc in each st around [12]04. sc in each st around [12] Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.When attaching the teeth, I recommend sewing them 3/4 around, stuffing, then sewing the remaining 1/4.
Body
With medium teal yarn: 01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6] 02. inc in each st around [12] 03. *sc, inc* [18] 04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24] 05. *sc 3, inc* [30] 06. sc 2, inc, *sc 4, inc* 5 times, sc 2 [36] 07. *sc 5, inc* [42] 08. sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 5 times, sc 3 [48] 09. *sc 7, inc* [54] 10. sc 4, inc, *sc 8, inc* 5 times, sc 4 [60] 11 – 17. sc in each st around [60] 18. sc 4, dec, *sc 8, dec* 5 times, sc 4 [54] 19. sc in each st around [54] 20. *sc 7, dec* [48] 21. sc in each st around [48] 22. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42] 23 – 24. sc in each st around [42] 25. *sc 5, dec* [36] 26 – 27. sc in each st around [36] 28. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30] 29 – 30. sc in each st around [30] 31. *sc 3, dec* [24] Fasten off and create an invisible finish. Leave an 24" tail for sewing. Stuff firmly with fiber fill.
Belly
With aqua yarn: 01. Chain 5 start: ch5, inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc 2, 5sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 2, 3sc in the last ch [14] 02. inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20] 03. inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc, inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc [26] 04. inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times, inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times [32] 05. inc, sc 10, inc, sc 2, inc, sc, inc, sc 10, inc, sc 2, inc, sc [38] 06. inc, sc 12, *inc, sc 2* 2 times, inc, sc 12, *inc, sc 2* 2 times [44] 07. inc, sc 14, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 2, inc, sc 14, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 2 [50] Fasten off and create an invisible finish. Leave a 24" tail for sewing. Optional: Rather than sewing the belly on with the yarn tail, I chose to weave the tail into the back of the work and trim it short, then sew the belly on to the body with matching thread and a sewing needle. Either way works!
Arms (make 2)
Tip: Follow my Perfect Arm Base tutorial for seamless color transitions. With aqua yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* [18] Switch to medium teal yarn:04. BLO: slst in each st around [18]05. BLO: sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]06. BLO: sc in each st around [24]07 – 09. sc in each st around [24]10. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]11. sc in each st around [23]12. sc 21, dec [22]13. sc in each st around [22]14. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]15. sc in each st around [21]16. sc 19, dec [20]17. sc in each st around [20]18. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]19. sc in each st around [19]20. sc 17, dec [18]21. sc in each st around [18]22. sc 8, dec, sc 8 [17]23. sc in each st around [17]24. sc 15, dec [16]25 – 26. sc in each st around [16]27. *sc 2, dec* [12] Fasten off and leave a 24" tail for sewing. Stuff with fiber fill, then fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed.
Legs (make 2)
Tip: Follow my Perfect Leg Base tutorial for seamless color transitions. With aqua yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24] Switch to medium teal yarn:05. BLO: slst in each st around [24]06. BLO: *sc 3, inc* [30]07. BLO: sc in each st around [30]08 – 10. sc in each st around [30]11. sc 14, dec, sc 14 [29]12. sc 27, dec [28]13. sc 13, dec, sc 13 [27]14. sc 25, dec [26]15. sc 12, dec, sc 12 [25]16. sc 23, dec [24]17. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]18. sc 21, dec [22]19. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]20. sc 19, dec [20]21. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]22. sc 17, dec [18]23. *sc 7, dec* [16]24. *sc 2, dec* [12] Fasten off and leave a 24" tail for sewing. Stuff with fiber fill, then fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed.
Tail
With medium teal yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02 – 08. sc around [6] Fasten off and leave a 18" for sewing. Fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed. Thread the yarn tail into the work and out the magic ring with a yarn needle (use it to sew the tail to the body at a later step). You are now going to add a tuft of fur to the slip-stitched end of the tail. With dark teal yarn, create a sip knot on your hook. 01. *slst, ch 6, slst into the same st* See "How to Crochet the Tail Tuft" in the Notes section for more details and a video tutorial.