A friend of mine recently had a baby girl, and I thought a unicorn amigurumi would make a great baby shower gift! There is something so special about giving a one-of-a-kind gift that no one else will have.
There are lots of free unicorn amigurumi patterns out there already, but none that were quite “me”. I set to work creating my own pattern, and Jazzy the Unicorn was born! My friend absolutely loved it, and I hope you will too. Enjoy! 🙂
Jazzy the Unicorn
Height: 14" standing
Skill Level: Intermediate
Ravelry: Jazzy the Unicorn
Meet your new BFF, Jazzy. She's as magical as she is cuddly, and her wild colorful mane gives her a ton of personality!
Skill Level: Intermediate
Ravelry: Jazzy the Unicorn
Meet your new BFF, Jazzy. She's as magical as she is cuddly, and her wild colorful mane gives her a ton of personality!
Supplies
- 3.5mm (E) hook
- 15mm safety eyes (buy here)
- Yarn needle
- Fiber fill
- Disappearing ink marker (optional – buy here)
Yarn (acrylic, weight 4)
- White (I used CSS – White)
- Multicolor (I used CSS – Times Square)
- Gold (I used Mary Maxim Starlette Sparkle – Topaz)
Notes
Abbreviations
ch: chain
sc: single crochet
inc: 2sc increase
BLO: back loop only
dec: invisible decrease
How to indent the eyes
My newer patterns indicate exactly where you should place your safety eyes, and instruct you to mark those stitches accordingly. This is one of my older patterns and it doesn't indicate where to place the eyes. I plan to update my older patterns when I have a chance, but for now use your best judgement. 🙂
Step 1 – Cut a strand of yarn approximately 18" long. Tie a large, secure knot in one end and thread the other end through your yarn needle.
Step 2 – Insert your needle through the back opening of the head and sew between the two spots where you'll be placing your safety eyes.
Step 3 – Pull your strand of yarn taut, which will create indents.
Step 4 – Fasten off with a knot and hide your yarn tail inside the head.
How to add hair for the mane and tail
Note: The photos above show a horse, but the technique is the same – just work around the horn. 🙂
Step 1 – Cut 10" long strands of yarn. How many depends on your personal preference, but I ended up using well over 100. As you can see in the 4th photo above, I only rooted hair on every other round, but filled in the gaps with one strand of yarn on each side.
I recommend finding a book or DVD case to wrap your yarn around several times, then cut along the top – it makes the process of cutting yarn strands much faster and it’s easier to produce a consistent length.
Optional: Use a ruler and a disappearing ink marker to draw a rectangle on the head as a guide for where to root the mane. You can do the same for the tail by tracing something circular (about 1.5" in diameter) on the rear.
Step 2 – Fold a strand of yarn in half, insert your hook under a stitch in the head or body. Use your hook to catch your yarn strand and pull through a loop, then pull your tail ends of the strand through the loop.
This video illustrates the technique perfectly, except I insert my hook front-to-back instead of side-to-side.
Step 3 – If giving your creation to a small child, be sure to secure each strand of hair with a knot so it can't easily be pulled out.
ch: chain
sc: single crochet
inc: 2sc increase
BLO: back loop only
dec: invisible decrease
How to indent the eyes
How to add hair for the mane and tail
Instructions
Head
- With white 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. *sc 10, inc* 4 times [48]
08. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]
09. *sc 5, dec* [36]
10. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30]
11 - 12. sc in each st around [30]
13. sc 2, inc, *sc 4, inc* 5 times, sc 2 [36]
14. *sc 5, inc* [42]
15. sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 5 times, sc 3 [48]
16. *sc 7, inc* [54]
17. sc 4, inc, *sc 8, inc* 5 times, sc 4 [60]
18 - 27. sc in each st around [60]
28. sc 4, dec, *sc 8, dec* 5 times, sc 4 [54]
29. *sc 7, dec* [48]
30. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]
31. *sc 5, dec* [36]
32. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30]
Stuff the head ¾ full. Decide on where you'd like to place the eyes and sew between those two spots to create indents for the eyes (see Notes section for more detailed instructions). Insert eyes your safety eyes and secure the backings.
33. *sc 3, dec* [24]
34. sc, dec, *sc 2, dec* 5 times, sc [18]
35. *sc, dec* [12]
Finish stuffing.
36. dec in each st around [6]
Close with an ultimate finish.
Ears (make 2)
- With white 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 2, inc, *sc 4, inc* 2 times, sc 2 [18]
06. *sc 5, inc* [21]
07. sc in each st around [21]
08. *sc 5, dec* [18]
09. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 2 times, sc 2 [15]
10. *sc 3, dec* [12]
11 - 12. 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.
Horn
- With gold yarn:
01. start 3 sc into a magic ring [3]
02. inc in each st around [6]
03 - 04. sc in each st around [6]
05. *sc, inc* [9]
06 - 07. sc in each st around [9]
08. *sc 2, inc* [12]
09 - 10. sc in each st around [12]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly with fiber fill.
Body
- With white 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 leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly with fiber fill.
Arms (make 2)
- With gold 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. BLO: sc in each st around [24]
06 - 07. sc in each st around [24]
Switch to white yarn (tutorial):
08. sc in each st around [24]
09. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]
10. sc in each st around [23]
11. sc 21, dec [22]
12. sc in each st around [22]
13. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]
14. sc in each st around [21]
15. sc 19, dec [20]
16. sc in each st around [20]
17. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]
18. sc in each st around [19]
19. sc 17, dec [18]
20. sc in each st around [18]
21. sc 8, dec, sc 8 [17]
22. sc in each st around [17]
23. sc 15, dec [16]
24 - 25. sc in each st around [16]
26. *sc 2, dec* [12]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly with fiber fill. Fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed.
Legs (make 2)
- With gold 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. BLO: sc in each st around [30]
07 - 08. sc in each st around [30]
Switch to white yarn (tutorial):
09. sc in each st around [30]
10. sc 14, dec, sc 14 [29]
11. sc 27, dec [28]
12. sc 13, dec, sc 13 [27]
13. sc 25, dec [26]
14. sc 12, dec, sc 12 [25]
15. sc 23, dec [24]
16. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]
17. sc 21, dec [22]
18. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]
19. sc 19, dec [20]
20. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]
21. sc 17, dec [18]
22. *sc 7, dec* [16]
23. *sc 2, dec* [12]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly with fiber fill. Fold the top opening in half and slip stitch closed.
Ummm I don’t crochet but I love this and can’t wait to rope my MIL into making this with my daughter!
I’ve never crocheted an amigurumi but, all my friends at A Stitch In Time are so I going to give it a try. Wish me luck.
HI!
I love this <3 but I've just started and I'm confused..
The head: going from line 8 to 9, you loose 12 stitches (from 42 to 30) but I only count -6 stitches = 36.
09. sc 2, dec [-1], *sc 4, dec* 5 times [-5], sc 2 [36].
Where am I going wrong?!
Thank you
Marie
Hi Marie,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention! Looks like I mistakenly omitted a row, but I’ve made the correction. The pattern now reads:
08. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]
09. *sc 5, dec* [36]
10. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30]
11 – 12. sc in each st around [30]
Thanks so much! Love it 🙂
I’m just starting your pattern, what does it mean to sew between the eyes? Thank you for a super cute pattern!
Hi Roberta, sorry – I know that instruction is a bit confusing! I’ll be posting a video tutorial soon to better illustrate the technique, but I’ll try to explain it in more detail for now:
If you look at photos of my amigurumi, all of the eyes are slightly indented. I accomplish this by “sculpting” the head.
Before I insert the safety eyes, I mark the holes where I will insert them (I prefer using a disappearing ink pen, but a regular marker will do since it will be covered later by the eyes).
Then I cut a length of yarn that matches the head, making a large knot in one end, and threading the other end through the eye of a yarn needle.
(Note: the head should be stuffed 3/4 full at this point. Make sure you sew *through* the stuffing when following the steps below.)
We’ll start with the right eye. Put your hand up inside the head, and insert the needle from inside to outside, in the hole immediately to the right of where you’ll be placing the right safety eye. There is now a strand of yarn coming out of the head, secured to the inside of the head with a knot.
Next, insert your needle from the outside of the head to the inside, two hole spaces to the left (through the hole immediately left of where you’ll be placing the right safety eye), and exit the needle on the opposite side of the face, through the hole to the right of where you will be placing the left safety eye.
On the right side of the face, you should now have a horizontal “stitch” of yarn the length of 3 hole spaces (the center hole covered by this stitch is where you will be placing the right safety eye), and a length of yarn with the needle on the end should be extending from the left eye area.
Now insert your needle into the hole immediately to the left of where you will be placing the left safety eye, and exit the needle on the right side of the face, through the hole we first started with (the hole to the right of where we will be placing the right safety eye).
You should now have a horizontal “stitch” of yarn extending the length of 3 holes on both sides of the face (you will eventually be inserting the safety eyes in the hole at the center of both these “stitches”), with a strand of yarn extending from the right eye space.
Pull your yarn strand taught, which should create indents where both eyes will be placed, and stitch through the same holes in the same order once more to make everything more secure. End by inserting your needle back inside the head and secure the tight tension with a knot that is anchored inside the head and snip the tail.
You should now have eye indents! Then you can insert your safety eyes as normal and secure the backings. The safety eyes will completely cover those horizontal yarn “stitches”.
Hey Jess,
Thank you so much for posting this pattern, actually for sharing your gift in general :-).
I am currently making this for a baby shower, but am still a bit unsure about the eye indents. Do you happen to have a video for this?
Thanks again
Hi Maddi, thank you for the kind words! Unfortunately I don’t have a video tutorial for the eye indents yet, but I do plan to make one in the near future (I haven’t been able to find a video tutorial by anyone else either!).
In the mean time, I hope these pictures help. It’s for a different pattern, but the concept still applies. 🙂 Basically you just want to stuff the head, then sew through the stuffing between the two spots where you’ll be putting the eyes. If you pull the yarn tight, it will create indents, then you simply tie off the yarn, hide the tail in the head, and insert the eyes over top of the little stitches you made. I hope that makes sense! (you only have to pay attention to the green yarn strand – the pink strand was just helping me keep track of the beginning and end of my rows)
https://jesshuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/thomas-tiger-eye-indents-1.png
https://jesshuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/thomas-tiger-eye-indents-2.png
How did you do the mane and tail?
Hi Trish, this is the technique I use to add hair to all of my amigurumis: https://youtu.be/QT_HF-q4MnE
I personally insert the hook in the holes back-to-front instead of side-to-side, but it really doesn’t matter. 🙂 I also secure the strands with a knot at the end so a child wouldn’t be able to easily pull them out.
I recommend finding a book or DVD case to wrap your yarn around several times, then cut along the top – it makes the process of cutting yarn strands much faster and it’s easier to produce a consistent length.
I hope that helps!
I found Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Maze. It has a nice sheen and works very well for a horn.
Thank you, Sherie! That’s a great suggestion. 🙂
Hi Jess, I adore this little unicorn and want to make one for my stepdaughter as well as my granddaughter, I noticed there is no yardage. Is one skein of the white more than enough?
Thank you so much and I cannot wait to see your giraffe!
Hi Danielle, thank you for the kind words! I’m working on totaling the yardage for each of my patterns today and will update them with that information. At 14” the unicorns are quite big, so you will only get 1 per skein. As a rough estimate, I’d say you’ll need ~275 yards of white per unicorn and a skein of Caron Simply Soft has 315 yards. I hope that helps!
Fantastic! Thank you so much for the speedy reply!
Can I sell the animals I make from your free patterns?
Yes, please feel free. 🙂
Hi! I’m new at making amigurumis and I’m kind of confused i don’t understand the first step at the head only could you explain me in some easy way please!
Hi Pao, maybe this video tutorial can help: https://youtu.be/6xmoSYNDipg
In written form, the video shows the following for round 1: ch6, inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc 3, 4sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 3, 2sc in the last ch [14]
The technique is the same, but the numbers in my pattern for round 1 vary slightly from the video: 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]
They both result in 14 stitches around so you could even use the video version for round 1 if you want!
There are 6 increases in round 2, which results in 6 additional stitches at the end of the round (14+6), meaning round 2 has 20 total stitches.
These are the instructions for round 2: inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20]
In case the way I wrote the pattern isn’t clear, that would be: inc in the first stitch, sc in the next 4 stitches, inc in the next 3 stitches, sc in the next 4 stitches, inc in the next 3 stitches [20]
I hope that helps! If you’re still stuck, please let me know.
Hi Jess, I just wanted to let you know that I just finished this pattern yesterday. It’s definitely different from the other unicorn patterns I’ve done. I ended up doing the mane in the chakra colors and used a spiral for the tail. I also made a scarf in the chakra colors, excellent job on the pattern!!!
Hello! Im confused about line 8 of the head, i count less than 48. can u help me please?
Hi Ale, round 8 should end with 42 stitches. 🙂 I think you may have been looking at the line above by mistake? If you still need help, please let me know!
sorry I wanted to say, line 8 does not add up 42, the instruction Is correct?
Let’s take a look at round 8 of the head:
08. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]
It is the equivalent of *sc 6, dec* (a total of 7 stitches) repeated 6 times, and 7×6=42.
On even-numbered rounds, I take the first set of stitches before the first decrease and split them, moving one half to the end of the round. This results in a more perfectly-round piece.
I hope this helps! If your count is still off, try frogging round 8 and counting your stitches in round 7 to make sure there are 48, then proceed again with round 8.
Sorry it was my mistake. Thank u forma everything Xoxo.
On rows like 9,14,15, do you repeat that all the way around? Or just do it once and move on to the next row. Also what do the asterisks mean? Love the pattern, first amigurumi, but it’s going well!!
Hi Amy – you should repeat anything inside the asterisks. In some places it will specify a number of times to repeat after the asterisks (like round 2 of the head) and if it doesn’t specify (like round 9) it means repeat all the way around. 🙂
If you’re not already, I highly recommend using a stitch marker so you can easily keep track of the beginning/end of your rounds. That way you know when to stop when you’re repeating a sequence all the way around. I hope that makes sense!
This is so cute. But im confused with the pattern right from the start. Every time the pattern says inc, im not understanding how much im supposed to be increasing. Like the first row it says ch 5 inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc2 sc5 in last ch. are you putting 2sc in the second ch and then skipping to the last chain? I can not figure out how you end up with 14 at the end of the round
Hi Melanie, “inc” (increase) means do two single crochets in one stitch.
This video tutorial may help: https://youtu.be/6xmoSYNDipg
In written form, the video shows the following for round 1: ch6, inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc 3, 4sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 3, 2sc in the last ch [14]
The technique is the same, but the numbers in my pattern for round 1 vary slightly from the video: 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]
They both result in 14 stitches around so you could even use the video version for round 1 if you want!
There are 6 increases in round 2, which results in 6 additional stitches at the end of the round (14+6), meaning round 2 has 20 total stitches.
The pattern is worked in one continuous spiral, so when you get to the end of round 1, continue around with round 2. These are the instructions for round 2: inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20]
In case the way I wrote the pattern isn’t clear, that would be: inc in the first stitch, sc in the next 4 stitches, inc in the next 3 stitches, sc in the next 4 stitches, inc in the next 3 stitches [20]
I hope that helps! If you’re still stuck, please let me know.
Hi! I made this unicorn and it turned out PERFECT! Is there any way to make a mini version of this? Maybe this exact latter just cut in half? I really want to make a set of 3 mini ones of these for a friend!
Hi,
I love this pattern but have just one question. In some of ur lines u have mentioned that 3sc dec *6sc dec*5 times and then 3sc. I was wondering. Why u don’t just make it as 6sc dec all around as it works up to the same count of stitches.
Thanks
Varsha
Hi Varsha, this is a method of staggering the increases between rounds so the finished piece ends up more circular. For more info, check out this post! http://geekandyarn.com/how-to-stagger-increases/
Wow just wow i finished my unicorn the other day and im so impressed with it. Everyone is asking me to make them one. The pattern is very easy to follow cant wait ro try more of your patterns thank you xx