Crochet Bear With a Heart: A Tiny One-Piece Amigurumi Pattern
This crochet bear with a heart is a small, sweet keepsake: an 11 cm bear with little legs, a tiny tail, rounded ears and a stuffed heart sewn onto its arms, so it looks as if it’s holding the heart out to you.
Much of the shaping happens inside the rounds. The tail and both legs appear in Rnd 4 as groups of double crochet, the arms grow from short chains in Rnd 8, and the head continues straight up from the body. The ears are worked directly onto the head afterward, so the heart is the only piece you sew on.
Materials Abbreviations Body Head Ears Heart FAQ
Before your first stitch: The body begins with a magic ring, and the bear keeps growing from it all the way to Rnd 18. There is no seam between the body and the head.
Keep a stitch marker handy: After Rnd 7, you’ll move it to the center of the back. Rnd 8 counts from that new starting point, which is what places the two arms.
Have the eyes ready: They go in after Rnd 16, while the top of the head is still open, before the last two decrease rounds.
Materials
- Yarn: Himalaya Dolphin Baby
- Face details: Yarnart Jeans
- Hook: no. 4, as listed in the original pattern
- Eyes: 10 mm or 8 mm
- Stuffing for the body and the heart
- Stitch marker (moved to the center back after Rnd 7)
- Yarn needle for embroidering the face and sewing on the heart
Finished size: 11 cm (about 4.3 in).
Abbreviations (US terms)
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MR | magic ring |
| ch | chain |
| sc | single crochet |
| dc | double crochet |
| sl st | slip stitch |
| st(s) | stitch(es) |
| inc | increase (2 sc in the same st) |
| dec | decrease (sc the next 2 sts together) |
| Rnd | round |
Every stitch name here is a US term. If you usually follow UK patterns, the Craft Yarn Council’s standard crochet abbreviations page includes a US/UK comparison.
Body
The bear is crocheted in one piece, starting at the bottom of the body.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnd 3: [Sc, inc] 6 times (18 sts)
Tail and legs: Rnd 4 forms the tail with a group of 3 dc and each leg with a group of 4 dc, every group worked into a single stitch.
Rnd 4: Sc in the next st, 3 dc in the next st (tail), sc in the next 6 sts, 4 dc in the next st (leg), sc in the next 3 sts, 4 dc in the next st (leg), sc in the next 5 sts (18 sts) Instruction pending clarification.
Draft note: How each dc group is finished so that Rnd 4 ends with 18 sts is still being confirmed. Rnd 5 depends on it.
Rnd 5: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Rnd 6: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Rnd 7: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Move the marker to the center of the back.
How the arms work: Each arm is a chain of 5 worked back with 4 sc, made right in the middle of Rnd 8. The arm stitches don’t change the round’s count: 6 + 5 + 7 body stitches still give 18.
Rnd 8: Sc in the next 6 sts, arm (ch 5, sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 3 chs), sc in the next 5 sts, arm, sc in the next 7 sts (18 sts)
Rnd 9: [Sc, dec] 6 times (12 sts)
Stuff the body. Continue working into the head.
Head
Rnd 10: Inc in each st around (24 sts)
Where the increases land: With the round starting at the center back, the four increases grouped in the middle of Rnd 11 fall on the front of the head.
Rnd 11: Sc in the next 8 sts, [sc, inc] 4 times, sc in the next 8 sts (28 sts)
Rnd 12: [2 sc, dec] 7 times (21 sts)
Rnd 13: Sc in the next 7 sts, dec, sc in the next 2 sts, dec, sc in the next 2 sts, dec, sc in the next 4 sts (18 sts)
Rnd 14: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Rnd 15: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Rnd 16: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Eyes: Insert the eyes between Rnds 13 and 14, with 3–4 sts between them. If you’re using safety eyes, here’s how to attach safety eyes.
Rnd 17: [Sc, dec] 6 times (12 sts)
Rnd 18: Dec 6 times (6 sts)
Face details: If you like, sculpt the eyes and the muzzle. Embroider the eyebrows, nose, eye whites and eyelashes. Yarnart Jeans is the yarn listed for these details.
Ears
The ears are worked straight onto the head, one at a time, and use the eyes as the reference point.
Each ear: Join the yarn between Rnds 14 and 15, 3 sts out to the side of the eye. Work 3 dc in one st, then sl st.
Keeping them even: Count the same 3 sts out from each eye, along the same round, so the two ears sit level.
Heart
The heart is made separately. It starts as two small pieces that join into one round.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnd 3: Sc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnd 4: Sc in each st around (12 sts)
Make 2 pieces. Fasten off the first piece. Don’t fasten off the second piece. Keep working from the second piece and join the two pieces with a sl st.
Joining the lobes: Rnd 5 travels around both pieces, so their 12 stitches each add up to the new total of 24.
Rnd 5: Sc in each st around both pieces (24 sts)
Rnd 6: Sc in each st around (24 sts)
Rnd 7: [2 sc, dec] 6 times (18 sts)
Rnd 8: Sc in each st around (18 sts)
Rnd 9: [Sc, dec] 6 times (12 sts)
Stuff the heart very lightly.
Rnd 10: Sc in each st around (12 sts)
Rnd 11: Dec 6 times (6 sts)
Sew the heart to the bear’s arms. For neat attachment, see how to sew amigurumi parts together.
More to make
Questions about this bear
Do I need to sew on the arms, legs and ears?
No. The legs and tail are worked in Rnd 4 of the body, the arms are chained in Rnd 8, and the ears are crocheted directly onto the head. The heart is the only piece you sew on, attaching it to the arms.
Why does Rnd 8 still have 18 stitches after adding two arms?
Each arm is a chain of 5 worked back with 4 sc, and those stitches aren’t counted in the round. The body stitches in Rnd 8 are 6 + 5 + 7, which makes 18.
When do the eyes go in?
After Rnd 16, before the decreases of Rnds 17 and 18. Place them between Rnds 13 and 14, with 3–4 sts between them. Either 10 mm or 8 mm eyes are listed.
How do the two halves of the heart become one piece?
Make two 12-stitch pieces. Fasten off the first, keep the second on your hook, join them with a sl st, and work Rnd 5 around both pieces for 24 sts. The heart then decreases to 6 sts, with very light stuffing after Rnd 9.
