Cardinal Amigurumi – Free Crochet Pattern
Print this pattern out – purchase the PDF here!
Supplies:
• Yarn 4/Medium Weight Yarn in…
Red, black, and yellow
•4mm Crochet Hook
•Tapestry needle
•Scissors
•Stuffing
•10mm safety eyes
Additional Information:
Difficulty: Easy
Size: 5″ tall
Cardinals are probably one of the prettiest and most festive birds around. I always associate them being in the snow next to red berries! While they’re adorable year round (and probably especially loved by some sports fans), a cardinal is great to crochet for the winter! This pattern is very simple and quick!
Head/Body:
In Red
Round 1: 6 Sc into a Magic Ring (6)
Round 2: *Inc* all around (12)
Round 3: *Inc, Sc in the next st* all around (18)
Round 4: *Inc, Sc in the next 2 st* all around (24)
Round 5-7: *Sc* all around (24)
Now we will mark where to place the safety eyes. Add an eye stitch marker into the 12th and 16th stitch in Round 7. Later we will replace these markers with safety eyes.
Round 8-9: *Sc* all around (24)
Round 10: Working in the Front Loop Only (FLO), *Inc, Sc in the next st* 4 times. Working in BOTH loops, Sc in the next 2 st. Repeat *Dec, Sc in the next st* 3 times. Sc in the next 3 st. Working in the FLO, Inc in the next st, Sc in the next st (26)
Round 11: In BOTH loops, repeat *Inc, Sc in the next 2 st* 4 times. Sc in the next 2 st. *Dec* 3 times, Sc in the next 3 st, Inc in the next st, Sc in the next 2 st (28)
Round 12: Repeat *Inc, Sc in the next 3 st* 4 times. Sc in the next 8 st. Inc in the next st, Sc in the next 3 st (33)
Round 13: Sc in the next 6 st. *Inc* in the next 3 st. Sc in the next 24 st (36)
Round 14: Sc in the next 8 st. Inc in the next 2 st. Sc in the next 26 st (38)
Round 15-18: *Sc* all around (38)
Round 19: *Dec, Sc in the next 4 st* 6 times. Dec 1 time (31)
Round 20: *Dec, Sc in the next 3 st* 6 times. Sc in the next st (25)
Stuff the body firmly now. Continue stuffing after each round.
Round 21: *Dec, Sc in the next 2 st* 6 times. Sc in the next st (19)
Round 22: *Dec, Sc in the next st* 6 times. Sc in the next st (13)
Round 23: *Dec* 6 times. Sc in the next st (7)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the remaining stitches closed and weave in ends. Cut any excess yarn.
Mouth Piece:
In Black
Round 1: 6 Sc into a Magic Ring (6)
Round 2: *Inc* in each of the next 5 st. Dc in the next st, Trc into the same st, Dc into the same st. SlSt in the next st (13)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the tail on as shown and sew on. Once done, weave in ends and cut any excess yarn.
Beak:
In Yellow
Round 1: 6 Sc into a Magic Ring (6)
Round 2: *Inc, Sc in the next 2 st* all around (8)
Round 3: *Inc, Sc in the next 3 st* all around (10)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the beak on as shown and sew on, making sure to stuff before fully sewing on. Once done, weave in ends and cut any excess yarn.
Head Piece:
In Red
Row 1: Ch 4. SlSt in the 2nd Ch from the hook.
•Ch 4. SlSt in the 2nd Ch from the hook. SlSt in the next 2 st. Working back on the original chain, SlSt into the same Ch.
•Ch 6. SlSt in the 2nd Ch from the hook. SlSt in the next 4 st. Working back on the original Ch, SlSt in the next ch.
•Ch 4. SlSt in the 2nd Ch from the hook. SlSt in the next 2 st. Working back on the original Ch, SlSt in the next ch.
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the head piece on as shown and sew on. Once done, weave in ends and cut any excess yarn.
Arm: (Make 2)
In Red
Row 1: Ch 8. Sc 3 times in the 2nd Ch from the hook. Sc in the next 5 Ch. Sc 3 times in the next Ch. Now turn to the OTHER side of the chain, where we haven’t made any stitches yet. Working on this other side, Sc in the next 5 st. SlSt in the next st to connect (16)
Row 2: Ch 1 and turn. Working in the FLO, Sc in the next 7 st, Sc 3 times in the next st, Sc in the next 7 st (17)
Row 3: Ch 1 and turn. Working in the Back Loop Only, Sc in the next 8 st. Sc 3 times in the next st. Sc in the next 8 st (19)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the arms on as shown and sew or hot glue on.
Tail:
In Red
Row 1: Ch 8. Sc 3 times in the 2nd Ch from the hook. Sc in the next 5 Ch. Sc 3 times in the next Ch. Now turn to the OTHER side of the chain, where we haven’t made any stitches yet. Working on this other side, Sc in the next 5 st. SlSt in the next st to connect (16)
Row 2: Ch 1 and turn. Working in the FLO, Sc in the next 7 st, Sc 3 times in the next st, Sc in the next 7 st (17)
Row 3: Ch 1 and turn. Working in the Back Loop Only, Sc in the next 8 st. Sc 3 times in the next st. Sc in the next 8 st (19)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the tail on as shown and sew or hot glue on.
Feet: (Make 2)
In Yellow
Round 1: 6 Sc into a Magic Ring. SlSt in the next st to complete (6)
Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Pin the feet on as shown and sew on. Once done, weave in ends and cut any excess yarn.
Done! If you made this cardinal, I would LOVE to see! You can show me by posting a picture in the comments underneath this post 🙂
34 Comments
goody. another AMAZING amigurumi pattern. just wondering. i live in Australia so we have Christmas in summer. so could you make a summer Christmas pattern. you don’t have to if you don’t want to. it’s totally up to you. but it would be great:)
Have you seen her summer pattern set yet? It has little summer penguins! I bet you could Christmas it up pretty easily. I live in Florida so I’m going to download it and add some little Christmas themed touches for a beach Christmas theme.
that’s a good idea. i think i’ll do it. thank you 🙂
Very nice pattern, easy to follow directions. Happy with this one. Very cute. It’s for my husband who loves cardinal birds.
Here is my cardinal.
Thank you so much for the amazing pattern! I’m almost done my second one already. Only thing I did not do was add the little feet.
Have 24 stitches, starting row 10, keep getting to last 3 stitches.. should have 5 .. what am I doing wrong.. thank you
I had the same issue as you. Did you ever get an answer? I just increased to give me more stitches but now everything looks off.
What a fun project! It wasn’t too challenging at all! Thank you <3
Hi! This isn’t related to the pattern but whenever I decrease there’s always big gaps…any ideas on what I’m doing wrong?
(Love your patterns) 💖
try using invisible decreases it helped my projects so much
Try keeping the yarn really tight that you are working with. I have to keep it pretty tight and I give the loose yarn a tug to tighten the decrease up even more.
you’re not doing anything wrong. decreasing always makes gaps. try doing Invisible decreases. that makes less gaps. hope that helps
Ok thanks!
Sweet pattern… my flock if growing first guy I forgot to out in the eyes so had to sew some on… this will be the toddler friendly one.
Great pattern! Very easy to follow. Christmas gift for my mom.
This is really cute. I’m going to make a bunch and put clips on them and put on a lighted tree for my brother’s gift. TFS
I love this pattern. Here is my first one. I used the red sparkle yarn. Thank you for sharing your pattern. I will be making more of these. Cardinals are my favorite bird.
Loved this cardinal pattern
Here is my cardinal. I love your patterns and have used quite a few lately!
This was so fun to make. I had to buy safety eyes and attach afterwards. It was pretty easy to do that, thankfully.
I will be gifting this to my daughter this Christmas, as her grandmother passed away this July and she keeps seeing cardinals ever since. After she told me about more and more coming around, I received email for this pattern. I just had to make it in dedication of her grandmother.
Thank you for sharing such great patterns, especially for free.
I really appreciate all the wonderful, free patterns by SDD. I’ve made many from the book, but this is the first I’ve made from the site. I’m so pleased with how it came out and will be gifting it this Christmas.
Great pattern! He turned out so cute!
Made as a gift for a friend whose mom passed almost 2 years ago and loved cardinals.
Is it normal that my cardinals beak is large?
I made his little wings differently, but here’s my first finished cardinal!
What a fun project! ♥️
I am having trouble with row 10. I run out of room and need two more stitches. I think it has to do with this instruction in that step. sc in the next 2 st. repeat. If I don’t repeat then it works out but what am I missing
Did you ever figure it out? Row 10 is where I got stuck too.
Super cute and easy to make. Clear directions! Friend loves Cardinals so made it for her birthday. Bought the PDF, couple of dollars was more than reasonable so I could download pattern.
In round 10, what do we repeat? I keep getting stuck because i dont have any extra stitches to do the rest of the decreases and everything else.
What is the repeat in row 10 of the head? I can not get the right stitch count.
I’m making the wings, when it says “ch 1 and turn” does that mean flip to the wrong side? Or continue around the wing on the other half but on same (right) side?
Love this little guy!!!