This free amigurumi crochet pattern was inspired by my daughter’s recent first birthday. She is a Leo through and through. So as a gift I wanted to make her this cute lion so she will always remember that she is strong, capable, and brave.
Lazlo the Lion Free Amigurumi Pattern
Size: Approximately 12″
Difficulty: Advanced Beginner (The lion mane can be a little intimidating but it’s created with simple chaining. You will need to know how to work these chains directly into your amigurumi head, I explain how to do this in my pattern and provide pictures.
This pattern assumes that you know the basics of amigurumi. In some instances, I will go into detail on how to stuff the body parts and how to attach them. For the most part though, I have written this pattern assuming that you are familiar with these techniques. If not, here is a great video showing how to stuff amigurumi and how to sew amigurumi pieces together.
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Materials
Worsted Weight Yarn – Red Heart White , Red Heart Saffron , Red Heart Black , and Mainstay Brown
Crochet Hook – 2.75 mm crochet hook
Safety Eyes – 12 mm black safety eyes
Stuffing: Poly-fil or stuffing of choice
Sewing Needle – yarn needle
Optional – Black Embroidery Thread if you choose to embroider your eyes.
Stitches Used
mr – magic ring
ch – chain
st – stitch
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
inc – increase
dec – decrease
BLO – back loop only
rep – repeat
Important Notes
Magic Circle – This pattern starts with a magic circle, alternatively you can chain 2 and create the first row of sc into that first chain. Find a tutorial on how to create a magic circle here.
Continuous Rounds – This pattern is worked in continuous rounds without joining (unless otherwise stated). I suggest using either a stitch marker or a piece of yarn to keep track of where one round ends and the next one begins.
Choosing a Color – In my finished amigurumi I used a light color (white), medium color (saffron/gold) and a darker color (brown). You can easily play around with this though by having the body color be darker with a lighter mane. Have fun and experiment with your color combos!
Stuff As You Go – Add stuffing to your lion as you work throughout the amigurumi. There will be reminders throughout the pattern to stuff but it’s always best practice to stuff as you go. Make sure you are finished stuffing before working too many rows of decreasing stitches. In this pattern, there is points where I suggest lightly stuffing some pieces, however, everywhere else you will want to add enough stuffing to make the piece firm. Be careful not to stuff too much or you will see the stuffing through your stitches.
Tension – For amigurumi projects, it is best to keep your tension tight. This creates smaller stitches and prevents stuffing from showing through. If you crochet loosely, it may be best to go down a hook size.
You are welcome to sell finished items made from this pattern. A credit to “Thoren’s Corner” as the designer is greatly appreciated, but not required. A link back to this post is even more loved! <3 You may not sell or claim this pattern as your own. Do not copy & paste this pattern. Do not use my photos to sell your completed work.
Color Abbreviations: Throughout this pattern I will refer to the color choice as the body color, accent color, and hair color. This will make it easier to follow the pattern if you choose to go with a different color scheme.
Saffron/Gold – Body Color
White – Accent Color
Brown – Hair Color
Body
With body color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
4. (2 sc, inc) x6 [24]
5. (3 sc, inc) x6 [30]
6. (4 sc, inc) x6 [36]
7. (5 sc, inc) x6 [42]
8. (6 sc, inc) x6 [48]
9. (7 sc, inc) x6 [54]
10-15. Sc in each stitch around [54]
16. (7 sc, dec) x6 [48]
17-18. Sc in each stitch around [48]
19. (6 sc, dec) x6 [42]
20-21. Sc in each stitch around [42]
22. (5 sc, dec) x6 [36]
23. Sc in each stitch around [36]
24. (4 sc, dec) x6 [30]
Begin stuffing.
25. Sc in each stitch around [30]
26. (3 sc, dec) x6 [24]
Continue to stuff.
27. (2 sc, dec) x6 [18]
28. (sc, dec) x6 [12]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Head
With body color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
4. (2 sc, inc) x6 [24]
5. (3 sc, inc) x6 [30]
6. (4 sc, inc) x6 [36]
7. (5 sc, inc) x6 [42]
8. (6 sc, inc) x6 [48]
9. (7 sc, inc) x6 [54]
10-19. Sc in each stitch around [54]
20. (7 sc, dec) x6 [48]
21. (6 sc, dec) x6 [42]
22. (5 sc, dec) x6 [36]
23. (4 sc, dec) x6 [30]
Begin stuffing.
Place the eyes between rows 11 and 12, with 10 stitches between them.
24. (3 sc, dec) x6 [24]
25. (2 sc, dec) x6 [18]
Continue to stuff.
26. (Sc, dec) x6 [12]
27. (Dec) x6 [6]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew the head shut.
Muzzle (Make 2)
With accent color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
4. (2 sc, inc) x6 [24]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Ears (Make 2)
With body color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
4. (2 sc, inc) x6 [24]
5-6. Sc in each stitch around [24]
7. Pinch the ear together and single crochet across to close the ear. [12]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Arms (Make 2)
With accent color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
Change to body color
4. Sc BLO in each stitch around [18]
5. sc in each stitch around [18]
6. (2 sc, dec) x3, 6 sc [15]
7. (sc, dec) x3, 6 sc [12]
8-20. sc in each stitch around [12]
21. (dec) x6 [6]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Legs (Make 2)
With accent color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3. (Sc, inc) x6 [18]
4. (2 sc, inc) x6 [24]
5. (3 sc, inc) x6 [30]
Change to body color
6. sc BLO in each stitch around [30]
7. sc in each stitch around [30]
8. (2 sc, dec) x4, 14 sc [26]
9. sc in each stitch around [26]
10. 6 sc, (dec) x2, 16 sc [24]
11. sc in each stitch around [24]
12. 2 sc, (dec) x4, 12 sc [20]
13. 4 sc, (dec) x2, 12 sc [18]
14. sc in each stitch around
Stuff foot here
15-22. sc in each stitch around [18]
23. (sc, dec) x6 [12]
24. (dec) x6 [6]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Note: Stuff the first half of the leg firmly, and the second half of the leg loosely. This is so that we can blend the limbs into the body of the lion. This method involves pinching the upper part of the legs to flatten them. Tie off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Close up the leg.
Tail
In body color
1. MR 6
2. (Inc) x6 [12]
3-7. sc in each stitch around [12]
8. (dec) x6 [6]
9-24. sc in each stitch around [6]
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew with later.
Assemble the Head
First we are going to take the two mouth pieces and connect them. You will do this by taking the two muzzle pieces and sew the circles together. Use about 3 stitches to combine the two circles.
We now attach the combined muzzle to the lion’s head. The top of my muzzle is positioned on the 14th row (from the top of the head) and ends on row 21. The beginning of the muzzle starts almost exactly in the middle of the head. Only sew the muzzle on half way, leaving the top of the muzzle open so we can stuff. Fill the muzzle with stuffing and then finish sewing the pieces onto the head.
With black yarn embroider the lion’s nose by creating a triangle that fits between the muzzle. Then take your yarn and go down the center of the muzzle, creating a straight line. Then bring your black yarn up again to the nose. You will have two strands of yarn creating the center line on the muzzle. Follow the below photos for reference.
Attach the ears to the top of the lion’s head. I attached the ears to the top center of the head, starting two stitches away from the starting round of 6. The bottom part of the ears end roughly the same round that the eyes are attached. Use the below photos as reference.
Now it’s time to create the mane. This is created by a simple chain stitch into the lion’s head.
Attach the hair color yarn to the center of the lion’s head. Leave a long tail because later we will be using it to tie off the mane.
Ch.15
Single crochet into the next stitch to the left of where you attached the yarn.
Ch. 15 again and sc into the next stitch.
Continue to work to the left until you reach the bottom of the lion’s head (where the decreases start). Once here, ch. 15 and sc into the stitch on the next row. Then work your way back up the lion’s head.
Once I had my first two rows done (one in front of the ear and the other working back up to the ear), I started to skip a row and worked only in every other row. You can see in the pictures below how I skipped the rows but it isn’t noticeable in the finished project.
I created the mane by going up and down the back of the head with these chain loops, until I reached the other side of the face. Then I crocheted the mane going back up in front of the other ear, meeting in the middle of the head where I created my first chain.
Ultimately, as long as you get the head covered it doesn’t matter what directions you go. This is a very forgiving method to create the lion’s mane. If you skip a stitch here or there, it won’t even be noticed!
Once you reach the middle of the lion’s head you can tie off and sew in your ends. I did this by taking the two yarn tails and creating several knots and then cutting the yarn. Hiding the knots in the lion’s mane.
This completes your lion’s mane! It can be tedious but it’s so worth it. I love the extra texture it gives to this amigurumi, super squishy and cuddly!
Hair on Tail
We are going to create the hair on the tail the same way we did the mane on the head, just with less chains.
Attach the hair color yarn in a stitch towards the end of the tail.
Chain 10, sc into the next stitch.
Chain 10 again, sc into the next stitch.
Continue to do this until you have a chain in each stitch around.
Once you have your first round, you will notice that there is a gap where the MR 6 was created to begin the tail. We can’t really crochet into that ring (without loosening it) but we don’t want a gap.
In order to fix this, create a chain of 10 and sc into the base of a chain loop on the other side of this gap.
This is better but we need to do this two more times to really cover that gap.
ch. 10, sc into base of a chain on the other side of the gap.
Once more, ch 10, but this time don’t sc into the chain loop, but instead skip over it and sc into the stich in the next row of the tail. This will create our next row of chain loops, and successfully fill that gap.
Continue to do this around the entire tip of the tail, stopping once you get to the rounds of 6 (the thinner part of the tail).
Assemble the Body
1. With the head already together, we can first attach it to the body. Position the head on the body so that it is centered. Attach head to body.
2. Attach the legs to the body. We are flattening the upper part of the leg so that it blends better into the body. Do this by pinching the upper part of the leg together. We don’t want the legs looking like logs hanging off our lion, but instead blended into the body.
3. Attach the arms to the upper part of the body, a few rounds below where the head is connected.
4. Attach tail to the back of the body. Secure the tail in the middle of the body about the same height as the top of the legs.
Congratulations, your lion is complete!
If you are having any difficulty with this pattern, or find a mistake/typo, please feel free to contact me. You can email me at thorenscorner@gmail.com or send me a message on my facebook page here.
For more free amigurumi crochet patterns visit my free patterns page here
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