Learn how to make this cute little crochet lion. The lion pattern itself is very easy, the only challenge is the hat, but if you follow all the steps written here it should be easily done.
Lions. The kings of the animals. They are fierce, scary and wild. Well not for me. Although I haven’t met with any in other than a zoo, lions seem so cute and friendly. Obviously until they get hungry. As a kid I was a LEGO fanatic and I loved the one called Fabuland, with the animal characters. I loved them so much, as an adult I started collecting them. Anyway these Legos came with story books, and a map of the Fabuland city. I could look at them and read them for hours. All I wanted is that city being built in my room and play with the characters. (To be cool I am still planning to do that once the kids grow up and move out). The Mayor of the city was of course the lion, who was wearing a hat. I wanted that lion so much, when I became a collector (at the age of 32) that was the first one I bought along with the lamb.
The idea of Olly:
I love to order new yarns, to learn more about colours. One day this interesting yellowish gold yarn arrived, together with the green and the dark brown. It was autumn and I instantly fell in love with the colour combination. I put them down next to each other and looked at them, trying to find out what to crochet. The colours reminded me of that Lego lion character so much. And bang, Olly the little lion was born.
Olly is the second member of the Safari Animals gang after Gingerbread, the Giraffe and I promise he is not the last one.
The story of Olly, the lion:
Olly, this mischievous little lion knows exactly what he wants. His priority is playing, especially with his two best friends Tommy the fox, and Cinnamon the badger. He absolutely believes, playing is a serious and important activity and it should be in the school curriculum. After all school is very boring and little munchkins should be at least payed for going there, or maybe but just maybe the teachers should let the cubs play all day.
When Olly wakes up in the morning, he plans what he will play when he comes home for school. Sometimes when he has time, he also starts to play in the morning and than finish the game after school. On the way to school he tells his mum the story of his new game. His mum is so happy, that Olly is still a playful child inside and she hopes he will stay like this forever.
Caution!
Please be very cautious when you make toys for babies or children under the age of 3. If you sew parts on it, make sure they are secure and safe.
I recommend, to embroider the eyes, as the plastic safety eyes can be dangerous. My tutorial for embroidery eyes can be found here
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All Zita and Bunny designs are original. Sales of the finished items are encouraged, but please give credit to the designer. Copyright © 2021 by Zita Renata Elek (Zita and Bunny).All rights reserved. This pattern is for personal use only. No part of it may be reproduced, resold, translated, published, altered, shared or posted in any way. |
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Abbreviations:
sc – single crochet
inc – increase
dec – decrease
hdc – half double crochet
hdc-inc: half double crochet increase
hdc-dec: half double crochet decrease
FLO – use the front loop only
BLO – use the back loop only
ch – chain
st – stitch
sl st – slip stitch
MR – magic ring
(…) – Repeat instructions for the amount of times given
Materials you need for this crochet lion:
Affiliate links for the US:
1. Cotton yarn,
I used:
A – Scheepjes Catona, – 383 Ginger Gold
B – Scheepjes Catona – 157 Root Beer
C– Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
D – Safran – 60 Moss Green
3. Safety eyes, 12mm
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
Affiliate links for the UK:
1. CottonYarn:
A – Scheepjes Catona – 383 Ginger Gold
B – Scheepjes Catona – 157 Root Beer
C – Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
D – Safran – 60 Moss Green
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
Ears: (make 2)
Use colour A
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3-5: sc in every st around [12]
Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
Muzzle: (make 2)
Use colour C
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: sc in every st around
fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew. Stuff it a bit before sewing
Arms: (make 2)
start with colour B
1: 5sc in a MR [5]
2: (inc) x5 [10]
3 – 5: sc in every st around, in last st change to colour A [10]
stuff the arms up to this point, do not stuff the rest
6 – 17: sc in every st around [10]
Press both layers of arms together so that they lay flat on top of each other, aligning the stitches side by side. sc together the opposite stitches. I put 5sc. Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew.
Legs: ( make 2)
start with colour B
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: BLO sc in every st around [18]
5 – 7: sc in every st around [18]
8: (sc, dec) x6, in last st change to colour A [12]
You can start stuffing the legs
9-18: sc in every st around [12]
Stuff the legs up to this point do not stuff the rest
19-23: sc in every st around [12]
Press both layers of legs together so that they lay flat on top of each other, aligning the stitches side by side. sc together the opposite stitches. I put 5sc. Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
Head and Body:
use colour A
1: 8sc in a MR [8]
2: (inc) x8 [16]
3: (sc, inc) x8 [24]
4: (3sc, inc) x6 [30]
5: (4sc, inc) x6 [36]
6: (5sc, inc) x6 [42]
7: (6sc, inc) x6 [48]
8: sc in every st around [48]
9: (7sc, inc) x6 [54]
10-17: sc in every st around [54]
18: (7sc, dec) x6 [48]
19: (6sc, dec) x6 [42]
20: (5sc, dec) x6 [36]
21: (4sc, dec) x6 [30]
22: (3sc, dec) x6 [24]
Insert safety eyes between rows 12-13, leaving 12 sts between them, and stuff the head firm.
23: (4sc, dec) x4 [20]
24: sc in every st around [20]
25: (4sc, inc) x4 [24]
26: (3sc, inc) x6 [30]
27: (4sc, inc) x6 [36]
28: (5sc, inc) x6 [42]
29: (20sc, inc) x2 [44]
30-31: sc in every st around [44]
32: (10sc, inc) x4 [48]
33-40: sc in every st around [48]
41: (6sc, dec) x6 [42]
42: (5sc, dec) x6 [36]
43: (4sc, dec) x6 [30]
44: (3sc, dec) x6 [24]
Stuff the body firm
45: (2sc, dec) x6 [18]
46: (sc, dec) x6 [12]
47: (dec) x6 [6]
fasten off yarn, close the hole, weave in the ends.
Assembling Olly, the Lion:
1: sew the ears to the head between round 6 – 10
2: sew the muzzles to the head under the two eyes, between rows 14 – 21
4: sew the arms onto the body between rows 26 – 27
5: sew the legs to the body between rows 38 – 39
Trousers:
Use colour D
Leg 1:
1: Ch 30, sl st to 1st st to form a ring
2: Ch1 (does not count as a stitch), sc in same st, sc in next 29sts. Do not sl st, from now on we crochet in continuous rounds [30]
3-4: sc in every st around [30]
On the first leg fasten off yarn, weave in the ends
Leg 2:
Repeat row 1-4, but do not cut off yarn, continue with row 5
5: sc in the first stitch on first leg, sc in next 29 sts on same leg, sc in every 30 sts, on 2nd leg. [60]
6 – 18: sc in every st around, [60]
Fasten off yarn, weave in the ends.
Hat:
Use colour B
Tip: ch1 at the beginning of the row does not count as a stitch.
1: in a MR put 12 hdc [12]
2: using BLO (hdc-inc) x12 [24]
3: using BLO (hdc, hdc-inc) x12 [36]
4: using BLO (2hdc, hdc-inc) x12 [48]
5: using BLO (3hdc, hdc-inc) x12 [60]
6: using BLO hdc in 52 sts [52]
7: ch1, turn, using FLO, hdc x52 [52]
8: ch1, turn, using BLO, hdc-dec, hdc x48, hdc-dec [50]
9: ch1, turn, using FLO, hdc-dec, hdc x12, ch7, skip 7sts, hdc x8, ch7, skip 7sts, hdc x12, hdc-dec [48]
10: ch1, turn, using BLO, hdc-dec, hdc x11, 7 hdc in the chain space, hdc x8, 7 hdc in chain space, hdc x11, hdc-dec [46]
11: ch29, starting from 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 28 sts,(This will be the neck tie on one side of the hat), using FLO sc in all 46 sts on the front of the hat, ch29, starting from 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 28 sts. (This will be the neck tie on the other side of the hat), slip stitch to the hat.
connect the yarn in the first FLO we made in row 2. ch7, sl st to next st. go around the hat with chain 7 and sl st to the next stitch.
fasten off yarn
Congratulation, you finished Olly, the Lion!
I would love to see your finished crochet lion, Olly. Please share it with me on Instagram. You can find me as @zitaandbunny or click on this icon. 
