In this post, learn how to make these cheeky little elephants. They are the perfect addition to your crochet animal collection. In this pattern you can learn how easy it is to convert a pattern into something different.
I believe we all have some kind of good feelings about elephants. Even though they are the biggest land animals and they are very strong and tough, they just melt our hearts. Especially the baby ones. I love how humanlike they are and how much they care about each other.
The idea of a crochet elephant came to my mind a long time ago, but I always found something else to do instead. Now that I put my mind into it, instantly I made two of them, the little twin siblings Otto and Olivia. I know in real life it is very unusual for an elephant to give birth to 2 babies at the same time, but in Bunny Land, everything is possible.
Crochet elephants can be the perfect companion for any child, and they look very good in any nursery room as a decoration. They look awesome in any colour, therefore you can play with colour combinations using the yarns you have in hand.
If you are a crochet savvy, you can adjust the head into a rattle, or use a chunky soft yarn for a plushie.
I love Safari animals, because as a child we used to watch a lot of documentaries with my dad. It was always so difficult to decide which one to cheer for when it came to the hunting part, as I wanted all of them to live, but when elephants were in tv, I always cheered for them. They are just the type of animals, who I want to hug, although I am not sure if I want them to hug me back.
These elephants are the third ones in my safari collection, after Gingerbread, the Giraffe, and Olly the Lion. I will make more in the future but now I have different plans.
The story of Otto and Olivia, the twin elephants:
Otto and Olivia, the little elephant twins were born in the sunniest place you can imagine. They live by a huge lake with all their relatives, including 6 cousins. They love to play in the lake, and when all the children come together, they just splash, jump and sprinkle water from their nose on each other. Otto and Olivia are so close to each other, every night they have to sleep next to each other, eat at the same time and of course they always stand up for each other.
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
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 these crochet elephants:
Affiliate links for the US:
1. Cotton yarn,
For Otto I used:
A – Scheepjes Catona – 248 Champagne
B- Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
C – Scheepjes Catona – 501 Anthracite
D – Scheepjes Catona – 383 Ginger Gold
E – Scheepjes Catona Denim – 152
For Olivia I used:
A: Scheepjes Catona – 248 Champagne
B: Schachenmayer Catania – 423 Vintage
C: Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal white
D: Scheepjes Catona – 402 Silver Green
2. crochet hook, 3mm and a 3.5mm
3. Safety eyes, 12mm
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
Affiliate links for the UK:
1. CottonYarn:
For Otto I used:
A – Scheepjes Catona – 248 Champagne
B- Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
C – Scheepjes Catona – 501 Anthracite
D – Scheepjes Catona – 383 Ginger Gold
E – Scheepjes Catona Denim – 152
For Olivia I used:
A: Scheepjes Catona – 248 Champagne
B: Schachenmayr Catania – 423 Vintage
C: Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
D: Scheepjes Catona – 402 Silver Green
2. crochet hook, 3mm and a 3.5mm
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
Legs: (Make 2 )
Start with colour D
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: (2sc, inc) x6 [24]
5: sc in every st around [24]
6: 2sc, dec, 4sc, 4dec, 4sc, dec, 2sc [18]
7: (3sc, dec) x3, sc in last 3 sts [15]
8-10: sc in every st around [15]
11: BLO sc in every st around, in last st change to colour A [15]
12-21: sc in every st around [15]
Stuff the legs up to this point, do not stuff the rest
22: (3sc, dec) x3 [12]
23: (4sc, dec) x2 [10]
24: sc in next 3sts
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 4sc. Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew.
25: Connect colour C to the first FLO we made in row 11. Slip stitch in every st around. Sl st to 1st st, fasten off yarn, weave in the ends.
Arms: (Make 2)
Start with colour A – Always change colour in the last st of previous round.
1: 5sc in a MR
2: (inc) x5 [10]
3: (sc, inc) x5 [15]
4 – 5: sc in every st around [15]
6: (sc, dec) x5, in the last st change to colour B [10]
Stuff the arms up to this point, do not stuff the rest.
7 – 8: sc in every st around In the last st change to colour C [10]
9: sc in every st around in the last st change to colour B [10]
10 – 11: sc in every st around in the last st change back to colour C [10]
12: sc in every st around in the last st change back to colour B [10]
13 – 14: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour C [10]
15: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour B [10]
16-17: sc in every st around, in last st change to colour C [10]
18: sc in every st around, in last st change to colour B [10]
19: 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 4sc. Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
Ears: (make 2)
Use colour A
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: (2sc, inc) x6 [24]
5: (3sc, inc) x6 [30]
6: (4sc, inc) x6 [36]
7: (5sc, inc) x6, sl st [42]
Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
Nose:
Use colour A
1: start with 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (2sc, inc) x2 [8]
3-4: sc in every st around [8]
5: (3sc, inc) x2 [10]
6-7: sc in every st around [10]
8: (4sc, inc) x2 [12]
9-10: sc in every st around [12]
11: (5sc, inc) x2 [14]
12: sc in every st around [14]
Stuff the nose up to this point, do not stuff the rest
13: (6sc, inc) x2 [16]
14: sc in every st around [16]
15: (7sc, inc) x2 [18]
16: sc in every st around [18]
Press both layers of nose together so that they lay flat on top of each other, aligning the stitches side by side. sc together the opposite stitches. I put 8sc. Fasten off yarn, leaving a long tail to sew
Head and Body:
Stuff as you go, always change colour in the last stitch of previous round
Start with colour A
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: (2sc, inc) x6 [24]
5: (3sc, inc) x6 [30]
6: (4sc, inc) x6 [36]
7: (5sc, inc) x6 [42]
8: (6sc, inc) x6 [48]
9: (7sc, inc) x6 [54]
10 – 20: sc in every st around [54]
21: (7sc, dec) x6 [48]
22: (4sc, dec) x8 [40]
23: (3sc, dec) x8 [32]
24: (2sc, dec) x8 [24]
Place safety eyes between row 16-17, leaving 12 sts between them. Stuff head firm
25: (4sc, dec) x4, in the last stitch change to colour B [20]
26: (4sc, inc) x4 [24]
27: sc in every st around, in last st change to colour C [24]
28: (5sc, inc) x4,in last st change to colour B [28]
29: (6sc, inc) x4 [32]
30: (7sc, inc) x4, in the last st change to colour C [36]
31: (8sc, inc) x4, in the last st change to colour B [40]
32: (9sc, inc) x4 [44]
33: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour C [44]
34: (10sc, inc) x4, in the last st change to colour B [48]
35-36: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour C [48]
37: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour B [48]
38-39: sc in every st around, in the last st change to colour C [48]
40: sc in every st around, in last st change to colour B [48]
41: sc in every st around, [48]
42: Using BLO sc in in every st around,in last st change to colour A [48]
43: (6sc, dec) x6 [42]
44: (5sc, dec) x6 [36]
45: (4sc, dec) x6 [30]
46: (3sc, dec) x6 [24]
Stuff the body firm
47: (2sc, dec) x6 [18]
48: (sc, dec) x6 [12]
49: (dec) x6 [6]
Close the hole and weave in the ends.
Bow for Olivia:
Use colour B
I made the same bow as I made for Ivy the Hippo. You can find the written pattern clicking here.
Shirt edge:
Holding the body with head facing down, attach colour C to the 1st FLO in row 43. Slip stitch in every st around. Sl st to 1st, fasten off yarn and weave in end.
Assembling Otto, and Olivia, the Elephant:
1: sew the arms onto the body to row 28
2: sew the ears onto the head between row 13-14 for Olivia and between row 15-16 for Otto
3: sew the nose onto the head between row, 17-18 between the 2 eyes
4: sew the legs onto the body to row 43, straight under the jumper
5: for Olivia sew the bows on top of the ears
Hat for Otto:
Use Colour E, and a 3.5mm hook
Tip: ch1 does not count as a stitch
1: 6sc in a MR [6]
2: (inc) x6 [12]
3: (sc, inc) x6 [18]
4: (2sc, inc) x6 [24]
5: (3sc, inc) x6 [30]
6: (4sc, inc) x6 [36]
7: (5sc, inc) x6 [42]
8: (6sc, inc) x6 [48]
9: (7sc, inc) x6 [54]
10: Using BLO sc in every st around [54]
11 – 15: sc in every st around [54]
16: sl st to next st, sc in next, hdc in next 16 sts, sc in next, sl st in next, ch1, turn
17: skip sl st from row 15, and sl st in the sc made before, sc in next st, hdc in next 14sts, sc in next, sl st in next.
Fasten off yarn, weave in the ends
Congratulation, you finished Otto and Olivia!
