Learn how to crochet Basil, the Koala baby with his fluffy ears in this simple amigurumi tutorial. In this pattern you will learn how to make a single crochet in the 3rd loop.
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Koalas are the cutest with their chubby cheeks and big ears. I love to look at how they munch on their eucalyptus leaves while the babies hang on their mother’s back, which remind me of my own children. Probably I should call my kids my koalas instead of my bunnies.
My connection with koalas:
When I was a teenager the first real teenage series in TV in Hungary was Heart Break High and oh boy did I like it? I loved it. Certainly it was so cool and way so different than our lives were as teenagers. I was about 15-16 years old, when thank to this series I decided I wanted to live in Australia. That time I was determined and obsessed, so I surrounded myself with everything Australian. While my friends read romantic novels, I read books about Australia. While my friends looked at photos of famous boys on the internet, I looked at photos of Australia. Most importantly, while my friends had posters on their walls of boybands and actors, I had a huge map of Australia on it.
When I turned 18, I knew finally my time came. I could leave Hungary, live around the world, and go to Australia. There was only one little problem. My mother. She didn’t let me go. It took me 2 years of begging and crying when finally she let me live my life, but I had to promise I stay in Europe. So I came to England and somehow I gave up on my dreams.
I have to say my passion for Australia will never change and I still love everything about it. Everything, other than spiders. And snakes, mice or of course crocodiles. As a person with curly hair I am not a fond of humid air either. But everything else I love.
In conclusion, It was pretty obvious for me I had to crochet something from my dream land. I didn’t think long about which animal to choose. Although I love all the animals from Australia, as they are so different and unique, my favourite one always will be the koala.
The story of Basil, the Koala:
Basil is a very playful, little koala. He likes to climb high trees to munch on eucalyptus leaves with his siblings. They always make a race, who can climb higher, when their mum doesn’t look. Even though he is the youngest, he leads the others and makes all the cheeky decisions. He is mischievous and funny, but he also likes to cuddle her mum and being carried on her back when he is tired. His family likes to travel around the world, so his mum did crochet him a scarf, to keep him warm when they are not in the sunny and hot Australia.
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
sc in 3rd loop – single crochet in the 3rd loop
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 koala:
Affiliate links for the US:
1. Cotton yarn,
I used:
A – Scheepjes Catona, – 248 Champagne
B- Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
C – Scheepjes Softfun – 2532 Black Grey
D – Any white acrylic yarn, I used Red Heart Soft
E – Any red acrylic yarn, I used Tivoli from Hobbii
2. crochet hook, 3mm and 3.5mm
3. Safety eyes, 12mm
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
9. White embroidery thread
10. needle to sew
Affiliate links for the UK:
1. CottonYarn:
A – Scheepjes Catona – 248 Champagne
B- Scheepjes Catona – 105 Bridal White
C – Scheepjes Softfun – 2532 Black Grey
D – Any white acrylic yarn, I used Red Heart Soft
E – Any red acrylic yarn, I used Tivoli from Hobbii
2. crochet hook, 3mm and 3.5mm
5. Scissors
7. Pins
8. Stuffing
10. needle to sew
Arms: (make 2)
Use colour B and 3mm hook
1: 5sc in a MR [5]
2: (inc) x5 [10]
3 – 20: sc in every st around [10]
Fasten off yarn, leave a long tail to sew.
Legs: (make 2)
Use colour A and 3mm hook
1. 6 sc in a MR [6]
2. (sc,inc) x3 [9]
3. (2sc, inc) x3 [12]
4. (5sc, inc) x2 [14]
5-14. sc in every st around [14]
15. (6sc, inc) x2 [16]
16. (7sc, inc) x2 [18]
Stuff the legs, and on the 1st fasten off yarn.
On the 2nd leg, do not fasten off yarn, keep crocheting, we will connect the legs and continue on the body
Body and Head:
Continue with colour A and 3mm hook
1. ch4, sc in the last stitch made on first leg, sc in next 17 sts on leg, working on ch4, sc in all ch spaces, on second leg, sc in every 18 st, sc in the next 4 sts in unused loops on the other side of ch4. [44]
2-7. sc in every st around [44]
8. (20sc, dec) x2 [42]
9-13. sc in every st around [42]
14. (5sc, dec) x6 [36]
15-16. sc in every st around [36]
17. (4sc, dec) x6 [30]
18. sc in every st around [30]
19. (3sc, dec) x6 [24]
20. (4sc, dec) x4 [20]
Stuff the body firm
21. (4sc, inc) x4 [24]
22. (2sc,inc) x8 [32]
23. (3sc, inc) x8 [40]
24. (4sc, inc) x8 [48]
25. (5sc, inc) x8 [56]
26-29. sc in every st around [56]
30. (26sc, dec) x2 [54]
31-33. sc in every st around [54]
34. (7sc, dec) x6 [48]
35-36. sc in every st around [48]
37. (6sc, dec) x6 [42]
38. sc in every st around [42]
39. (5sc, dec) x6 [36]
40. (4sc, dec) x6 [30]
Insert safety eyes between rows 33-34, leaving 12 sts between them.
41. (3sc, dec) x6 [24]
42. (2sc, dec) x6 [18]
Stuff the head firm.
43. (Sc, dec) x6 [12]
close the hole, using front loops only
Nose:
Use colour C and 3.5mm hook
1. Ch 5, starting from 2nd ch from hook, 2sc in first st, sc in next 2 sts, 5sc in last st,
Continue on the other side of the ch, sc in next 2sts, 2sc in last st [13]
2. 2sc in next 2sts, sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next 5sts, sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in last 2 sts [22]
Sl st in next 2 sts, fasten off yarn
Ears: (make 2)
Use colour D
You can use a ready made pom pom or make one with a pom pom maker if you have one. If not,
you can follow these simple steps to create one.
1. Cut a long string and place it on the table.
2. Wrap the yarn around 3 of your fingers 50 times. (if you use a different yarn, you might need to
do it more or less)
3. Remove the yarn from your fingers carefully and tight it securely with the string in the middle.
4. Cut the loops and trim the pom pom.
5. Leave a long tail as we will use it to secure the pom pom to the head.
Assembling Basil, the Koala:
1. Secure the ears onto the head using the two long tails. I sewed both tails to the head,
than tied them up and pulled them to the back of the head, where I tied them again, cut
them and hid them inside.
2. Sew the nose between the 2 eyes. I used white embroidery thread and basic running
stitches. Make sure the thread goes through both the nose and the head. If you don’t want
the stitch details you can use the tail to sew the nose on.
3. Sew the arms onto the body between rows 22-23
Scarf:
Use colour E and 3.5mm hook
Tip: ch1 at the beginning of every row does not count as a stitch
Please note, the scarf on some of the pictures is made with different colour for ease of instruction.
1. Ch40, sl st to 1st st to form a ring [40]
2. Ch1, hdc in all sts, sl st to 1st hdc [40]
3. Ch1, sc in 3rd loop only in every st, sl st to 1st st, (to find 3rd loop, refer to pictures) [40]
4. Ch1, hdc in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
5. Ch1, sc in 3rd loop only in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
6. Ch1, hdc in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
7. Ch1, sc in 3rd loop only in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
8. Ch1, hdc in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
9. Ch1, sc in 3rd loop only in every st, sl st to 1st st [40]
Fasten off yarn, weave in the end
Trousers:
Use colour C and 3mm hook
Please note the trousers on the picture are made with different colour for ease of instruction
Leg 1
1. Ch 20, sl st to 1st st to form a ring [20]
2. Ch1 (does not count as st), sc in same st, sc in next 19 sts. Do not sl st, start working in continuous rounds [20]
3. Sc in every st around [20]
4. (Sc, inc) x10 [30]
5. Sc in every st around [30]
6. (2sc, inc) x10 [40]
7-8. Sc in every st around [40]
On 1st leg fasten off yarn, weave in the end
Leg 2: repeat row 1-8, but do not cut yarn off, continue with row 9
9. ch2, sc in the last stitch made on first leg, sc in next 39 sts on leg, working on ch2, sc in all ch spaces, on second leg, sc in every 40 sts, sc in the next 2 sts in unused loops on the other side of ch2. [84]
10-19. Sc in every st around [84]
20. (Dec) x42 [42]
21-22. Sc in every st around [42]
Fasten off yarn, weave in the ends
Congratulation, you finished Basil, the Koala!
I would love to see your finished crochet koala, Basil. Please share it with me on Instagram. You can find me as @zitaandbunny or click on this icon. 
