How to Crochet a Dinosaur: No-Sew Beginner Amigurumi

Lay everything out before you start: a 6.5 mm crochet hook, one skein of super bulky #6 chenille yarn in green, small amounts of white and pink yarn, a yarn needle, sharp scissors, polyester fiberfill, two 18 mm safety eyes, and a locking stitch marker.

Make a magic circle. Pinch the yarn between thumb and pointer, wrap once around your pointer and middle finger to form an X, slide the hook under the X, grab the lower strand, and pull it through. Rotate the hook over the X, grab the lower strand again, and pull through to lock the loop.

Now work 6 single crochets into the ring. Go under both strands of the loop each time, yarn over, pull through, yarn over, pull through the two loops on the hook. After all six are in, tug the tail to cinch the ring closed. That's round 1 - the tip of the dinosaur's snout.

Round 2 is a pure increase round. Work 2 single crochets into every stitch around for a total of 12. Drop your stitch marker into the last stitch so you know where each round ends from here on. Move it up at the end of every round.

Rounds 3 and 4 stay flat at 12 stitches each - just one single crochet in every stitch all the way around.

Round 5 is the magic snout round. Work 2 single crochets into the front loop only of every stitch around. Skipping the back loops makes the front loops flare outward like a tiny ruffle, which is what gives the dinosaur its little snout overhang. You'll end round 5 with 24 stitches.

Round 6 increases the head to 30 stitches. The pattern is single crochet 3, increase, repeated six times around. Round 7 stays at 30 with a plain single crochet round.

Rounds 8 and 9 add the white bobble eye ridges. In round 8, work 27 single crochets in green, then switch to white yarn for the final yarn-over of the last green stitch. Make a 5-double-crochet bobble in white: yarn over, hook into stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops (one half-finished double crochet); repeat 4 more times in the same stitch until you have 6 loops on the hook, then switch back to green for the final yarn-over and pull through all 6 loops to lock the bobble. Finish the round with 2 more green single crochets.

Round 9 mirrors round 8: 2 single crochets in green, change to white for a second 5-dc bobble, change back to green, and finish with 27 single crochets. The two bobbles sit side by side on top of the head as the eye ridges.

Round 10 keeps the count at 30 stitches but adds two 6-double-crochet bobbles in green to form the front feet. The sequence is 12 single crochets, 6-dc bobble, 4 single crochets, 6-dc bobble, 12 single crochets.

The 6-dc bobble is the same idea as the 5-dc one in step 3, just bigger. Work 6 half-finished double crochets into the same stitch until you have 7 loops on the hook, then yarn over and pull through all 7 in one final motion. Push each bobble outward from the inside as you finish it so the foot pops forward instead of sucking into the body.

The two bobbles sit close together at the front of the dinosaur and read as a pair of stubby feet. Because everything happens within the body round, there's no separate piece to attach later.

Rounds 11 through 14 are four plain single crochet rounds at 30 stitches each. These build the body length between the front and back legs. The body grows taller without getting wider.

Round 15 mirrors round 10 to add the back legs. Work 13 single crochets, a 6-dc bobble, 4 single crochets, another 6-dc bobble, then 11 single crochets to finish the round. The offset shifts the back feet slightly so they sit further down the body than the front ones.

Round 16 is one more plain round of 30 single crochets to settle the shape and lock the back legs in place.

Round 17 starts shaping the back end with a decrease pattern: single crochet 3, decrease, repeat six times for 24 stitches. The invisible decrease (going into the front loops only of the next two stitches before yarn-over) keeps the fabric tight without leaving a gap.

Pause here to attach the safety eyes. Pick a spot between rounds 6 and 7, lined up with the white bobble eye ridges, push each eye post through the fabric from the outside, then snap the locking washer onto the post from the inside. Once it clicks, the eye is locked.

Add more fiberfill in small handfuls. Round 18 decreases to 20 stitches (3 decreases, 16 single crochets, 1 decrease). Round 19 decreases to 18 (2 decreases, 16 single crochets). Round 20 is 9 decreases for 9 stitches. Round 21 is 1 single crochet, decrease, repeated three times for 6 stitches. The final round is 3 decreases for 3 stitches. Stuff firmly as the opening shrinks. Fasten off and use the long tail with a yarn needle to weave through the remaining 3 stitches and pull tight to close the hole.

Cut a length of black #4 worsted-weight yarn and thread it through your yarn needle. Insert the needle from behind round 2 of the snout, exit at the front of round 2 (a small vertical line about one stitch tall), then loop the yarn around once more to make the line look solid. Repeat on the other side of the snout. Tie the ends inside the body and trim.

For rosy cheeks, cut a short piece of pink yarn and thread it through the yarn needle. Sew a small horizontal stitch one stitch below the outer corner of each safety eye, then knot the ends inside the body. If the cheek pulls in too tight, use the needle to fluff the yarn back out into a visible patch of pink.

Skip the dragon wings and back spikes from the original pattern - your dinosaur is done. Name it something good and pose it for a photo. Perfect for a young dinosaur enthusiast or a desk companion.