How to Crochet a Fox (Amigurumi Pattern, Step by Step)

The head starts on the underside of the jaw. Begin with a magic ring of six single crochet, then work five rounds of increases to reach thirty stitches around. This flat, round base is what the whole face grows from.

Keep a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round. You are working in a continuous spiral with no join, so the marker is the only thing telling you where a new round begins.

Now the head stops being a ball. You build the pointed snout and two cheeks using increase-threes and decrease-threes. An increase-three is three single crochet worked into one stitch, which pushes a point out. A decrease-three pulls three stitches into one, which draws the shape back in.

Work these where the pattern calls for them and the piece takes on a front point for the nose and two side points for the cheeks. That is the fox face taking shape.

Once the head is down to eighteen stitches, it is time for the eyes. Push a 15mm safety eye through the fabric on each side of the nose and clip the washer on the inside. Check the placement from every angle before you commit, because those washers do not come off.

Stuff the head firmly, then work the last two rounds to close the gap. To finish, thread a little yarn between the eyes and pull to indent them slightly. That small pull gives the fox its alert, characterful look.

The ears start at the tip and spiral down to an open base, so you leave them unstitched at the bottom. Make two in your main fox color. They come off the hook as small pointed cones.

To shape each one, tuck the starting tail down inside, pinch the base flat, then fold it so it reads as a little triangle. Hold the ears up against the top of the head to see how they will sit before you sew anything.

The body is a long jelly-bean tube. Start at the rump in your fox color and work up in a spiral to the neck, leaving the neck end open so you can join it to the head later. Stuff it firmly except for the very top couple of rounds.

Then switch to white and work the belly as a small flat bib, back and forth rather than in the round. The bib tucks under the jaw and runs down the front, giving the fox its pale chest.

The fox needs four pieces down here. The two front legs are plain straight tubes: work the first few rounds in your grey foot color, then switch to the fox color for the rest of the leg. The two back feet are short grey nubs.

None of these get stuffed. Squish the back feet flat once they are off the hook. Lay all four pieces against the body to check the pose before you pin anything in place.

The tail is the poofy part. Start in your fox color and work up toward the tip, then change to white near the end for the classic fox-tail marking. To swap colors, finish the last stitch in the old color, hold the old yarn aside, and complete the next stitch with the new one so the fresh color sits on the hook.

Stuff the tail firmly, using a poking tool to reach the tip. Roll it between your hands and squish it back into shape so it ends in a soft point.

Now bring it all together. Sew the white belly onto the body first, then attach the ears to the head and embroider a small black nose with a scrap of black yarn. Join the head to the body along the row that lines up the two cheek points, pinning first so you can set the head at the angle you like.

Sew on the legs and tail last. Because the front legs are straight tubes, you can curve one paw up and stitch it against the chest to pose your fox.