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This free tiger crochet pattern is an easy and mostly no-sew project ideal for Easter or market stalls!
It’s been a tradition for me over the past few years to design little Egg shaped animals and characters for Easter. This year is no different, and I’m so excited to introduce you to the newest addition of the Eggy Paw Pals! This is Toto the Tiger.
Toto the Tiger is a mostly no-sew project (my favourite!) with a little bit of colour changing required. I’ve used a DK chenille yarn in three colours, but you can choose whatever yarn you wish. Cotton or acrylic yarn will look cute too!
This palm-sized tiger amigurumi is a perfect make for the little ones at Easter, goodie bags, or for selling at market stalls. Toto is a quick make and he (like all of his Eggy pals) are popular with the little ones.
Let’s jump right to the free crochet pattern so you can start crocheting!
Prefer the PDF Crochet Pattern?
You’ll find the PDF crochet pattern (ad-free and nicely designed with photos) in my online shops – Ravelry and Etsy. As a heads up, the pattern on Ravelry is actually cheaper (due to the platform fees) and you’ll also get any updated versions if the PDF pattern is revised. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for Etsy simply because of how the platform is set-up.
Free Tiger Crochet Pattern Information
Here is everything you’ll need to crochet your Toto the Tiger. Please ensure you read this section carefully before starting. In particular, there are some additional notes that you may find useful if this is your first ever Eggy Paw Pal make. I hope this helps and happy crocheting!
Materials needed
Here are the materials you’ll need to get started:
- DK chenille yarn in the following colours. I recommend using Rico Ricorumi Nilli Nilli or Sirdar Happy Chenille. Amounts of each colour used is in backets, and the letter next to the colour will be used throughout the pattern.
- A – Orange (7 grams = 18.2m/19.9yds)
- B – Black (2 grams = 5m/5.5yds)
- C – White (2 grams = 5m/5.5yds)
- Crochet hook 2.5mm (B or C)
- Stuffing
- Needle
- Scissors
- Pins
- Stitch marker
- Safety eyes 6mm
- Black embroidery thread
Tiger Amigurumi Size
Using the yarn and hooks specified in this pattern, my creation was 5cm/1.96” wide by 7cm/2.76” high.
Gauge
Gauge is not required for this pattern, however keep tension consistent throughout. For reference, my gauge was:
6 sc stitches on 2.5cm / 1″
6 rows on 2.5cm / 1″
Abbreviations used in the tiger crochet pattern
Please note: This crochet pattern is written in US terms.
R# – Row/round number
st – Stitch
ch – Chain
sl st – Slip stitch
mc – Magic circle
sc – Single crochet
inc – Increase
dec – Decrease
cc# – Change colour to the yarn indicated (#), for example ccB = change colour to Yarn Colour B
[…] x … – Repeat the sequence of stitches in brackets x-times.
(…) – Total number of stitches at the end of each row/round.
Top tips and additional crochet pattern information
- Pattern Level: Easy
- Yarn: The yarn choice is completely up to you, and you can change the yarn colours, weight, and material based on your own personal preference. Just be aware that the weight of your yarn may impact the hook size you need to use and the size of your final make.
- Hook size: I recommend using a smaller hook size than recommended on the yarn label. This will stop the stuffing from appearing through your stitches.
- Eyes: Please note that safety eyes are a choking hazard and are not suitable for children under 3 years of age. As an alternative, consider embroidering the eyes instead.
- Working in rounds: All parts within this pattern are worked in continuous rounds unless otherwise stated.
- Stitch marker: Use a stitch marker at the beginning of each round/row to keep track of the number of stitches.
- Stuffing: Unless otherwise stated, stuff all amigurumi parts firmly as you crochet.
- Changing colour: To ensure straight lines, add the new colour in the last yarn over of the stitch before the new colour is needed.
- No-sew: Some body parts are attached to the body as you crochet. As a result, I recommend crocheting the feet and tail before you crochet the body. The no-sew technique is explained clearly throughout the pattern.
- Copyright: You are more than welcome to sell your crocheted creation using this pattern on a small scale. However, the pattern itself cannot be reproduced, sold, or redistributed in any way without the designers’ consent. For more information, please read the full copyright notice at the bottom of this page.
Toto the Free Tiger Crochet Pattern
Now it’s time to start crocheting your very own Toto using this free tiger crochet pattern. Let’s start with the feet.
Feet (Make 2)
Using Colour A (Orange) Yarn.
Do not stuff.
R1: mc with 5 sc (5)
R2: [inc] x 5 (10)
R3: sc around (10)
R4: hold sides of R3 together so the open end of the feet are closed and join sides with 5 sc (5) – see image 1 below.
Cut yarn and fasten off.
Using a needle, weave yarn tail into the foot to hide.
Repeat steps above to make a second foot.
See completed feet in image 2.
Tail
Using Colour A (Orange) and Colour B (Black) Yarn.
Start with Colour A.
R1: mc with 6 sc (6)
R2: [inc] x 6 (12)
R3 – R4: sc around (12) – 2 rounds
Change to Colour B.
R5: sc around (12)
Change to Colour A.
R6 – R8: sc around (12) – 3 rounds
Start stuffing tail.
Change to Colour B.
R9: sc around (12)
Cut Colour B yarn and secure.
Change to Colour A.
R10: sc around (12)
R11: [2 sc, dec] x 3 (9)
Finish stuffing.
R12: [sc, dec] x 3 (6)
R13: hold sides of R12 together so the open end of the tail is closed and join sides with 3 sc (3)
Cut yarn and fasten off. Weave yarn tail into the tail to hide.
See completed tail in image 3 below.
Ears (Make 2)
Using Colour A (Orange) Yarn.
Do not stuff.
R1: mc with 6 sc (6)
R2: [inc] x 6 (12)
R3: [2 sc, inc] x 4 (16)
R4 – R5: sc around (16) – 2 rounds
Cut yarn leaving a longer yarn tail for sewing and fasten off.
Repeat steps above to make a second ear.
Mouth Piece
Using Colour C (White) Yarn.
Do not stuff – this piece should lay flat.
R1: mc with 8 sc (8)
R2: [inc] x 4, sl st to next st (9) – we finish the round here leaving 3 sc sts from R1 unworked.
Cut yarn leaving a long yarn tail for sewing and fasten off.
See completed mouth piece in image 4.
Body
Using Colour A (Orange) Yarn.
Stuff firmly throughout.
R1: mc with 8 sc (8)
R2: [inc] x 8 (16)
R3: [sc, inc] x 8 (24)
In the next round, you will attach the feet to the body while you crochet. To do this, line up the foot to the body when instructed to do so. *Insert your hook into the first st of the foot, then into the st of the body (see image 5). Complete sc as per normal. Repeat from * until all sts of the foot are crocheted to consecutive sts of the body (see image 6).
R4: 1 sc, crochet foot to body with 5 sc, 1 sc, crochet other foot to body with 5 sc, 12 sc (24) – see image 7 below.
R5: [2 sc, inc] x 8 (32)
In the next round, you will attach the tail to the body while you crochet like you did with the feet.
R6: 23 sc around the body, crochet tail to body with 3 sc, 6 sc (32) – see image 8
In the next 2 rounds, you’ll start to create the tiger stripes on the body.
R7: 28 sc, ccB 4 sc (32)
R8: continuing with Colour B 4 sc, ccA 8 sc, ccB 8 sc, ccA 12 sc (32)
R9: continuing with Colour A 30 sc, ccB 2 sc (32)
R10: continuing with Colour B 3 sc, ccA 9 sc, ccB 5, ccA 15 (32)
R11: continuing with Colour A and sc around (32)
R12: sc around (32) – see image 9
R13: [2 sc, dec] x 8 (24)
R14: sc around (24)
If using safety eyes, insert them now between R11 & R12 of the head above the feet. There should be 5 sts between the eyes. See image 10. Alternatively, you can embroider the eyes now or after assembly.
Start stuffing the body and continue to stuff throughout the following rounds.
R15: [2 sc, dec] x 6 (18)
R16: sc around (18)
R17: [sc, dec] x 6 (12)
R18: sc around (12)
Finish stuffing.
R19: [dec] x 6 (6)
Cut yarn leaving a short tail for sewing. Using a needle, weave through FLO of final 6 sc. Pull tight to close.
Weave yarn tail into body to hide.
See completed body in image 11.
Assemble Toto the Tiger
Don’t worry, there’s not too many steps left to finish your adorable Toto the Tiger! Here are the final touches.
Step 1: Sew mouth piece to body.
Using the longer yarn tail from the mouth piece, sew it to the front of the body. The mouth piece should sit in the centre of the face over R6 to R10 of the body. It should sit below the eyes with the slightly smaller pointed section pointing upwards towards the eyes. See image 12 below.
Step 2: Embroider a nose and mouth.
Using a tapestry needle and black embroidery thread embroider a nose and mouth as shown in image 12.
Step 3: Sew ears to head.
Using the longer yarn tail from the ears, sew them to either side of the head. Each ear should sit over R14 to R17 of the body and curve so the inside sits further back than the sides of the ears. There should be approximately 4 sts in between the top ears at the front, and 7 sts in between the bottom of the ears at the front. See image 13.
Step 4: Embroider three head stripes.
Using a tapestry needle and Yarn B, embroidery stripes over the top of the body as shown in image 14. The middle stripe should be the longest.
Congratulations, you’re finished crocheting Toto the Tiger!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this free tiger crochet pattern and love your own version of Toto the Tiger as much as I love mine!
I’d really love to see a photo of your creation – this is genuinely the best part of designing for me! You can share your crocheted Toto the Tiger with me by posting a picture on social media using the hashtag #CillaCrochets and tagging me @CillaCrochets. I’ll also see your makes if you upload a project (with a photo) to Ravelry linking to my pattern.
If you’ve had fun making Tito, you may enjoy some of my other free crochet patterns on my website too. I hope you find something else you like, another friend for Tito perhaps?
Until next time, happy crocheting,
Cilla x
Copyright Notice
© 2025 – Cilla Crochets. Cilla Richards – All rights reserved. This pattern is for personal use only. This pattern (or parts of it) may not be reproduced, distributed or resold, translated, published, altered, shared, or posted (for free or for sale) over the internet or offline. You can sell items made from this pattern if they are handmade by yourself in a limited number and you give credit to the designer. Please add the following text to your item description for any item designed by Cilla Crochets/Cilla Richards that you are selling:
“This product is handmade by [your name] from a design and pattern by Cilla Richards at Cilla Crochets. See www.cillacrochets.com for more information.”
