Free Crochet Pattern Sleepy Bunny Lovey

 Free Crochet Pattern
Sleepy Bunny Lovey

About this Pattern:

As you may know, I have a young son. And I love to crochet. So one plus one is two, right? You would probably think I must have made a lovey for my little one by now!

Well… nope. 

He does have a crocheted cat, dinosaur and snake, but a lovey? Not one that I made myself, anyway. He is completely in love with his little dog lovey from IKEA. Which is actually quite convenient, because I could buy five of them instead of having to crochet five myself. 

So here is a pattern for the (soon-to-be) moms who do want to make a lovey for their little one. Or for anyone who would like to make one for a family member or friend.

It is not a difficult pattern and it works up quite quickly. Once you get the hang of the blanket, it is actually very easy to make. The rounds do, of course, get longer and longer as you go.

You can choose between 2 sizes for the ears and 3 types of borders.

One little safety note: I would not recommend using safety eyes for this lovey, since it will be given to a young child. Safety first! I would much rather embroider the eyes instead.

Happy crocheting!

Materials:

• 3.0 mm hook
• DK yarn in 4 colours (Main Body, Belly, Eyes, and Nose)
• stuffing
• scissors
• optional: stitch markers

Abbreviations (US terms):

MC = magic circle

sc =  single crochet

ss = slip stitch
dc = double crochet

ch = chain

inc = increase

dec = decrease

Finished Size:

The blanket is about 26 cm (10.23 inches) wide if you use DK yarn and a 3.0 mm hook. But, this is highly dependent on your yarn. I made 2 with DK yarn and they are not the same size... Feel free to make it bigger or smaller!

Pattern:

Head:
Work in continuous rounds. Use Main Body Colour.

R1: 6 sc in MC (6)

R2: 6 inc (12)

R3: (1 sc, inc) x6 (18)

R4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24) 

R5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30)

R6: 2 sc, inc, (4 sc, inc) x5, 2 sc (36) 

R7-12: 36 sc (36) 

R13: 2 sc, dec, (4 sc, dec) x5, 2 sc (30)

R14: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24)

Start stuffing.

R15: 1 sc, dec, (2 sc, dec) x5, 1 sc (18)

R16: (1 sc, dec) x6 (12)

Finish stuffing.

R17: 6 dec (6)

Fasten off. Sew the opening closed in the front loops only. 

Leave a long tail for attaching to the blanket later on. 

Ears (make 2):

Work in continuous rounds. Use Main Body Colour.

R1: 6 sc in MC (6)

R2: 6 inc (12)

R3: (1 sc, inc) x6 (18)

R4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24)

R5-7: 24 sc (24) FOTO

R8: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18) 

R9: 18 sc (18)

R10: (1 sc, dec) x6 (12)

R11-16: 12 sc (12)

R17: 1 dec, 4 sc, 1 dec, 4 sc (10)

R18: 10 sc (10) 

Fasten off. Leave a long tail for sewing.

Sew the top of the ear closed (5 stitches). Do not cut the yarn tail, you will use this to attach the ear to the head. 

Press the ear flat.

If you want slightly shorter ears (yellow bunny), skip rows 9 and 16.

Pattern Notes for the Blanket:

• When changing colour, there will be a little thread visible going up. Try crocheting over it.
  Also, give this little thread a bit of slack, so it won't curve your square.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Because every row starts with a ch 3 that counts as a dc, make sure you also put a dc in that ch on the very last "dc in the dc's of the previous row". If you skip this, you'll be one dc short.
  
  
  
  
  
• When changing colour, make sure you always drop the colour on the same side of your work. This way, you'll have an "ugly" side that will be the back of the blanket.
  
  
• When changing colour, change the colour while making the last dc. 
  Start making a regular dc, but when you do the last "yarn over and pull through 2 loops on the hook", you do this with the new colour. This way, your new colour is ready on your hook for making the ch 3.
  
  
• Every now and then, check if your yarn is getting tangled. Mine always does because of the turning every row. I fix it by turning my work the other way, untangling the yarn.
  

Blanket:

You'll need 2 colours, Main Body Colour (A) and Belly Colour (B). Three sides will be made with Main Body Colour (A), one side is made with Belly Colour (B).

R1: With colour A, make a MC.

R2: With colour A, ch 3, 2 dc in MC.
Ch 3, 3 dc in MC. 
Ch 3, 3 dc in MC. 
Switch to colour B. 
With colour B, ch 3, 3 dc in MC. When making the dc's, keep working over the yarn tail of colour A and your current colour. 

Pull MC closed. Ch 3 and ss to the third chain of colour A to close the row. 

In the next row, you will pick up and drop your colours as you go. Make sure you crochet over the little thread going up the row. Also, give this little thread a bit of slack, so it won't curve your square. 

R3: With colour B, ch 3 (counts as dc) and turn, 1 dc in chain space, 3 dc (one in each of the stitches of the previous round), 2 dc in chain space. Now, you have finished one side. You will do the same on the next side.
Switch to colour A.
With colour A, ch 3, 2 dc in chain space, 3 dc, 2 dc in chain space. 
Repeat this on the other 2 sides: ch 3, 2 dc in chain space, 3 dc, 2 dc in chain space.
End with a ch 3 and ss to the third chain of colour A to close the row.

R4: With Colour A, ch 3 (counts as dc) and turn, 1 dc in chain space, 7 dc (one in each of the stitches of the previous round), 2 dc in chain space.
Ch 3, 2 dc in chain space, 7 dc, 2 dc in chain space. 
Ch 3, 2 dc in chain space, 7 dc, 2 dc in chain space. Switch to Colour B.
Ch 3, 2 dc in chain space, 7 dc, 2 dc in chain space. 
Ss to the third chain of colour A to close the row. 

You will keep repeating this pattern:
Start with a ch 3 (counts as a dc) and turn, one more dc in the chain space. Then a dc in every dc of the previous round.
At the end of the row, 2 more dc in the chain space.
Then ch 3, 2 dc in the chain space, a dc in every dc, and so on.
Change colour when you reach the other colour.
End with a ch 3 and ss to the third chain of the starting chain to close the row.

Every row gains 4 dc's, because you add 2 dc in the chain space at the start and 2 dc at the end.
R4 had 7 dc + 4 dc in the chain spaces.
R5 will have 11 dc + 4 dc in the chain spaces.
R6 will have 15 dc + 4 dc in the chain spaces.
R7 will have 19 dc + 4 dc in the chain spaces.
And so on. Keep adding 4 to keep on track.

Make the blanket as big as you like. My yellow Bunny is 12 rows and my orange Bunny is 11 rows, but they are the same size. Even though I made them both with DK yarn! 

After your last row, fasten off. If you're going to make a Simple Border, only fasten off the other colour that you won't use anymore. 

Borders

You can choose between three borders:

• No extra border.
• A simple border (orange bunny)
• A shell border (yellow bunny)

Simple Border Pattern:

Use any colour. I used Main Body Colour.
Work the first Row facing the right side of your project. Then turn and work the second row facing the wrong side.

R1: sc all around. In the corners, sc + ch2 + sc. Crochet over the yarn tail of the colour you cut off.
The total amount of stitches depends on the size of your blanket.

Ss to the first stitch. Turn your work.

Now, starting in the next available stitch, alternate a dc and a ss all around.
So, 1 dc, 1 ss, 1 dc, 1 ss...
For the corners: work both a ss and a dc (or a dc and a ss) in the chain 2 space.

If you need to squeeze in another stitch to make it line up at the end, then you do that.

End with a ss to the first stitch. 

Weave in all ends.

Link to video tutorail (not mine): Simple Border

Shell Border Pattern:

Use any colour. I used Main Body Colour.
The shells on the sides are made with 5 dc's, the shells on the corners are made with 7 dc's.

This shell pattern is a multiple of 4 + 1. This means, you'll need a multiple of 4 stitches (like 40) and 1 extra to make the shell pattern fit. But no worries. You can just skip an extra stitch or don't skip a stitch to make it fit anyway.

For me, I was one stitch short at the first corner. So after 5 dc, skip one, 1 sc, I had no stitches to skip before the corner. So I just didn't skip one and directly crocheted the next shell in the corner, without skipping one. No problem! After that, I was lucky enough that the pattern fit exactly.

If you want to be very precise, first sc around the border and make sure you end up with a multiple of 4 + 1 extra sc. You can put more or less sc's in the corners to achieve this. BUT this is not necessary. 

Start off in one of the corners. Attach your yarn with a slip knot.

ch 3, 6 dc in the same stitch (ch 3 counts as a dc). Work over the yarn tail.

Skip one stitch, make a sc in the next stitch.

Skip one stitch, make 5 dc in the next stitch. Skip one stitch, make a sc in the next stitch.
Repeat until you reach the corner. There, you make a bigger shell, made with 7 dc's.

Work all the way around the border.
Ss to the third chain of the starting chain. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Link to video tutorial (not mine): Shell Border

Assembly

Use Main Body Colour to attach the head to the body. There should be a tail left on the head that you can use.
Sew between R1 and R2 on the head and on the first row of the blanket. Make sure you attach the head to the right side of the blanket.

Weave in your end.

Now attach the ears. Sew one on the right side and one on the left side. Sew them below R5 of the head. Put them exactly opposite each other.

I like to sew both ears on first, then check if I like them, and only then I weave in my ends. This way, I can easily take one or both ears off again if something doesn't look right.

Embroider the eyes and nose where you like. 

Happy crocheting!

This pattern is for personal use. You may sell finished items made from this pattern, but please do not copy, redistribute, or republish the pattern in whole or in part. If you share your finished Toby the Toilet Paper Roll online, please credit Kate's Cozy Crochet.

Finished your project?

I hope you enjoyed making this Sleeping Bunny Lovey. If you share your project on Instagram, I'd love to see it. Tag me at @katescozycrochet.

You might also like:

Flower with Double Petals

©Kate's Cozy Crochet