Aladdin-Inspired Stuffie
Inspiration
So I set out to make a stuffed critter for my daughter. I wanted it to be kind of monster-like, like Patchy-Patch from Toopy and Binoo (a Canadian Kids TV show). But once I started making it, I thought a little vest would be cute, and then a little cap, and then he really started to look like an Arabian Nights / Aladdin-type guy so I gave him some pointy shoes and VOILA! I hope you enjoy making this critter… you could really dress him up however you want! A scarf, a top hat… whatever your heart desires.
Materials
Worsted weight yarn of your choice
2 x 9mm safety eyes
Tapestry needle
Stuffing material: in my case I used some bean bag filler + batting
Optional: stitch marker
Stitches
ch – chain
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
tr – triple / treble crochet
magic loop (instructions here)
Pattern
General note: after the first round, the pieces are worked in a continuous fashion – you do not need to sl st at the end of each round. Because of this, I recommend you use a stitch marker to keep track of where the current round started, in case you lose count during a round.
Body: worked bottom up
Round 1: 6 sc into magic loop, sl st into first st
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 4: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end of round (24 st)
Round 5: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st* repeat until end of round (30 st)
Round 6: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st* repeat until end of round (36 st)
Round 7: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st* repeat until end of round (42 st)
Round 8: sc in each st around
Rounds 9-15: repeat Round 8 (42 st)
Round 16: *sc3tog, sc in next 5 st* repeat until end of round (36 st)
Rounds 17-20: repeat Round 8
Round 21: *sc2tog, sc in next 4 st* repeat until end of round (30 st)
Rounds 22-24: repeat Round 8
Round 25: *sc2tog, sc in next 3 st* repeat until end of round (24 st)
Rounds 26-27: repeat Round 8
Add stuffing at this point – I created a bean bag sac of polyfil to give weight to the body for sitting and then filled with batting
Round 28: *sc2tog, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
sl st, fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing
Head: worked top down
Round 1: 6 sc into magic loop, sl st into first st
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 4: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end of round (24 st)
Round 5: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st* repeat until end of round (30 st)
Round 6: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st* repeat until end of round (36 st)
Round 7: *2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st* repeat until end of round (42 st)
Round 8: sc in each st around
Rounds 9-13: repeat Round 8 (42 st)
Round 14: *sc3tog, sc in next 5 st* repeat until end of round (36 st)
Round 15: *sc2tog, sc in next 4 st* repeat until end of round (30 st)
Round 16: *sc2tog, sc in next 3 st* repeat until end of round (24 st)
Round 17: *sc2tog, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Add stuffing at this point – I used batting
Round 18: *sc2tog, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (12 st)
Round 19: sc2tog around (6 st)
sl st, fasten off
Arm: (make 2)
Round 1: 6 sc into magic loop, sl st into first st
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: sc in each st around
Round 4: sc2tog around (6 st)
Round 5-16: repeat Round 3
Round 17: hdc in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sl st in next st (this forms the shoulder for sewing)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing
I didn’t stuff the hands or the arms, but feel free to do so if you’d like, stuff hands after round 3
Leg: (make 2)
Round 1: 6 sc into magic loop, sl st into first st
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 4: sc in each st around
Round 5: repeat Round 4
Add a bit of batting here to fill out the foot, which helps hold the shoes in place
Round 6: sc2tog around (9 st)
Round 7-26: repeat Round 4
Round 27: 2sc in each st around (18 st)
sl st, fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing
Eye: (make 2)
Round 1: 6 sc into magic loop, sl st into first st
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 4: In the back loops only, sc in each st around
Round 5: sc in each st around
Round 6: In the back loops only, *sc2tog, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (6 st)
sl st, fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing
Stuff to desired firmness
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 st)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st* repeat until end of round (18 st)
Round 4: In the back loops only, sc in each st around
Round 5: sc in each st around
Round 6: hdc in next st, dc in next st, tr in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc in each remaining st around (18 st)
Round 7: hdc in next st, dc in next st, tr in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc2tog 6 times, sl st into last st of round
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing
Assembly
- Attach stuffed body to head, centering the neck with the bottom of the head
- Attach arms at sides of body with the shoulder reaching the top of the 5th round from the neck
- Attach legs on underside of body, joining the body at Round 4
- Attach safety eyes to eye pieces and sew eyes into place, centered horizontally and vertically on the head so that the eyes touch each other but don’t overlap
- Attach hair to top center of the head, positioned so it hangs onto the forehead
- Sew hat to the side of the center so it covers where the hair meets the head at top center and slants off to the side
- Put on vest and sew yarn into top front corners to tie together with a bow (as pictured) or you could add a small button if desired
- Place shoes on the stuffed feet with the pointed toes pointing forward and use the long tail to sew the top of the pointed toe shut
- Embroider a mouth and eyebrows in place for character
- Sew in loose ends
