Amigurumi – Minimee Crochet Panda Bear “Eiko”

In this crochet pattern, we want to crochet an adorable Panda Bear. The crocheted Panda Bear, Eiko, is a real eye-catcher as decoration in your houseplants or as a keychain or suitable for a mobile.

Introduction: Amigurumi – Minimee Crochet Panda Bear “Eiko”

To crochet an Amigurumi Panda Bear, a little preparation is needed. Here you will find all necessary information about prerequisites, materials, and size. If you need help, you can find additional links in the corresponding sections.

Attention! Amigurumis are very cute and, therefore, not only popular among adults. Children often see them as toys, so you should be especially careful. Amigurumis that are not intended for play should be kept out of the reach of children. If an Amigurumi is meant to be played with by children, you should strictly adhere to the guidelines for toys. If you plan to give away or sell Amigurumis (license for sellers), you must strictly adhere to the legal requirements for toys and display the required CE marking.

Prerequisites

Before you start implementing the crochet pattern for the Amigurumi Panda Bear, it is important that you are already familiar with the following crochet techniques. If you do not master all of them yet, you will find comprehensive tutorials here to learn them.

• Circle Rounds
• Crochet Chain Stitches
• Crochet Magic Ring
• Crochet Slip Stitches
• Decreases
• Half Double Crochet Stitches (US!)
• Increases
• Loops of a Stitch
• Single Crochet Stitches (US!)
• spiral rounds
• Turning Chain Stitches

Note! By offsetting regular increases and decreases, they become almost invisible. You can recognize regular increases by the phrase “double every … stitch,” and regular decreases by the phrase “crochet together every … and … stitch”. The stitch chart for spheres and circles might also be helpful for you.

Note! Using a special technique for invisible decreases makes them nearly invisible. Although this technique requires a bit of practice, it’s worth giving it a try.

Supplies

The Amigurumi Panda Bear shown here was crocheted with the following materials. You can also crochet the Amigurumi Panda Bear with a different yarn and a matching crochet hook. If you want to achieve an identical result, it is advisable to use the same materials as much as possible. In addition to the materials, you will also find a list of the necessary tools and supplies here.

Note! I have used safety eyes here. If you have never attached safety eyes before, you can also find detailed instructions on how to attach safety eyes here. In addition to a wide selection of other safety eyes, there are also numerous alternatives for amigurumi eyes. Simply use the eyes that you like best.

Note! The specified yarn was used for the example shown here. In principle, you can use any yarn and an appropriate needle size. However, the quality of the material also affects the quality of the result, so you should avoid cutting corners in the wrong place. Also, the thickness of the yarn and the needle will influence the size of the outcome, which you can, of course, intentionally take advantage of.

Size

Here are the size specifications for the crocheted Amigurumi Panda Bear. The height was measured standing without ears. Please note that the actual size depends on the yarn used, the size of the crochet hook, and individual crochet tension.

Needle Size	Yardage	Size
Crochet Hook B, C or 1 1/2	137 yds / 1.75 oz	2 2/5 inch
Crochet Hook C, D or 2 1/2	120 yds / 1.75 oz	3 inches
Crochet Hook E or 4	93 yds / 1.75 oz	?

Note! If you want to change the size, you can simply use a thicker or thinner yarn with a suitable needle size. Simply doubling the rounds, rows, and stitches, on the other hand, will only result in an uneven outcome.

crochet pattern: Amigurumi – Minimee Crochet Panda Bear “Eiko”

First, we crochet the eye masks for our adorable Panda Bear in a circular round. Then we crochet the head and immediately the body in spiral rounds from top to bottom. Once you’ve accomplished that, you get to crochet arms, legs, ears, and a tail. Finally, we assemble all the individual parts into an Amigurumi Panda Bear, and then it can climb a tree.

Crochet Masks for Panda Bear (2x)

Before you can crochet the head for the Panda Bear, you need to crochet the two masks for its eyes and prepare them, as they will go under the safety eyes. We crochet the masks in just one circular round of half double crochets, sounds complicated, but it’s not.

Note! If you want to create several nearly identical parts, it’s advisable to work on them consecutively on the same day. For larger parts, it’s even recommended to work on them simultaneously in stages. Our tension and tightness can vary from day to day, leading to visible differences.

• black:
• 1st round:
  • magic ring
  • 1 turning chain stitch
  • into the magic ring:
    • 8 half double crochet stitches (US!)
  • close with 1 slip stitch to form a round
  • = 9 stitches
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, do NOT cut the yarn end, it will be used later for sewing

Once you’ve crocheted the masks, place a safety eye between two stitches. Make sure the beautiful side always faces forward and do not close the safety eye yet. Now crochet the head and attach the safety eye with crocheted backing when prompted.

Crochet Head for Panda Bear (1x)

For our Amigurumi Panda Bear, we crochet the head and body in one go. We start with crocheting from the top with the head and work our way down in spiral rounds. You can also attach the safety eyes if you don’t want to create other eyes. Of course, the head is fully filled and stuffed at the end. Do not cut the thread when the head is finished, but continue with the body.

Note! If you want to achieve a particularly beautiful result, you can hide regular increases and decreases by offsetting them a little. You can recognize regular increases by the phrase “double every … stitch,” and regular decreases by the phrase “crochet together every … and … stitch”. The stitch chart for spheres and circles might also be helpful for you. Additionally, you can apply a special crochet technique here for invisible decreases.

• white:
• 1st round:
  • magic ring
  • into the magic ring:
    • 6 single crochet stitches (US!)
  • = 6 stitches
• 2nd round:
  • double every stitch
  • = 12 stitches
• 3rd round:
  • double every 2nd stitch
  • = 18 stitches
• 4th round:
  • double every 3rd stitch
  • = 24 stitches
• 5th round:
  • double every 4th stitch
  • = 30 stitches
• 6th – 12th round:
  • (= 7 rounds)
  • every stitch one stitch
  • = 30 stitches
• 13th round:
  • into the back loop only:
    • crochet together every 4th and 5th stitch
  • = 24 stitches
• attach safety eyes, position:
  • after the 9th round
  • 5 stitches distance

The safety eyes should already be in the crocheted masks for the eyes. That stays the same, and you now insert each safety eye through the corresponding stitch on the head. The safety eye should now hold the eye mask on the head. Before closing, you need to turn the eye masks in the right direction so that the widest part is diagonally downward on each outer side. When attaching the closures, make sure the masks are pressed well against the head and do not slip. Once you’re done, you can move on.

Note! If you want to achieve a particularly beautiful result, you can hide regular decreases by offsetting them a little. You can recognize regular decreases by the phrase “crochet together every … and … stitch”. The stitch chart for spheres and circles might also be helpful for you. Additionally, you can apply a special crochet technique here for invisible decreases.

• 14th round:
  • crochet together every 3rd and 4th stitch
  • = 18 stitches
• 15th round:
  • crochet together every 2nd and 3rd stitch
  • = 12 stitches
• fill and stuff completely
• do NOT cut yarn, continue with:
  • body

Crochet Body for Panda Bear (1x)

As described earlier, we now crochet the body directly onto the head. If you accidentally cut the thread, you can simply continue as if you were starting with a new color.

Note! If you want to achieve a particularly beautiful result, you can hide regular increases and decreases by offsetting them a little. You can recognize regular increases by the phrase “double every … stitch,” and regular decreases by the phrase “crochet together every … and … stitch”. The stitch chart for spheres and circles might also be helpful for you. Additionally, you can apply a special crochet technique here for invisible decreases.

• 16th round:
  • double every 4th stitch
  • = 15 stitches
• 17th round:
  • double every 5th stitch
  • = 18 stitches
• 18th round:
  • double every 6th stitch
  • = 21 stitches
• 19th round:
  • double every 7th stitch
  • = 24 stitches
• 20th – 23rd round:
  • (= 4 rounds)
  • every stitch one stitch
  • = 24 stitches
• 24th round:
  • into the back loop only:
    • crochet together every 3rd and 4th stitch
  • = 18 stitches
• fill and stuff completely
• 25th round:
  • crochet together every 2nd and 3rd stitch
  • = 12 stitches
• 26th round:
  • crochet together every 1st and 2nd stitch
  • = 6 stitches
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, close the remaining opening, secure and weave in the yarn end

Crochet Ears for Panda Bear (2x)

We crochet the ears for the Panda Bear from top to bottom in spiral rounds. The ears are not filled but only flat folded.

Tip: Wenn du ein besonders schönes Ergebnis erhalten möchtest, kannst du die regelmäßigen Zunahmen durch Versetzen ein wenig verstecken. Dazu verwendest du einfach die Maschentabelle für Kugeln und Kreise.

(Redaktion: Block ersetzen)

Note! If you want to create several nearly identical parts, it’s advisable to work on them consecutively on the same day. For larger parts, it’s even recommended to work on them simultaneously in stages. Our tension and tightness can vary from day to day, leading to visible differences.

• black:
• 1st round:
  • magic ring
  • into the magic ring:
    • 6 single crochet stitches (US!)
  • = 6 stitches
• 2nd round:
  • double every 2nd stitch
  • = 9 stitches
• 3rd – 4th round:
  • (= 2 rounds)
  • every stitch one stitch
  • = 9 stitches
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, do NOT cut the yarn end, it will be used later for sewing

Crochet Tail for Panda Bear (1x)

We crochet the tail for the Panda Bear in just one round with a magic ring.

• black:
• 1st round:
  • magic ring
  • 1 turning chain stitch
  • into the magic ring:
    • 5 half double crochet stitches (US!)
    • 1 turning chain stitch
    • 1 slip stitch
  • = 6 stitches
• pull the magic ring together
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, do NOT cut the yarn end, it will be used later for sewing

Crochet Arms for Panda Bear (2x)

We crochet the arms for the Panda Bear back and forth in two rows. Let the games begin!

Note! If you want to create several nearly identical parts, it’s advisable to work on them consecutively on the same day. For larger parts, it’s even recommended to work on them simultaneously in stages. Our tension and tightness can vary from day to day, leading to visible differences.

• black:
• 1st row:
  • 4 chain stitches
  • 2 turning chain stitches
  • = 4 stitches
• 2nd row:
  • into one stitch:
    • 1 half double crochet stitch (US!)
    • 2 turning chain stitches
    • 1 slip stitch
  • 3x one slip stitch into one stitch
  • = 5 stitches
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, do NOT cut the yarn end, it will be used later for sewing

Crochet Legs for Panda Bear (2x)

Once you’ve mastered the arms, the legs are no longer a problem. But be careful; there’s a small difference in the second row!

Note! If you want to create several nearly identical parts, it’s advisable to work on them consecutively on the same day. For larger parts, it’s even recommended to work on them simultaneously in stages. Our tension and tightness can vary from day to day, leading to visible differences.

• black:
• 1st row:
  • 4 chain stitches
  • 2 turning chain stitches
  • = 4 stitches
• 2nd row:
  • into one stitch:
    • 2 half double crochet stitches (US!)
    • 2 turning chain stitches
    • 1 slip stitch
  • 3x one slip stitch into one stitch
  • = 6 stitches
• cut yarn generously, pull through loop, do NOT cut the yarn end, it will be used later for sewing

Finish Minimee Panda Bear

Done! You’ve finished all the individual parts and can now assemble everything. Pin all the parts together with safety pins and examine the Panda Bear closely. Now you can see if the positions are correct and if you want to make any changes.

Sew Masks to Head

First, secure the masks to the head by sewing them around with the respective thread end. Then, stitch the thread ends inward and secure them. This way, the eye masks cannot rotate or wave upward later.

Sew Ears to Head

Now, sew the ears to the head of the Panda Bear. The two ears are flat folded and sit with the straight side on the top left and right sides of the head. Seen from above, they form a line through the center of the head parallel to the eyes.

Attach Arms, Legs, and Tail

Next, attach the arms, legs, and tail to the body. The arms are attached after the 16th round with a distance of 4 stitches, and the legs after the 23rd round below the small stitch edge with only 3 stitches apart. The tail is positioned on the back exactly in the middle above the small stitch edge.

It will help if you first find the center based on the eyes. Then you can attach arms and legs to the right and left of it. It is more important to maintain the same distance to the center than to hit the exact stitch distance. Perhaps the pattern for attaching small Amigurumi parts will be a good help.

Embroider a Nose

I almost forgot to embroider a nose. Use the black embroidery yarn and first stitch a vertical line starting at eye level towards the chin exactly between both eyes. Then, make horizontal stitches over two stitches above the line until the nose has the desired volume.

Create Details

Since the little Panda already has enough details with its eye masks and nose, I didn’t draw extra cheeks on it or tie a band around it. However, you can do that if you prefer.

Done!

With that, your cute little Amigurumi Panda Bear is already crocheted. Perhaps it wants to sit somewhere in your leafy forest now.

If you’re up for it, you might want to crochet the other amigurumis from the Minimee series; just take a look at the patterns.