Amigurumi – Minimee Crochet Brown Bear “Balu”

You can crochet an adorable Brown Bear with this free pattern. For the little Brown Bear, we crochet the head and body in one piece. Then follow arms, legs, ears, and tail. Once you assemble all the parts and give your Brown Bear a cute face, no one can resist it.

Introduction: Amigurumi – Minimee Crochet Brown Bear “Balu”

Before we can start crocheting the Amigurumi Brown Bear, it’s important to prepare well. Here you will find comprehensive information about the required prerequisites, materials, and size. If you need help, you will find additional links in the respective 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

To smoothly execute this crochet pattern for the Amigurumi Brown Bear, you should already be familiar with the following crochet techniques. You will find a detailed tutorial for each technique here so that you can quickly learn them yourself.

• 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 listed materials were used to crochet the Amigurumi Brown Bear. You can also crochet the Amigurumi Brown Bear with a different yarn if you use an appropriately sized hook. You will achieve as identical a result as possible if you use materials as similar as possible. In addition to the materials, you will find in the following list all the necessary tools and supplies.

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 Brown 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 Brown Bear “Balu”

We crochet the little Brown Bear in one piece from top to bottom. Then we crochet all the small parts like ears, tail, arms, and legs. Finally, everything is sewn together, and you can add some embellishments. Let’s get started!

Crochet Head for Brown Bear (1x)

As described earlier, we crochet the head and body in one go. We start crocheting from the top with the head and work our way down in spiral rounds. Do not cut the thread when the head is finished; instead, continue immediately 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.

• brown:
• 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
• 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 Brown 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 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 Brown Bear (2x)

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

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.

• brown:
• 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 Brown Bear (1x)

We crochet the tail for the Brown Bear in just one round with a magic ring, so I’ve only written down the individual steps for you.

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

Crochet Arms for Brown Bear (2x)

We crochet the arms for the Brown 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.

• brown:
• 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 Brown Bear (2x)

Once you’ve mastered the arms, the legs are no longer a problem. But be careful, as 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.

• brown:
• 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 Brown Bear

Done! You’ve completed all the individual parts and can now assemble everything. To do this, pin all the pieces with pins and examine the Brown Bear closely. Now you can see if the positions are correct and if you want to make any changes.

Sew Ears to Head

First, we sew the ears to the head of the Brown Bear. The two ears are unfilled and folded flat. They are placed with the straight side on the top left and right sides of the head. From the top, they form a line through the center of the head parallel to the eyes.

Attach Arms, Legs, and Tail

Now we attach the arms, legs, and tail to the body. The arms are attached about 4 stitches apart after the 16th round, and the legs are attached just 3 stitches apart below the small edge of stitches after the 23rd round. The tail is placed on the back exactly in the middle above the small edge of stitches.

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

Embroider a Nose

Next, let’s add a nice nose to the Brown Bear. Use the black embroidery yarn or stitching yarn and first stitch a vertical line starting at eye level towards the chin exactly between both eyes. Follow horizontal stitches over two stitches above the line until the nose has the desired volume.

Create Details

Finally, you can give your Brown Bear its own character. I painted red cheeks on it and tied a red scarf around its neck. But there are many other ways to embellish the little Brown Bear, so feel free to experiment!

Done!

I bet your crocheted Amigurumi Brown Bear has turned out just as cute. While your crocheted Brown Bear now disappears into the woods, you could keep on crocheting.

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.