Amigurumi Katniss ~ Free Crochet Pattern

Happy Independence Day, lovely followers! As promised, here’s the pattern for you to make your own amigurumi Katniss. May she serve as inspiration to never let our country turn into Panem!

I took a bunch of pictures, but they’re all missing from iPhoto, and I deleted them from the camera. Needless to say, I’m very sad about this, and I apologize that there’s only this one picture! There are a few in-progress pictures throughout the pattern to help you along, just no more pictures of the finished ami.

This pattern doesn’t have to be a Katniss! You can use different colors and hairstyles and turn her into somebody entirely different. (Perhaps a Queen Elsa!)

Materials

• Worsted-weight yarn in the following colors (I’ve listed what they’re used for, as well, for easier reference.) You only need small amounts of each.

Dark green (shirt)
Cream (skin)
Dark brown (pants and hair)
Lighter brown (boots)

• Size G (4.00 MM) crochet hook
• Buttons, black thread, and a sewing needle (to embroider face)
• Yarn needle, to weave in ends
• Stuffing (I used fiberfill)
• You need some way to keep track of your rows. I used a row counter, but you could mark it down on paper, or click here to go to an online row counter.
• Also, since this is worked in a continuous spiral, you’ll need something to hold your place, like a stitch marker or a yarn scrap. Can you guess what I used? 😉

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Abbreviations

Here’s a chart that lists the US to UK conversion, complete with abbreviations. (I use US terms in all my patterns.)

Special Stitches

Half-double crochet popcorn (hdc popcorn) =  4 hdc in next st. Remove hook from loop, insert hook from front to back through first hdc made. Put loop back on hook, and pull loop through stitch – bobble made.

Increase (inc) = 2 sc in next st.

Decrease (dec) = (also known as a sc2tog) *Insert hook into next stitch, pull up a loop* twice. YO, pull through all 3 loops.

Back post single crochet (bpsc): Find a tutorial later in the pattern, in the Leg part.

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Head

1: 6 sc in a Magic Ring. (Or, ch 2, 6 sc in the 2nd ch from hook.)

2: inc in each st around.

3: *sc 1, inc* 6x.

4: *sc 2, inc* 6x.

5: *sc 3, inc* 6x.

6: *sc 4, inc* 6x.

7-12: sc in each st around.

13: sc in next st. Hdc popcorn in next st. Sc in rest of stitches around.

14-16: sc in each st around.

17: *sc 4, dec* 6x.

18: *sc 3, dec* 6x.

19: *sc 2, dec* 6x.

Embroider on face and attach safety eyes if you’re going to do so now.

20: *sc 1, dec* 6x.

21: *dec* 6x, through the back loops only.

Fasten off, weave the end through all 6 stitches and pull to tighten. Weave ends into head.

Neck

Join cream yarn to one of the unused loops from Round 21.

1: sc in each of the unused loops (12 stitches)

2: sc in each st around (still 12)

3: Sc in each st around, through the back loops only.

4: Sc in each st around.

Fasten off, leaving a foot-long tail for sewing. Fold the neck inward (so the right side is out) along the crease formed by the back loops. This is to make the neck sturdier and prevent that large bobble head from tipping over. Use the tail to sew the end of Round 4 to the beginning of the neck. Also, you may want to put in a dowel before you finish the body. I highly suggest it! Otherwise your ami might have a droopy head.

Body

Join dark green yarn to one of the unused loops from Round 3.

1: *sc 2, inc* 4x, working through the unused loops.

2: *sc 1, inc* 8x.

3-11: sc around.

Sl st into next stitch and fasten off. Now we’re starting the top of the legs.

Start with a slipknot on your hook. We’re going to perform the Amazing Knotless Standing Single Crochet. (Click the name to go to Mrs. Micawber’s tutorial, which is where I first learned it. I just use a slight variation and start with a slipknot, which takes the ‘knotless’ out of it, but works fine for me. :D)

12: Back post single crochet in each stitch around, which pushes the stitches forward and makes the bottom of the shirt look cool. See later in this pattern (in the leg portion) for a mini tutorial on this wonderful stitch.

13: *dec* around.

14: *dec* around, sl st into next st and fasten off. Weave the tail through the stitches and pull to tighten. Weave all of the ends into the body.

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Arm

Start with skin color to make the hand.

1: 6 sc in a magic ring

2: inc 6x

3 & 4 : sc around

5: *sc 1, dec* around

6: *sc 2, dec* 2x

Stuff hand lightly and slip stitch into next stitch. Fasten off.

If you want to make a one-color arm, don’t fasten off. Just continue happily single crocheting in each stitch around – no back post single crochets! – until the arm is 4 inches long, or as long as required. For those making a sleeve, carry on.

Join the color you’re using for the shirt using a knotless standing single crochet, and back post single crochet in each st around. Scroll down for a mini tutorial (it’s in the boot section right below this.)

Now, sc around in a continuous spiral of 6 stitches. Keep going until the arm is 4 inches long or as long as you like. At the end, sl st in next st, FO and leave a bit of a tail for sewing, sew open end together and sew to body.

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Time for the legs! These are made in three portions, the boot tip, main boot, and the actual leg (which is just a tube.) Onwards!

Boot Tip (make 2)

(with lighter brown)

1: 6 sc in a magic ring

2: *sc 1, inc* 3x (9 stitches)

3-5: sc around

Main Boot (make 2)

1: 6 sc in a magic ring

2: inc 6x

3: sc around in back loops only

4-6: sc around

Sl st to next st, FO. Sew boot tip to main boot, stuffing lightly.

Leg

This is worked directly onto the boots, with the help of the lovely back post single crochet. I now offer you the superfast three-picture back post single crochet tutorial, featuring the Knotless Standing Single Crochet linked earlier in this tutorial. Click to enlarge the photos and read the captions.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of the stitch, let’s apply it!

Starting with a slip knot on your hook, with dark brown…

1: *bpsc in next 3 stitches. Skip next stitch* 3x. (9 sts)

2: sc in each st around.

Repeat Round 2 until the leg is 4.5 inches (not counting the boot.) Slip stitch to next stitch, fasten off, leaving a bit of a tail for sewing.

Do this on the other boot.

Now, sew the boot tip to the boot, add a bit of stuffing and finish sewing. Weave in all those ends.

We’re nearly there!

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Hair

First off we need to make a wig cap…This entire thing is worked in
BACK LOOPS ONLY. This gives you spare loops to attach the hair to.

1: 7 sc in a Magic Ring (or chain 2, 6 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook.)

2: inc in each st around

3: *sc 1, inc* 7x

4: *sc 2, inc* 7x

5: *sc 3, inc* 7x

6: *sc 4, inc* 7x

7-10: sc around

Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing. Position the wig cap on your doll’s head. (See below picture for help.)

This picture was taken on Photo Booth because I was feeling lazy…but I thought I should offer you some picture assistance.

Sew the wig cap to the head, going under just the back loops so you can add hair later. The picture shows my preferred method of stitching (whipstitch)

Now we can go to the actual hair. There are several techniques you could use. I did a different method this time, and I’m never going back – it’s a bit more difficult, but takes less time, and you end up with a fuller head of hair at the end.

This is the link to the method I used to use (hooking each strand into the head individually). Scroll down a bit to the part about attaching hair and you’ll see how to do it. I suggest doing three rows (at the very top, the very bottom, then somewhere in the middle.)

Here’s the link to the method I used this time. (ignore the bit about sewing the hair to the head, at least for this pattern ~ it’s interesting, so you might like to read it anyhow.) I did size 10 crochet thread on a 2.1 MM hook but I don’t think the size is important here. I used a hairpin lace loom set to 4 inches, filled up the whole thing, and sewed that to the very bottom (where you sew the wig cap to the head.) Then, for the middle and top, I wrapped it around a book, 7 inches wide, using the same method. I sewed that to the magic ring at the top and then looped it around the middle. My very helpful sister trimmed all the loops and then we gave her (the doll!) a bit of a haircut.

Coat

I used a size K (6.5 MM) hook and black worsted weight yarn and made a very tiny Granny Shrug. Each hexagon was just three rounds. Then I joined them with sc like the pattern-writer did. (I love that pattern, but I’ve never had enough yarn or energy to do a full-sized version.)

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I think that’s it. I do believe I covered everything…if I forgot something essential, or something doesn’t make sense, please do let me know. As always, if you do make a Katniss, or if you modify this pattern into something else, I would love to see what you’ve made!

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.