Free Crochet Owl Pattern: Tiny Amigurumi in 18 Easy Steps

This free crochet owl pattern makes one tiny, flat-faced owl with orange feathers, big white eyes and two ear points, worked on a 2 mm hook in thin 2-ply yarn. The video it comes from is titled as an owl couple, but it only ever shows one owl being made, so this is a single-owl pattern. Work it twice for a pair.

free crochet owl pattern: finished tiny orange crochet owl held between two hands — The finished owl from this free crochet owl pattern, held between two hands.

Below are the materials for this free crochet owl pattern, every round with its stitch count, and 18 photo steps taken from a video tutorial. We also explain why the hook is so small, three ways this owl goes wrong, why glued eyes need a warning, and where to find five more free crochet owl patterns if you want a bigger one.

What you need
Stitches and the stitch multiple
Step by step
Where it goes wrong
Are the eyes safe
Why the hook is so small
How much yarn
Five more free owl patterns
FAQ
Where to go next
Sources

What You Need for This Free Crochet Owl Pattern

The whole free crochet owl pattern uses four small amounts of yarn and one hook.

Item	What to use
Yarn	2-ply acrylic in light cream or beige, orange, white and a little light green for the beak
Hook	2 mm
Eyes	Two small black 2 mm eyes, glued on (or embroider them, see the safety section)
Stuffing	Polyester fibrefill
Tools	Yarn needle and craft glue
Body	Magic ring, 18 stitches per round, 11 rounds
Extras	2 white eye discs and 2 beige wings

The video says wool when it talks about the yarn, but the label shown on screen says acrylic. We follow the printed label.

Which Stitches Does This Free Crochet Owl Pattern Use, and Is There a Stitch Multiple?

Only five stitch types appear, and the naming depends on which convention your book uses.

Abbreviation	Stitch	Called in the other convention
mr	Magic ring	Magic ring
ch	Chain	Chain
sc	Single crochet	Double crochet
inc	2 sc in the same stitch	2 double crochet in the same stitch
dc	Double crochet	Treble crochet
sl st	Slip stitch	Slip stitch

The body works over a multiple of 6. Each increase round adds 6 stitches, which is why the counts read 6, 12, 18. There is no chain multiple to match because nothing is started from a foundation chain. Every body and eye round is joined: begin with 1 chain that does not count, and finish with a slip stitch into the first stitch.

Part	Round	Instruction	Stitches
Body	1	6 sc in the ring	6
Body	2	2 sc in every stitch	12
Body	3	(2 sc in next, 1 sc in next) 6 times	18
Body	4 to 6	1 sc in every stitch, cream yarn	18
Body	7 to 11	1 sc in every stitch, orange yarn	18
Eye (make 2)	1 and 2	6 sc in a ring, then 2 sc in every stitch	12
Wing (make 2)	1 and 2	6 dc in a ring, then 2 sc in every dc	12

Step by Step: 18 Photo Steps for This Free Crochet Owl Pattern

These steps retell the video in our own words, and the photos are frames from it.

Step 1: Make a magic ring

Start with the cream yarn and make a magic ring. Leave the tail long enough to close it later.

Step 2: Round 1: six single crochet

Chain 1, then work 6 single crochet into the ring. Join with a slip stitch to the first stitch. You have 6 stitches.

Step 3: Round 2: increase in every stitch

Chain 1, then put 2 single crochet in each stitch and join. The count doubles to 12.

Step 4: Round 3: increase in every second stitch

Chain 1, then work 2 single crochet in the next stitch and 1 single crochet in the one after, 6 times. Join. You have 18 stitches. Work the increase in the first stitch of each pair, not the second.

Step 5: Rounds 4 to 6: the cream section

Chain 1 and work 1 single crochet in each of the 18 stitches, then join. Do this for three rounds. This cream section becomes the lower body.

Step 6: Change to orange

At the end of round 6, pull the orange yarn through on the last join and carry on with orange. The colour change sits at the back and stays hidden once the owl is stuffed.

Step 7: Rounds 7 to 11: the orange section

Keep working 18 single crochet in every round for five more rounds, chain 1 and join each time. The body is now 11 rounds tall.

Step 8: Check the finished tube

You should have a small open cup with a cream base and an orange top. Weave the working yarn to the inside edge and leave a length free.

Step 9: Stuff lightly

Push small pieces of fibrefill in with your finger. Fill to a soft firmness and stop before the stitches begin to gap. Overstuffing pulls the rows apart.

Step 10: Close the top: the ears appear

Flatten the top edge so the stitches line up. Slip stitch across, taking one loop from the front layer and one from the back layer at a time. The two ends of the seam turn into little ear points.

Step 11: Make the eye discs

In white, make a magic ring, work 6 single crochet, join, then put 2 single crochet in every stitch for 12. Leave a tail. Make two.

Step 12: Compare your two eyes

Set the two white discs side by side. They should be the same size, so count both at 12.

Step 13: Start a wing

In beige, make a magic ring, chain 2, then work 6 double crochet into the ring.

Step 14: Finish the wing

Chain 1, then work 2 single crochet in each double crochet. The wing has 12 stitches and a rounded fan shape. Make a second wing the same way.

Step 15: Glue on the white eyes

Set the two white discs side by side on the upper front of the body, just under the ear points. Fix each one with a small dab of craft glue.

Step 16: Add the black pupils

Glue one small black eye in the middle of each white disc. Press for a few seconds and let the glue set.

Step 17: Sew on the wings

Thread the beige tail on a yarn needle and stitch each wing to a side of the body, level with the eyes.

Step 18: Embroider the beak

With light green yarn, stitch a small V between the eyes. Fasten off and weave in every end.

Where Does This Free Crochet Owl Pattern Go Wrong?

Three things trip people up. All of them are avoidable.

Misreading round 3. The video shows the label as a stitch total, not a repeat count. The correct repeat is 2 single crochet then 1 single crochet, 6 times, for 18. Repeating it 18 times would give you far too many stitches.
Ears that do not form. Slip stitching through only one layer leaves a flat seam with no points. Take one loop from the front and one from the back at every stitch.
Overstuffed body. A tight fill stretches a 2 mm hook’s small stitches and shows white through the gaps. Fill lightly and check the orange rounds against the light.

Are the Glued Eyes in This Free Crochet Owl Pattern Safe for Children?

The video glues on the black pupils and uses no safety eyes with a locking back. Glued eyes on a toy this small can come off. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says toys intended for children under 3 must not contain small parts, and it defines a small part by a test cylinder about the size of a child’s throat. We did not find the cylinder measurements on the page we could read, so we will not quote them.

The safe choice for any toy a young child may hold is to embroider the pupils with black yarn, skip the glue, and sew everything on. Treat this owl as a decoration, a keyring charm or a gift for older children. For any infant, follow the official guidance, not a craft site.

Why Is the Hook So Small for This Free Crochet Owl Pattern?

The Craft Yarn Council range for medium weight yarn is 5.5 to 6.5 mm. The five owl patterns we checked use 3 to 4 mm hooks, and this one uses 2 mm. That is deliberate. Amigurumi is worked tight so the stuffing does not show through. This owl uses 2-ply yarn, which is much thinner than medium weight yarn, and the hook drops to match. The video does not say which yarn brand it uses, so check your own swatch.

Owl	Hook	Yarn weight	Finished size	Total yarn
This tutorial	2 mm	2-ply	Not stated	Not stated
Oswald the Owl	4 mm	Medium (4)	About 5.5 in tall	86 yd
Large and mini owl	3.5 mm	Medium (4)	4.25 in wide, 5 in tall	75 to 150 yd range
Barn owl	4 mm	Medium (4)	7 in tall	Not stated
Cute owl (Furls)	4 mm	Medium (4)	Not stated	Not stated
Mr. Murasaki	3 mm	Not stated	3 in	Not stated

The video does not state a finished size, and we did not make the owl ourselves, so we will not print one. The other owls we checked run from 3 in to 7 in tall. None of the pages we checked printed a gauge. So a swatch of your own is the only way to know your owl will match the size you want.

How Much Yarn Does This Free Crochet Owl Pattern Need?

The video does not say, and we will not guess. Here is the number we can give you. Counting every round in the tutorial, this owl takes 252 stitches in total: 180 in the body, 36 across the two eye discs and 36 across the two wings. We counted this from the round counts in the video, and slip stitches and chains are not included.

For comparison, the only designer of the five who prints a total, Oswald, needs 86 yd for a 5.5 in owl in medium weight yarn. A 2-ply owl needs far less, so one small ball of each colour is plenty.

Five More Free Crochet Owl Patterns If You Want a Bigger One

These five designers publish larger owls in medium weight yarn. We link to them and do not repeat their instructions.

Oswald the Owl by Nicole Chase, about 5.5 in tall, 4 mm hook.
Owl Amigurumi, large and mini by Loops and Love Crochet, two sizes, 3.5 mm hook.
Barn Owl Amigurumi by StringyDingDing, 7 in tall, 4 mm hook.
Cute Owl Amigurumi by Furls, worked in acrylic yarn on a 4 mm hook.
Owl Amigurumi (Mr. Murasaki) by AmiguruMEI, a 3 in owl on a 3 mm hook.

Two of those sites also run shops, but the patterns were free when we checked.

Free Crochet Owl Pattern FAQ

Is this free crochet owl pattern good for beginners?

Yes, if you can make a magic ring and work in joined rounds. There are only single crochet, double crochet and slip stitches. The 2 mm hook is small, so it takes patience.

What hook size does the free crochet owl pattern use?

A 2 mm hook with 2-ply yarn. If you switch to medium weight yarn, use a 3.5 to 4 mm hook, as the other owls we checked do, and expect a bigger owl.

Can I use safety eyes on this owl?

You can, but only lock-back safety eyes sized for the stitches, and never for a child under 3. Embroidered eyes are the safest choice for any toy a young child may hold.

Does the free crochet owl pattern need sewing?

Yes, a little. You sew on the two wings and embroider the beak. The eyes are glued in the video, and we suggest sewing them if the owl is for a child.

How do I make a pair from this free crochet owl pattern?

Make everything twice, using different colours if you like. The video shows a single owl, so a pair means two full runs of the same rounds.

How do I make the owl bigger?

Use thicker yarn with a larger hook. The round counts stay the same, so the owl grows with the yarn. Check with a swatch first, because none of the designers we checked publish a gauge.

Where to Go Next After This Free Crochet Owl Pattern

Want another small toy in the same spirit? Try the free crochet spider pattern, or carry your owls home in one of the free crochet bag patterns. To browse more patterns, see the free patterns category, the accessories category, and the stitches and squares category.

Sources

The main free crochet owl pattern above is retold in our own words from a video tutorial, and the photos are frames from that video. We did not make the owl ourselves for this article.

Video credit: The steps in this guide are retold in our own words from the video tutorial Cute Crochet Owl Couple, Easy Amigurumi Owl Tutorial by Easy Crochet on YouTube, and the step photos are frames from that video. Watch it for the full demonstration and support the creator.