Free Crochet Pattern: Bruce The Badger

Download PDF here

Bruce the Badger is crocheted with Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour, which is 100% cotton.

Size

Bruce the Badger measures approx. 15cm

Tools & Materials

• Crochet hook size 2.5mm
• Darning needle for finishing
• Fibrefill 1250 grams
• 10mm safety eyes
• Possibly stitch markers and row counter

Yarn consumption

Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour

• Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour – 01 black, approx. 15 grams
• Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour – 02 white, approx. 10 grams
• Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour – 236 grey, approx. 10 grams
• Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour – 05 pink, a small leftover

Abbreviations

s - stitch

dc - double crochet stitch

mr - magic ring

ch - chain stitch

sl st - slip stitch

tch - turning chain

inc - increase (2 dc in the same s)

dec - decrease (join 2 s in 1 s)

()x6 – repeat number of times

The number in parentheses after each round is the number of stitches that you should have when the round is finished.

The colour change always takes place in the last stitch from the previous round. So when you have 2 loops on the hook and have to grab the yarn (of the new colour) again and draw it through the two loops.

Crochet tension

26 s x 24 r = 10x10cm

I have crocheted Bruce using a 2.5mm crochet hook. But keep in mind that the needle size is only indicative. If you tend to crochet more tightly, you can easily go up to a 3-3.5mm crochet hook. In order to stay within the specified amount of yarn, you have to get the crochet tension right.

Comments on Bruce from the designer

Bruce is an easy little guy, who is made with the softest yarn (Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 Yarn Unicolour), which makes him a perfect companion for little kids. To make Bruce, you need to know the basic principles of crochet, such as crocheting in rounds and chains. You will also have to do a lot of colour changes with patterns, and if you are a beginner, it may be a little difficult at first. The most important thing is that you make sure to tighten the loop afterwards if it appears a little loose where you changed the strands. I do NOT break the yarn when changing colour on the head and body, in order to have fewer loose yarn ends - but that is of course only a matter of preference.

If you have any questions along the way, feel free to contact me on Instagram, and when you are done with Bruce, you are welcome to tag me (@homemade.by.frost) so I can see your lovely creation.

Have fun!

Amalie Frost

Instructions

Stripes around the eyes

Make 2 stripes using the black yarn

Crochet 7 ch, start from 2nd s from the hook:

Round 1-2: 6 dc + 1 tch (6)

Round 3: 1 dec, 4 dc + 1 tch (5)

Round 4: 5 dc + 1 tch (5)

Round 5: 1 dec, 3 dc + 1 tch (4)

Round 6: 4 dc + 1 tch (4)

Round 7: 1 dec, 2 dc + 1 tch (3)

Round 8: 3 dc + 1 tch (3)

Round 9: 1 dec, 1 dc + 1 tch (2)

Round 10: 2 dc + 1 tch (2)

Round 11: 1 dec + 1 tch (1)

Round 12: 1 dc (1)

Break the yarn and leave a long enough strand for sewing on the stripes later.

Ears

Crochet two ears using black and grey. Start with black yarn.

Round 1: 6 dc in a mr (6)

Round 2: black (3x inc), grey (3x inc) (12)

Round 3: black (1 dc, 1 inc)x3, grey (1 dc, 1 inc)x3 (18)

Round 4-6: black 9 dc, grey 9 dc (18)

Finish with 1 sl st and break the yarn. Leave enough yarn for sewing on the ears.

Cheeks

Crochet 2 cheeks using pink yarn

Round 1: 6 dc in a mr (6)

Finish with 1 sl st and break the yarn. Leave a long enough strand for sewing on the cheeks.

Head

The head is made using white, black and grey

Start with white, and crochet 7 ch, start from the 2nd s from the hook.

Round 1: 1 inc, 4 dc, 4 s in the last s, and continue on the opposite side with 4 dc, 1 inc (16)

Round 2: 1 dc, 1 inc, 5 dc, 1 inc, 1 dc, 1 inc, 5 dc, 1 inc (20)

Round 3: 1 dc, 2 inc, 5 dc, 2 inc, 10 dc (24)

Round 4: (3dc, 1 inc)x6 (30)

Round 5: white 18 dc, black 12 dc (30)

Round 6: white (4 dc, 1 inc)x3, 3 dc - black 1 dc, 1 inc (4 dc, 1 inc)x2 (36)

Round 7-8: white 21 dc, black 15 dc (36)

Round 9: white (1 dc, 1 inc)x7 - black 15 dc (43)

Round 10-12: white 28 dc - black 15 dc (43)

Round 13: white (3 dc, 1 inc)x7 - black 15 dc (50)

Round 14-18 white 35 dc - black 14 dc (50)

Round 19: white 7 dc - grey 21 dc - white 7 dc - black 15 dc (50)

Round 20: grey (3 dc, 1 dec)x7 - black (3 dc, 1 dec)x3 (40)

Round 21: grey (2 dc, 1 dec)x7 - black (2 dc, dec)x3 (30)

Now, you attach the eyes and cheeks. First, sew on the nose with black yarn. You do this on the upper part of round 1-2 on the head with a width of approx. 5-6 stitches. Then place the stripes with pins from round 4-17. Position so that the stripes stop 2 rounds before you reach the grey piece. Place the safety eyes (between round 7-8 on the stripe, and approx. round 10-11 on the head) BEFORE sewing them on. Before fastening the safety eyes, take a white strand along the corner of the eye so that you can see his eyes more clearly. Sew the cheeks on at round 13-15.

Sew on the ears so that the black piece faces forward and is lined evenly with the stripes. Slightly squeeze them together to give them the right shape.

Continue with the rest of the head. You only need the grey colour for the last part.

Round 22: (3 dc, 1 dec)x6 (24)

Round 23: 1 dc in all 24 s (24)

Round 24: (2 dc, 1 dec)x6 (18)

Round 25: 1 dc in all 18 s (18)

Round 26: (1 dc, 1 dec)x6 (12)

Round 27: 1 dc in all 12 s (12)

Round 28: (1 dec)x6 (6)

Break the yarn and weave in the end.

Fur tuft

To make the little tuft of fur, you need to cut off approx. 10 yarn strands of 6cm. Insert the hook around round 19 on the head between the ears, and grab the strand like a loop and fasten it. Tie an extra knot to secure it. You do this for the entire row and finish by cutting the yarn so it measures approx. 0.25cm. Fluff the yarn a little to make it look like fur.

The body

The body is crocheted using grey and black yarn.

Start with grey, make 24 ch, join the first stitch with 1 sl st, make sure the chain does not twist. When making the first ch, I recommend leaving a long enough strand for sewing the head on the body once it is finished.

Round 1: grey 6 dc - black 12 dc - grey 6 dc (24)

Round 2: grey (2 dc, 1 inc)x2 - black (2 dc, 1 inc)x4 - grey (2 dc, 1 inc)x2 (32)

Round 3-6: grey 8 dc - black 16 dc - grey 8 dc (32)

Round 7: grey (3 dc, 1 inc)x2 - black (3 dc, 1 inc)x4 - grey (3 dc, 1 inc)x2 (40)

Round 8: grey 10 dc - black 20 dc - grey 10 dc (40)

Round 9: grey 11 dc - black 18 dc - grey 11 dc (40)

Round 10: grey 12 dc - black 17 dc - grey 11 dc (40)

Round 11: grey 14 dc - black 14 dc - grey 12 dc (40)

Round 12: grey 15 dc - black 13 dc - grey 12 dc (40)

Round 13: grey 17 dc - black 10 dc - grey 13 dc (40)

Round 14: grey (4 dc, 1 inc)x3, 3 dc - black 1 dc, 1 inc, 4 dc, 1 inc, 2 dc - grey 2 dc, 1 inc, (4 dc, inc)x2 (48)

Round 15: grey 23 dc - black 8 dc - grey 17 dc (48)

Round 16: grey 24 dc - black 7 dc - grey 17 dc (48)

Round 17: grey 26 dc - black 4 dc - grey 18 dc (48)

Round 18: grey 27 dc - black 3 dc - grey 18 dc (48)

Just grey for the rest of the body.

Round 19: 1 dc in all 48 s (48)

Round 20: (4 dc, 1 dec)x8 (40)

Round 21-22: 1 dc in all 40 s (40)

Stuff the body with fibrefill.

Now, you begin making the legs. Firstly, divide the work. Be sure to reach the middle of the back so that the belly piece is centred over the space between the legs. Crochet a few stitches or unravel so you reach the middle. Divide the legs (possibly with stitch markers) so that you have 15 s for each leg and the space is 5 s (ie: 15 s for left leg, 5 s for back, 15 s for the right leg, 5 s for the belly). BEFORE you start on the legs, be sure to crochet clockwise (if you are right-handed), otherwise, the work will be on the wrong side.

Left leg

The legs are crocheted using grey and black yarn

Unravel a few stitches, so you reach the stitch marker on the back of the left leg. In the picture, it is shown with a red stitch marker. Join the back to the front side with 1 dc. You know have 15 stitches on the left leg:

Round 23-24: grey 1 dc in all 15 s (15)

Change to black in the last s from the previous round.

Round 25-28: black 1 dc in all 15 s (15)

Round 29: (3 dc, 1 dec)x3 (12)

Round 30-31: 1 dc in all 12 s (12)

Stuff the leg generously with fibrefill.

Round 32: (1 dec)x6 (6)

Sew 5 claws on the paws with white yarn by round 31-32 and sew the black ends together and save the yarn strand.

Right leg

Here, you are by the orange stitch, and here you will have to crochet a dc on the last stitch on the front. Leave a long enough strand to sew the space closed, when you are done with the right leg. Join the front and back side with 1 dc. You now have 15 stitches on the right leg, and the rest you do like on the left leg.

Once you have closed up the last leg, you can sew the head on the first round of the body. Make sure the head is firmly sewn on and does not dangle too much.

Arms

You are making 2 arms using the black yarn

Add a little fibrefill as you crochet.

Round 1: crochet 6 dc in a mr (6)

Round 2: (inc)x6 (12)

Round 3-6: 1 dc in all 12 (12)

Sew on 5 white claws on round 1-2.

Round 7-13: 1 dc in all 12 s (12)

Round 14: (2 dc, 1 dec)x3 (9)

Flatten out the arms by round 14 (so the claws are pointing outwards when you sew the arms onto the body), and join with 3 dc through both layers. Leave a long strand for sewing on the arms on round 3-4.

The Tail

The tail is crocheted using grey yarn

Round 1: 6 dc in a mr (6)

Round 2: (1 inc)x6 (12)

Round 3: (1 dc, 1 inc)x6 (18)

Round 4: (2 dc, 1 inc)x6) (24)

Round 5-8: 1 dc in all 24 s (24)

Round 9: (2 dc, 1 dec)x6 (18)

Round 10-13: 1 dc in all 18 s (18)

Round 14: 9 dc, smoothen out the tail and crochet the two rows together with 9 dc. Finish and leave enough yarn for sewing. You sew the tail on between round 12-13.

Bandana

For the bandana, you can use whichever colour you prefer.

Crochet 3 ch, start from 2nd s from the hook.

Round 1: 1 dc, 4 dc in the last s and continue on the opposite side of the chain, 1 dc + 1 tch (6)

Round 2: 1 inc, 1 dc, 2 inc, 1 dc, 1 inc + 1 tch (10)

Round 3: 3 dc, (1 inc, 1 dc)x2, 3 dc + 1 tch (12)

Round 4: 4 dc, (1 inc, 1 dc)x2, 4 dc + 1 tch (14)

Round 5: 5 dc, (1 inc, 1 dc)x2, 5 dc + 1 tch (16)

Round 6: 15 ch for a strap (left corner). Insert crochet hook in right corner and crochet 15 ch to make a strap on opposite side.

Design by: Amalie Frost, Instagram @homemade.by.frost