50 rounds · filed under dense · 36 of them
Amigurumi · added 1 Oct 2026
Jointed giraffe amigurumi pattern in velvet-weight yarn
Single crochet in velvet-weight yarn builds a dense, napped fabric for a 27 cm jointed giraffe with sewn horns, ears, and spots.
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 4.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
- Rounds
- 42
About this pattern
Worked in single crochet throughout, the body of this giraffe comes out dense and slightly stiff, with almost no gaps between stitches for stuffing to peek through. The velvet-weight yarn adds a soft nap on top of that tight structure, so the surface feels brushed rather than ribbed, closer to suede than to standard acrylic amigurumi. Every round is worked in a continuous spiral, which keeps the fabric free of a seam line and lets the stitches sit in a smooth, unbroken spiral you can feel with a fingertip as you go.
The piece builds from six separate parts — horns, ears, arms, legs, head, and body — each shaped by its own pattern of increases and decreases before everything is joined with fiberfill inside and a joint disc at the limbs. Once the head, horns, ears, and tail are sewn on, you are left with a toy that holds its pose: the jointed arms and legs pivot at the body rather than flopping, while the densely stuffed head and body keep their rounded shape without sagging.
This pattern is written in US crochet terminology. Every piece is worked in a continuous spiral — do not join at the end of each round unless instructed — so keep a stitch marker in place and move it up after every round to track your position. Stitch counts are given at the end of each round in parentheses; rounds with no change in count are noted but not re-counted. Gauge is not critical for this project, but your fabric should be tight enough that stuffing does not show through the stitches. The finished toy stands approximately 27 cm (about 10.5 inches) tall including the ears.
If you substitute Dolphin Baby yarn for the Velluto, the finished toy will be approximately 20 cm. In that case, use Alize Softy (not Softy Plus) for the details, 15 mm joint discs for the arms, 20 mm for the legs, and 12 mm safety eyes.
The swatch in numbers
- Rounds
- 42
- Parts
- 7
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 4.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
The yarn and the hook
Main yarn
- Alize Velluto (any velvet-weight yarn), color #13 — less than one skein
Accent yarn
- Alize Softy Plus, color #13 yellow — small amount for horns, ears, and tail
- Alize Softy Plus, dark beige — small amount for horns, tassel, and spot embroidery
- Nose/mouth yarn: Cotton yarn (similar to YarnArt Jeans weight) — small amount
Hook
- US G-6 / 4.0 mm (for Velluto)
Hook
- US D-3 / 3.0 mm (for Softy Plus)
Safety eyes
- 14 mm, 1 pair
Joint discs
- 20 mm for arms, 24 mm for legs (or safety joints of equivalent size)
Stuffing
- Polyester fiberfill
- Stitch marker
- Yarn needle / tapestry needle
- Scissors
- Needle-nose pliers (for installing joint disc pins)
Stitches, spelled out
ch Chain; dec Invisible Decrease (insert hook through front loops of next 2 sts, draw up a loop, yarn over, pull through all 3 loops); inc Increase (2 sc in same stitch); MR Magic RingDense; sc Single CrochetDense; sl st Slip Stitch; st / sts Stitch / Stitches.
Horns (Make 2)
Begin with dark beige Softy Plus yarn.
Ears (Make 2)
Arms (Make 2)
Work in Alize Velluto with the G-6 / 4.0 mm hook.
Legs (Make 2)
Work in Alize Velluto with the G-6 / 4.0 mm hook.
Foundation: ch 4.
Head
Work in Alize Velluto with the G-6 / 4.0 mm hook.
Foundation: ch 3.
Body
Work in Alize Velluto with the G-6 / 4.0 mm hook.
Tail
Cut 4 lengths of dark beige Softy Plus yarn, each approximately 7 cm (about 2.75 inches) long. Tie them together in the center with a short length of yellow Softy Plus yarn to form the tassel base.
Using yellow Softy Plus held double, work 7–8 sc along the tied center to form the tail stem.
Putting the pieces together
When it does not look right
- Keep your tension snug
- a velvety yarn like Velluto, it can be tempting to work loosely because the fabric hides so much. Keep your tension snug throughout — if stuffing peeks through anywhere, go down a hook size for that section.
- Mark your rounds carefully
- The plush texture of Velluto makes it genuinely difficult to see individual stitches. Move your stitch marker after every single round without exception — it's much easier to count as you go than to backtrack.
- Install joint discs correctly
- Thread the disc pin through the body wall from inside, slide the second disc over the pin from outside, then use needle-nose pliers to fold each prong of the pin flat and outward. Give the joint a gentle tug — if the disc spins freely and the pin holds, you've done it right.
- Stuff the head firmly, nose first
- The muzzle shape (worked from a foundation chain) can collapse if understuffed. Pack the nose area firmly first with small pieces of fiberfill, then fill the rest of the head. The head should feel solid when you press it, not squishy.
- Sew the head on invisibly
- Use the same yarn color and a tapestry needle to whipstitch through the outer loops only around the neck join. Pull each stitch snugly and rotate the head slightly as you sew to keep it perfectly centered before you finish the seam.
Close-ups
New patterns, as they are filed
One short email when a batch lands, with the feel of each.