Elemeno the Elephant: Crochet Elephant Pattern

This pattern is intended for personal use only. This pattern -and all my patterns- are offered for free or a small fee to help support my family so please do not redistribute, sell, copy or use them in any way not in accordance with fairness.

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If you find any problems with this pattern please let me know and if you have any problems with any of it feel free to message me and ask for support.

Kristi Bergin-Smith and The Burgundy Basket, 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to me, Kristi Bergin-Smith and The Burgundy Basket with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

My Paid for patterns contain a FREE Cheat Sheet that help you with the increases and decreases for the numbers in my chart.

My Etsy pattern for Elemeno (LMNO) the Elephant is available HERE and includes more photos, tips and tricks to make up this elephant.  You can also find an PDF to purchase on my Ravelry HERE.

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Materials:

-Hook : I used a G hook for this pattern except for the ears. I used my I hook for them.

-Safety Eyes or buttons (or yarn to embroider if you choose) and needle to embroider face.

-Stuffing. I have used Poly-Fill brand stuffing, but feel free to use what you prefer.

– I don’t use Stitch markers, but if you do you will want those to keep track of your rounds. As a “free” stitch marker you can loop a bright colored piece of scrap yarn through your stitch to act as a marker – then just pull it out when you get back around to it and move it up one row. Easy marker!

 Materials:

I prefer to use Caron One-Pounder yarns for my toys and that is mostly what this is. I have chosen Caron One Pound in Grey Mix and used over half of one big skein because this is a big elephant. I have also chosen Red Heart Super Saver in Pale Plum as my other color.

-Hooks: I have used my G hook for everything on this pattern except for the ears. For the ears I have used my I hook.

-These are the hooks I use exclusively now. They have helped end any hand pain I had. They are absolutely worth the money.

-Safety Eyes or buttons (or yarn to embroider if you choose) and needle to embroider face.

These are the eyes that I’ve used for Elemeno. They have a metallic blue backing that slips under the eye and are slightly sparkly.

The eyes that I have used on Elemeno are no longer available from Amazon and I like the big size.  If they become available I will update this post. Just in case you want to search for them to see if they come back in stock, they are made by Fenteer and are 10-pieces, dark blue and 24mm to help you search. I like the big size for my big animals – the 24mm size on my big amigurumi is perfect- so, these are the ones that I am ordering now. They are a little higher, but have free shipping. I will update my post for my review of these after I get them.

You can also NEVER go wrong with Suncatcher eyes. I have used many Suncatcher eyes and these are beautiful:

And these are the Suncatcher eyes that I have used. They are a little smaller than the ones I have used lately at 18mm, but still better than smaller ones for my large amigurumi.

-Stuffing. I have used Poly-Fill brand stuffing, but feel free to use what you prefer.

– I don’t use Stitch markers, but if you do you will want those to keep track of your rounds. As a “free” stitch marker you can loop a bright colored piece of scrap yarn through your stitch to act as a marker – then just pull it out when you get back around to it and move it up one row. Easy marker!

If you are new to crochet or just want to upgrade your supplies this is a fabulous kit. I have this kit – it comes with all you see and it a great price for the quality.

 

Stitch Glossary:

Chain: Ch

Single Crochet: SC

Inc Sc: make two single crochet stitches in the same stitch as indicated

Invisible Decrease: inv. dec. – this is an invisible single crochet decrease

Hdc: Half double crochet

Dc: double crochet

Tr: treble crochet

Slip Stitch: sl st

FO: finish off

This pattern also uses a Picot: chain 3 and then slip stitch back into the first chain of the chain 3.

This is a simplified pattern  – a chart with the numbers – you need to have knowledge of crochet amigurumi and how to do rounds and increases to read. If you do it will be pretty straight forward.  All of my Etsy patterns include a cheat sheet to help you will all of the increase/decrease numbers and spells out the count for each number.  My Etsy pattern for Elemeno is available HERE and includes more photos, tips and tricks to make up this elephant.

I start my work with a chain 2 and then sc in second chain from hook, but you can also start with a magic ring if you prefer that start.

This pattern starts with nose and then changes color to head and then the body is worked. I will make notes along the way to assist with this.

Nose into Head: (I began my work with my Pale Plum and then switched to my main color. You can also choose to make a single-color nose.)

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24 *the last stitch of this round is where I switched color.
5	30
6	30 Back Loop Only (BLO)
7-22	30
23	Now we are going to start a series of increases and decreases to make some curves. On this row we are going to be decreasing on the top of the nose and increasing on the bottom of the nose, but our final stitch count (30) remains the same.											Sc 6 inv dec (this is making 6 decreases over 12 sc to have 6) – sc 6, 2sc in each of the next 6, sc 6 (30) *use a stitch marker here to make sure you wind up in the right place. Secure your marker here on the last stitch.
24	30 – move your marker to last stitch
25	Inv dec, sc, inv dec, sc, inv dec, sc 10, (2sc) x3, sc 9 (30) – you should arrive in last stitch now. Move your marker.
26-40	30 – move your marker to last stitch on each row. If you are comfortable working in the round and work like me with a calculator, these rows are 450 sc. If you don’t want to do a marker on each row that is fine.   I have included photos to help make sure your next increases are in the right spot.
41	36 – *** on this round we are starting to shape the face so you want ALL of these 6 increase single crochets to be on the top of the nose.   (see photos) – once you MARK THE TOP OF THE NOSE now is a good time to embroider nostrils if you want and also to start stuffing. DO NOT OVERSTUFF the nose because you want to crinkle it up a little at the end. ****mark the start of this round to make it easier on your count. You are going from 30 stitches to 36 sc.											So, do 6 single crochet increases in every other stitch on the top of the nose. (see photos below this – I found the middle and marked 6 stitches on each side) – so, the top of my nose stitches looked like this: (sc inc, sc, sc inc, sc, sc inc, sc) sc – then repeat () for other side.   Continue around for the rest of your 36 stitches.
42	42 *do these increases on top JUST LIKE ROUND ABOVE
43	42 *sc around
44	48*do these increases on top JUST LIKE ROUND ABOVE
45	48*sc around
46	54*do these increases on top JUST LIKE ROUND ABOVE
47	54*sc around
48	60*do these increases on top JUST LIKE ROUND ABOVE
49	60*sc around
50	66 **these increases are NORMAL spaced increases so – (sc 9, inc sc) *around
51	66
52	72**these increases are NORMAL spaced increases so – (sc 10, inc sc) *around
53-57	72 *after the end of round 57 I stopped and made the eyelids and attached my eyes. See below this for eyelid pattern.											Start stuffing the head and stuff well. You want a nice full head.
58	66 *as you do your decreases mold the stuffing to the outside of the face with your fingers. Push gently outward to get a nice round shape and continue adding stuffing to the center.
59	60
60	54 * keep shaping the forehead and top of head to make sure it is nice and round -decrease and add stuffing to the middle.
61	48
62	42
63	36
64	30
65	24
66	18
67	12
68	12 – finish off and sew opening closed.											After the head is finished you can use a little yarn to sew up the front of the nose back a little and then make the curves more pronounced. I just used the gray and sewed a few stitches to gather up a few areas and tied and hid the tails inside the nose to finish.

Eyelids: Leave a long tail for sewing at the start and chain 4. Make ALL of these stitches in the 1^st chain (farthest from the hook):

Dc, 2tr, 1dtr (double treble – wrap yarn around hook 3x), 2tr, dc, chain 3 and slip stitch in same space as the rest.   Finish off, but leave a long tail for sewing. I sewed down the eyelids and then inserted the post of the safety eye in the hole on the bottom of the eyelid.

Now, for the EARS:

These ears are magnificent! (If I do say so myself. I wanted special ears.)

I chose to use my I crochet hook for the ears. You will be making 4 pieces – two in the inside (front) color and two in your body (outside) color.

FINISH OFF THE INSIDE COLOR, BUT NOT THE OUTSIDE COLOR. You are going to single crochet them together after you get done with the second piece.

Chain 4. (the chain 3 counts as your 1^st dc)

4 dc in the 1^st stitch (chain farthest from the hook)

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Make 1 more dc in the first stitch and then make 2 dc in each stitch across for a total of 10 dc.

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Make 1 more dc in the first stitch and then dc in the next stitch then (2dc, 1dc) across the rest. (15 dc)

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Make 1 more dc in the first stitch and then dc in the next two stitches then (2dc, 1dc, 1dc) across the rest. (20)

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Make 1 more dc in the first stitch and then dc in the next 3 stitches then (2dc, 1dc, 1dc, 1dc) across the rest. (25)

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Make 1 more dc in the first stitch and then dc in the next 4 stitches then (2dc, 1dc, 1dc, 1dc, 1dc) across the rest. (30)

Chain 3 and turn (counts as a stitch)

Now, for the rest of the ear the Right Side and Left Side vary just a little on the stitches. You will have 3 shells on the top part of the ear and 4 shells on the bottom part of the ear. So, after the last row/round above you will make 1 right and 1 left in each color.

Right: 2 dc in the 1^st stitch (skip 2, 5 dc in the next) 3x, skip 2, 3dc in the next, (2tr, picot, 1 tr) all in the next same stitch, 3dc in the next, (skip 2, 5 dc) 4x, skip 2, 3dc in the top of the chain 3. *FO 1^st piece but not second piece.

Left: 2 dc in the 1^st stitch (skip 2, 5 dc in the next) 4x, skip 2, 3dc in the next, (2tr, picot, 1 tr) all in the next same stitch, 3dc in the next, (skip 2, 5 dc) 3x, skip 2, 3dc in the top of the chain 3. *FO 1^st piece but not second piece.

Now, you will place the outer ear and inner ear together and match up the stitches making sure to get the shells on top of each other with the set of 3 groups over the set of 3 groups on the other piece and the set of 4 shells over the other ear with the 4 shells matching up. Single crochet around in each stitch – but, for the picot, what I did was just make 2 sc in the back piece in the top of the picot and resume the crochet together after it so that you don’t mess up the pretty point of the picot by single crocheting them together. So, everything gets single crocheted together except the picot. Finish with long tail for sewing.

I have done a video tutorial on my youtube page showing how I have gathered up the straight edge using a running stitch and securing the ears to the head. You may not need to see this video if you know how to do a running stitch. Just do a running stitch up the straight edge and gather into a small pucker on the bottom and the top and tie them off. Your ears get sewed to the head on the flat side just a little higher than the eyes and a few rows behind.

Here is a link for my video if you need further instruction on this part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmO3hvAltwg

Now, with your super cute elephant head complete, sit it to the side so you can look at it and keep smiling while you do the body and legs. <3

Body: I used the same color from the back of my head for the body. I feel that you need to probably use the same color from back of head as you do the body to make your sewing blend in and be invisible. It will require good sewing for this head because it is large. You do not want to do all this work and then have visible sewing stitches. The body starts from the bottom up and we leave an opening at top for the neck. You want to pin your head in place and make sure to stuff the neck VERY well before final stitches to support the head. This large head needs lots of support.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6	36
7	42
8	48
9	54
10	60
11	66 *I’ve made a small braid as the tail and secured between this round and the next.
12-21 (10 rows)	66 decrease starts now
22	60
23-24	60
25	54
26-27	54
28	48
29-30	48
31	42
32-33	42
34	36
35-44 (10 rows)	36
45	30
46	30
47	24
48-49	24*leave super long tail to sew on the head.

Feet/Legs (make two):

These are big round feet. They are big! If you want your feet/hands to be smaller just don’t do my final increases and start the decrease instead. They will still be fabulous! I also stuff the feet/hands VERY well and not so much in the arms and legs.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6	36
7-14	36 *I usually stop here and embroider toenails (if you are doing this part.) – I did mine between rounds 8-10
15	30
16	24 *start stuffing and continue to stuff as needed.
17	18
18	18
19	12
20-49 (30 rows)	12 *FO leave long tail to sew

Arms (make two):

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6-11	36 *I usually stop here and embroider toenails (if you are doing this part.) – I did mine between rounds 5-7
12	24 *start stuffing and continue to stuff as needed.
13	18
14	18
15	12
16-45 (30 rows)	12 *FO but leave long tail to sew

And there you have it!  I would love to see all of your work so please tag me over on IG @theburgundybasket #elemenotheelephant

And that is it! I’d love to see all your finished animals over @theburgundybasket on IG AND DON’T FORGET MY BIG PRIZE GIVEAWAY JUST FOR MAKING ANY OF MY FARM ANIMALS. See the post stickied to the top of my blog for more info.

And I like to bring you some of my favorite things! I am a big “amazoner” and these are some things that are my recent favorites or gifts or things I have used in my local business.  Since I work from home as much as I can, Amazon and my Amazon rewards makes it super easy for me to run my business and shop for what I need/want.