Amigurumi Crochet Dragon/Dinosaur: Lord “Longtooth” Green the Dinosaur

I just can’t believe I get to do what I do!  When I finished this guy last night, I just could not stop smiling and holding him!!  I have had so much fun already this year writing my patterns and it’s only April!  I have so many more things planned so follow my blog and check back with me often.  If you are following my IG, FB or here you know that I am making my head dreams come alive!  I have been wanting to make a whole series of farm animals for a very long time!  They have been coming to life right here and I couldn’t be happier with them.  Here on my blog you can find most of those patterns.  Peaches is my latest and you can find her here – Peaches the Pig – and in her post is a link to the other six animals in my Farm Series.  I am working on a llama next so pin and come back to find him.

Concurrently, on my Facebook page – also called The Burgundy Basket – I am running a year-long A-Z challenge where the people on my page are making suggestions for the letters of the alphabet to challenge me!! And some have absolutely been a challenge.

When I posted the letter “D” and Dinosaur was suggested, I felt a little giddy inside my heart!!  I love dinosaur patterns.  I have made a few patterns from others, but since this is the year I am trying to break out as a designer myself, I decided that I was going to make a family of dinosaurs and what better way to start the family than with a little! So, I took a mini break from the farm to go back to prehistoric times.

Meet Lord “Longtooth” Green.  He is the Big Daddy of all my dinosaurs and all of them can be found here on my blog.  You can also find a downloadable 17-page PDF HERE on my Etsy that has a lot more pictures and hints/tips and things I did to make my dinosaur. And you can find a bundle pack with all FIVE Dinosaurs HERE You can find his lady, Violet the Lady Dino HERE and the baby, Pea the Little Dino HERE.  Scrappy the Dino was the 4th dino in the family and brother to Pea and Strawberry.  Strawberry the Sweet Dino, is my 3rd dinosaur pattern also here on the blog.  – they are all made with Bernat Pop! cake yarn.  Make the entire family!  Make the family in whatever colors you choose, but please share with me over on my IG when you are done @theburgundybasket #lordlongtoothgreenthedino #violettheladydino #strawberrythesweetdino #scrappydino #peathelittledino

Let me start with my materials so you can make your Lord Green. I’ll note all the materials I have used and then you can decide how to make it work for you.

This post does contain affiliate links. I will get a small percentage from any purchase made through my page here, but your price remains the same. I appreciate any purchase made through my page as I can continue to offer free patterns here on my blog. These are a few of my favorite things and what I have used for this pattern.

Materials:

You can get exactly the products I used through my affiliate links.

Materials:

For Longtooth, I’ve used almost all of 3 cakes of BERNAT POP! #4 yarn in Greenhouse (280 yds/256m) – you should have about ½ cake leftover if this helps you choose which colorway you want to use. I had mostly leftover three balls of the bright green colorway. This is a big guy. He measures almost 30” from top of head to foot.  These are the colors I chose for the entire family.  To make the entire family, you need one full cake each for Strawberry, Violet and Pea/Scrappy and Scrappy will use parts of the other cakes leftover. For Violet I also used one extra colorway from another cake/project.  So, if you are ordering your materials all at once I recommend 3 cakes for Longtooth, 2 for Violet and one for Strawberry and Pea and then Scrappy can be made from your leftovers and you will have plenty of yarn left – probably enough for another Scrappy or Pea.

**** A note on using Cake Yarns. If you are new to amigurumi or using cake yarns, I thought this tip would be important. You want to read the pattern (or look at my pictures) and note which body parts you want in which color from your cake. As you get to those colors on your cake you probably want to make small parts FIRST. So, say, I finished off my body and wanted that next color to be the outer ear or the teeth or the nostrils etc – or all of those – make those small parts FIRST – this ensures you get that little piece made in the color you want before moving onto a larger section. You want to try to plan if you want your finished dino to have matching legs, ears, etc. If you see my example, I wanted Lord Green to have arms and legs that were the same on both sides so I planned my cake accordingly by starting each foot and then the next arm in the same place on two cakes.

-Hooks: G, H and I were used. Unless noted otherwise, I have used my G hook. You will see a note when I use my H/I. These are the hooks I use everyday and when working amigurumi they are a hand saver!

-Safety Eyes or buttons (or yarn to embroider if you choose) and needle to embroider face. Now, these eyes are not exactly like mine because I have had mine in my stash for a while, but these are as close as I can find to what is on the market.  They are also more expensive than most eyes, but they make such a big difference in Lord Green.  They also come in other colors if you are going with a different cake color.

-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!

This all-in-one-crochet kit is perfect if you want to start crocheting amigurumi and don’t have all you need yet. I ordered this as a gift and it comes with all you see. It has ergonomic hooks, needles, stitch markers and comes in this great case. This is a really nice set! I have opened it and looked at everything. So, if you are on a budget and can’t quite justify the Clover hooks try these instead.

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.

You may sell products made from this pattern, but please give me credit as the designer. Please do not use my photos as your own work, but you may use my photos to reference back to my blog, Etsy, Pinterest, IG or FB, but please link back to me.

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.

Stitches Used:

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 (wrap twice)

Picot: chain 3 and slip stitch into the bottom of your chain 3 or where your chain 3 started – either is fine.

This is a simplified pattern as stated – 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.

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/head and then the body is worked. The body is worked from the bottom up. I will make notes along the way to assist with this.

Nose/Head:

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
12	72
13-17	72
18	66*my nostrils are positioned between this round and round 19.   They are a simple circle of 6, 12, 18,18 with my H HOOK. FO and leave tail to sew. I left approximately 18 holes in between. **After sewing I ran my extra yarn in and out through some of the stitches on the face to make “freckles”
19	60
20	54
21-22	54
23	48
24-26	48
27	42 **see note on the teeth below this chart
28-31	42
32	36
33-34	36
35	30
36	24
37	24
38	30
39	36
40	36
41	42
42	48
43	54 *my eyes went here between this round and the next.
44-48	54- I have eyebrows embroidered between rounds 44-47 *now we decrease and close. I use an invisible decrease
49	48 *my ears are sewed between rounds 48-50
50	42
51	36
52	30
53	24
54	18
55	12
56	12 Finish Off (FO) and sew closed weave in your end. You will sew from the neck so there is no need to leave any tail.

Teeth:

Before I started doing too much decreasing on the head I stuff the entire nose full and how I wanted it to be when I finished it to help me with the length of the “teeth” – Since everyone crochets and stuffs their amigurumi a little different I do advise you stuff the nose before decreasing too much and do the teeth before closing the head. You can complete the head and then do the teeth, but I found it easier to stuff the head. See the photo:

I chose to use the palest green color on my cake for the teeth, but if you have a scrap of white this is also a good color to use.

I left a long starting chain for sewing and then chained 41. Sc across the chain for 40 sc. This is the Right Side (RS) and this sc row will be referred to as the “top” and the chain side will be called the “bottom.” After your 40 sc you will FO.

Each tooth is worked separately and you will finish off (FO) after each one. Turn your chain over so the bottom is up. I have a “drawing” to help. There are 40 chains on the bottom.

Skip 2 chains and

Row 1 : sc in the next 4, chain 1 and turn,

Row 2: sc 4 chain 1 and turn,

Row 3: dec sc, dec sc, chain 1 and turn,

Row 4: dec sc, FO

You will FO after each tooth and weave in your end for each tooth on the WS

Always turn and start your next tooth on the RS and skip 2 stitches between EACH TOOTH***But there are 4 CHAINS in the middle – so, 3 teeth on EACH SIDE with 4 chains between each side.

After your do the last tooth and weave in all your ends pin each side in place and make sure it even on both sides (check distance from nostrils) and sew in place. (you can see in the photo above where I pinned mine) After my teeth were sewed down I chose to use a red scrap and surface crochet his upper lip across the top of the teeth.

Body: After my head was done, I took note of the color on the back of the head. I took note of this to make sure that I used the same color from the back of my head for the top of the body. I feel that you need to probably use the same color from back of head as you do for the neck of 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. For Longtooth, I broke the yarn from the green that I was on and switched my color over to the back of his head color on the final rounds of neck/body to make sure my stitches would not show. I can’t stress enough how you need to really stuff this neck. As you sew it up leave a small space unstitched and push even more stuffing inside.

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 – my tail is sewed between rounds 11-21 on the back.
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
48-51	24 – FO and leave a very long tail to sew on head.

Ears : *I used my H and I hook for these to get them bigger and floppier. When I write “sc 3” that means single crochet one in the next 3 stitches. If I write “3sc” that means you do 3 single crochet in the next SAME stitch.

These are made by doing “ovals”. You will do 2 ovals using the same pattern, but for one you will use your H hook and for the other you will use your I hook. **FO after your smaller one (that is the inside part) but do NOT FO after your larger one (the outside part) because you will continue to crochet them together.

Chain 21. Sc in 2^nd chain from the hook and in the next 18 chains. 3sc in the last chain and continue working on the other side of the chain. Sc 18 and 2sc in the first chain. **work in a continuous spiral without joining or chaining up for round 2.

Round 2: sc 20, 3sc, sc 20, 3sc. Now, join and chain 2. The chain 2 is NOT a stitch.

Round 3: start in the same spot as your chain 2: dc 5, hdc 3, sc 4, hdc 3, dc 6, 5dc (these 5 should be in the middle of the set below), dc6, hdc 3, sc 4, hdc 3, dc 6, 5dc (again, these should be in the middle of the set below), 1dc, Join.

Round 4: Chain 3. This is NOT a stitch. Start in this same space though: tr, dc 4, hdc 3, sc 4, hdc 3, dc 4, tr 4, 5tr in same space, tr 4, dc 4, hdc 3, sc 4, hdc 3, dc 4, tr 4, 5tr in same space, tr 3 and JOIN. FO

Place wrong sides together and line up the coordinating stitches. Crochet in the next stitches through BOTH sides. If you and I have our hooks in the same place it will be 25 single crochets across both pieces until you get to the middle stitch of the 5 treble group from the round below. If not, that is fine. Just single crochet through both pieces until you get to the center treble stitch from the round below and then do this sequence in that center treble:

Hdc, dc, tr, picot, dc, hdc

Then single crochet 30 across the length of the other side (if for some reason you don’t have 30 stitches that is fine. It is not any reason to worry – just single crochet around until you get to the center treble stitch on the opposite side and do the above sequence of stitches in that center treble stitch as well and then single crochet around to get back to your beginning stitch – it should be 5 single crochet if you have the same number as I do. Join and FO.

Okay, if you follow me and my patterns and recommendations, you will know that I am a big proponent of STEAM BLOCKING when needed. Here is a great place for me to show you how big a difference this technique can make in your amigurumi work. Steam blocking is not just for clothing and blocks and such. This next photo shows you before I steam blocked my ear piece (left) and after (right). In addition to make it lay flatter and look nicer, it softens the yarn so when the ears get sewed they “drape” nice. If you are purchasing the PDF of this pattern, google “crochet steam blocking” for a tutorial, but if not check out this post from my Blog.

I have made a few sizes of scales with my I hook to go in the center of the ears and down the back and here is how to work those:

Small: *these are on the outer second row under ears. I have two this size on either side of the second scale from the top.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	6
3	9
4-5	9
6	12
7-8	12
9	15
10-11	15
12	20
13	20 FO and leave a tail to sew

Medium: *I have two this size on top of head between the ears and the one just behind it.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	6
3	9 -this inc is (sc, 2sc) around
4-5	9
6	12 -this inc is (sc, sc, 2sc) around
7-8	12
9	15-this inc is (sc, sc, sc, 2sc) around
10-11	15
12	20-this inc is (sc, sc, 2sc) around
13	25-this inc is (sc, sc, sc, 2sc) around
14	30-this inc is (sc, sc, sc, sc, 2sc) around
15	30 FO and leave a tail to sew

Large: the large scale is worked like the medium above, but I have taken out round 8 and round 11 and added one more increase to the bottom to make it larger. Do for size above and take out 8 and 11 and add one more increase (36) – (this inc is (sc, sc, sc, sc, 2sc) around.

You can adjust all the scale sizes by adding or subtracting the increases.

I am adding a photo tutorial (next picture) on how I attached my center scale between the ears to sew it all down. It may be easier to look at the pictures. First, find the center points of your ear piece (pic 1). Next you will yarn your needle with the scale tail that will sit between the ears and first sew down the front of the scale to the front of the ear piece (pic 2). Next, pull your yarn tail behind the ears so you can sew up half of the scale (pic 3) and once you have sewed enough of the top scale up so that it reaches the back of the ear piece tack it down to the back of the ears (pic 4). Picture four shows the back of the ears with the top scale completely attached to the ears now. Then finish sewing up the scale and you can attach to the head. By sewing the scale down first you have less to worry about when you sew it all to the top of the head because it’s now all one piece.

Now, sew the side scales if you are doing those and the rest. (see photos next page)

Feet/Legs (make two):

These are big round feet. They are big. These 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.

A NOTE ON LEGS/ARMS AND THE CAKE YARN

Because I was working with 3 cakes, I had plenty of room to adjust my colors. I wanted my feet/legs and then arms to match on both sides so I pulled two of my cakes to the same starting colorway by removing some of the color I didn’t want and rolling it into balls (these balls are what I made the scales from). So, by starting two of my cakes on the same colorway and using one cake for the left leg and then arm and then the other cake for the right leg and then arm, both matched perfectly. You may find slight difference in the length of your colorway, but I haven’t noticed that at all with this type of yarn. They ended up being exactly the same, but if you need feel free to break off your yarn and start in another place on your cake to make them symmetrical.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6	36
7	42
8	48 – This is where I changed color if you are making feet like mine
9-16	48 – after these stitches embroider toenails if you are doing that part.
17	42
18	36
19	30
20	24
21	18
22	18
23	12
24-53	12 *FO leave long tail to sew

Arms (make two): *see note about cake yarn above. I started in exactly the same place as when I finished the leg and used one cake per arm to make them the same.

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6
2	12
3	18
4	24
5	30
6-11	30
12	24
13	18
14	18
15	12
16-45	12 *FO but leave long tail to sew

Tail:

Row/Round	Stitch Count/Number
1	6   Stuff as needed as you go, but don’t over stuff the tail. Stuff lightly
2-3	6
4	9
5-7	9
8	12
9-12	12
13	18 – this inc is (sc,2sc) around
14-18	18
19	24 – this inc is (sc,sc,2sc) around
20-27	24
28	30– this inc is (sc,sc,sc,2sc) around
29-38	30
39	36 this inc is (sc,sc,sc,sc,2sc) around
40-49	36
	*FO but leave long tail to sew

Tummy Patch:

I used my H hook for this part. ***this is one of those parts that you might need to modify as you work it since we all crochet a bit different with tension and stuffing. Just lay the patch on the body as you go to make sure yours is fitting like mine. The beginning part of the tummy is the top part. I also wanted to use all of the colors from the cake so I changed every handful of rows.

Chain 9. Start in 2^nd chain from hook and

Row 1: Hdc across the chain for 8. Chain 1 and turn after each row.

Row 2-10: Hdc across for 9 rows.

Row 11: (inc hdc) 2, hdc 4, (inc hdc)2 (12)

Row 12: (inc hdc) 2, hdc , (inc hdc)2 (16)

Row 13: inc hdc, hdc 14, inc hdc (18)

Row 14: (inc hdc) 2, hdc 14, (inc hdc)2 (22)

Row 15: hdc 22

Row 16: hdc 22

Row 17: inc hdc, hdc 18, inc hdc (24)

Row 18: hdc 24

Row 19: hdc 24. Chain 2 and turn – does not count as a stitch

Row 20: DOUBLE CROCHET across (24)

Now, you are going to work around the entire piece for a border. I chose to do 5 dc in the first and last double crochet on the bottom, but hdc around the rest evenly with 3 hdc in the top two corners. This is optional and you can choose to just hdc or single crochet around the entire piece instead.