UPDATE: When I first started writing crochet patterns, I wrote them in an advanced chart form since that was how I jotted them up for myself, but, I realize that not everyone can read them like that and need the math all written out -so!!! — I have updated this pattern with a fully written out version close to this original one. My BIG RED DOG pattern is new (January 2022) and FREE on my blog. You should be able to use that pattern to make this beagle, but you might want to refer back to this post for the color changes.
Barley is the 3rd animal in my Farm Series. Did you meet Haybelly the Horse? Or Digger the Donkey? If you like Barley, check them out to make him some companions. They are available as instant downloads on Etsy.
**I will be updating some of my old blog patterns soon. My paid patterns contain many photos that help with the construction.
Barley enjoys cuddles, lounging your bed, gazing out the window and tummy rubs! He’s quite large and charming and perfectly easy to care for!
I made a beagle from a customer request, but Barley’s pattern can be worked up in any color. You can make him in whatever color you want! I think a big RED dog would look just like Clifford! In my Etsy instant PDF’s I give a lot of hints and tips and other stuff for success on amigurumi. Here I will offer the basic pattern and hope you love him as much as I do. In my Etsy downloadable file there are also more photos to help with placement and shows where to sew everything and many of the steps. Here on the blog, I just can’t add it all, but if you prefer the PDF you can find it HERE
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.
Materials:
-I was making a Beagle because that is what was requested, but you can make this pattern into ANY DOG and use any colors. You can make solid or different colors and make any type dog you want. For the Beagle, I used all Red Heart yarn. I used RH With Love in White, SS in Black and Brown and a scrap of pink and black for tongue and feet pads and face.
-Hook : I used a H hook for this pattern except for the tongue and ears, ***But, I don’t know why. I just grabbed the wrong hook and really wasn’t paying attention. You should use a G hook for amigurumi stuffed animals. Thankfully, my stitches are normally tight. You can get away with an H hook with tight stitches if you don’t overstuff, but if you use a dark color you will probably see the stuffing. If you use a G hook your stuffed dog will be a little smaller than mine. For the Ears, I used my I hook. I used my G hook for the tongue.
This post contains affiliate links. I will get a small percentage of any purchase made through my blog, but it won’t change your price. If you don’t already own a set of Clover hooks now is the time to purchase them. As I post this they are on sale 47% off!
-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!
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
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.
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. TIP: I crochet over the tail from the starting chain and crochet my first two rounds around and over the starting tail. If you pull this tail tight after round 2 it will cinch up your hole in the center.
**It will help for sewing reasons to make the tongue and nose FIRST because they get sewed on after the first rounds are worked.
TONGUE with Pink:
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 18 |
| 5 | 18 |
| 6 | 12 – now slip stitch in next stitch and FO with tail for sewing. |
NOSE with black:
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 18 -now slip stitch in next stitch and FO with tail for sewing. |
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. Start with your NOSE color. For me and my example, I started with white.
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 24 |
| 5 | 24 |
| 6 | 30 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 36 *after this we are going to make a “hole” to sew in tongue. You will chain 4, skip 4, and then sc in the next 32 stitches. |
| 9 | 36 *in this round of 36 sc make sure to sc in each of the ch 4 chains. |
| 10 | 42 – now STOP here for a wee minute. Sew the tongue into the opening with the tail from the tongue. The NOSE goes with the long tail facing DOWN toward the tongue. The bottom of nose will be just above Round 1. Make sure it’s centered and sew on. After you get back around and the tail is again on the bottom of the nose you will embroider a straight line down a few rows. I did down to the bottom of round 2 and then go back up into nose. Pull a little to “pucker” and wrap about 2-3 times around and tie off on the inside of face.
After this I used the same yarn to embroider a line across the tongue for the upper lip. |
| 11-15 | 42 |
| 16 | 36 |
| 17-19 | 36 |
| 20 | 42 |
| 21 | 48 ** Now, if you are exactly with me, your hook will be almost in the bottom of the nose piece. We need to sc around to almost the top of the head. (For me I had to sc 31.) Fold nose piece in half – and mark where you need to sc around to. You want to mark the 3 centermost stitches.
Now, once you have these stitches marked we are going to work in rows for a minute. 1. SC FLO (front loop only) for 3. Ch 1 and turn 2. Sc across for 3, Ch 1 and turn 3. Sc across for 3, Ch 1 and turn 4. Sc across for 3, Ch 1 and turn 5. 2 sc in first sc, sc 3, 2 sc in last sc. (5) – ch 1 and turn 6. Sc across for 5, Ch 1 and turn 7. Sc across for 5, Ch 1 and turn 8. 2 sc in first sc, sc 5, 2 sc in last sc. (7) – ch 1 and turn 9. Sc across for 7, Ch 1 and turn 10. Dec sc, 3 sc, dec sc 11. Dec sc, sc, dec sc 12. Sc3tog (single crochet 3 stitches together) FO but leave long tail for sewing. |
Now, we are moving on to the HEAD so if you are changing color this is where to do that. I changed to Brown on the BOTTOM of face. I am resetting the Round counts for the Head back to #1, but the first round IS an increase round.
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 | 54 – when you get around to the face flap just fold it forward and work under it in the BLO (back loop only) |
| 2 | 60 *I put my eyes between this round and the next. I also embroidered some black yarn across the top of the safety eye. |
| 3 | 66 |
| 4 | 72 |
| 5-9 | 72 |
| 10 | 66 |
| 11 | 60 |
| 12 | 54 |
| 13-15 | 54 |
| 16 | 48 * sew up the face strip to head. |
| 17 | 42 |
| 18 | 36 *start stuffing and stuff as needed. |
| 19 | 30 |
| 20 | 24 |
| 21 | 18 |
| 22 | 12 *FO but leave a long tail and sew opening closed. Make sure before you sew opening shut that you have stuffed the last bit really well. |
Body: I used the same color from the back of my head for the UPPER 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. It is possible to have a body and head color different – just make the last few rows of body (neck) the same color as the head.
For my example, I started with brown. I was making a dog with 3 colors on body so I started with brown and switched to white and black.
| 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 | 66 decrease starts now |
| 13 | 60 |
| 14-15 | 60 |
| 16 | 54 |
| 17-18 | 54 |
| 19 | 48 |
| 20-21 | 48 |
| 22 | 42 |
| 23-34 (12 rows) | 42 |
| 35 | 36 |
| 36-41 | 36 |
| 42 | 30 |
| 43 | 30 |
| 44 | 24*leave super long tail to sew on the head. |
Feet/Legs (make 4): I started in pink for “feet pads”
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 Pink | 6 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 18 *Change to leg color in last stitch |
| 4 | 24 |
| 5-14 | 24 |
| 15 | 18 |
| 16-34 | 18 *FO leave long tail to sew. Fold the tops flat and sew shut before sewing them onto your body. |
Now, for my back legs I attached them in line with the “hole” in the butt. *photo available for this in my PDF. Pin them in place and make sure they are straight. I sewed my front legs IN LINE with the back legs about 12 rows behind neck. PINNING these all on first before you start sewing is a very good idea to make sure they are straight. You can also use the long tail to just make a few running stitches in all the legs before sewing them in lieu of pinning.
Tail:
| Row/Round | Stitch Count/Number |
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 6-8 | 9 *stuff as needed. You want a fair amount of stuffing for tail, but you don’t want to overstuff. |
| 9 | 12 |
| 10 | 12 *now, same deal as the head/neck. You want the BASE of your TAIL to match the part of the RUMP where you will sew them. You want these to be the same color so you don’t see your sewing stitches at the end. So, I changed colors here. |
| 11-26 (16 rows) | 12 |
| 27 | 18 |
| 28 | 24 *FO leaving long tail. I sewed the tail between round 9 and 14 on body. |
Ears(make 2): *I used my I hook for these to get them bigger and floppier. These are NOT worked in ROUNDS, but ROWS.
Chain 22
HDC in 2nd chain from hook
HDC in next 19.
5 HDC in the last chain
Working on the opposite side of the chain, HDC for 20
Chain 1 and turn
HDC for 20, 2 HDC in EACH of next 5 HDC, HDC 20 in the next 20. Chain 1 and turn
HDC in 20. 2 HDC in EACH of next 10 HDC, HDC 20 in the next 20. Chain 1 and turn
HDC around the ear for 60.
FO and leave a tail for sewing. Gather the straight part of ear (base) and fold in half. Sew and attach to the head. This should make a little “point” on the outer base of ear. I sewed my ears between rounds 9-10 on head.
A few notes. I was inspired to make a Beagle by one of my customers and was further inspired by the pillow that I purchased off of Amazon. This pillow is amazing! I made a whole collection to go with it including a fleece blanket in the same colors – blues and teals with some browns. The perfect gift for that Beagle lover!
Next, because I was specifically making a beagle that has random color changes on the body, I made two free-form patches – one in white and one in black – that I sewed to the body. I sewed the black patch to the top and the white patch to the bottom. There is not a pattern for these. I just freeform crocheted a shape that fit where I wanted it on my dog and sewed it down after stuffing.
