T-Rex Dinosaur Amigurumi

Start with the body, legs and tail, and balance them before you touch the head. Sew the two legs under the body so the feet are level and a thumb's width apart, then sew the tail to the back so its tip just touches the surface the feet stand on. Stand the body up. If it tips forward, move the legs a few millimetres towards the front; if it sits back on its tail, move them back. The head is the heaviest piece, so the dinosaur has to stand without it first. Add it last of the big pieces, with the snout pointing slightly down.

The head is the part to take your time over. It is 966 stitches and grows to 45 stitches round before it narrows to a long, rounded snout of only 12 stitches at the end, so stuff the snout firmly or it will droop. Embroider the face before you sew the head to the body, while you can turn it in your hand: two black eyes high on the head, two small black nostrils low on the snout, then the smile, a flat piece about 53 mm wide that you sew on across the front. Add the four cream teeth along the smile last.

The two off-white eye bumps are small stuffed ovals, 73 stitches each, sewn on the sides of the top of the head, and the black eyes go on them. Put a bump on one side and measure from the nostrils to make sure the other sits at the same height, because the whole face looks off if the eyes are uneven. Sew each bump all round its edge with small stitches. If you leave a gap, the stuffing shows through the green.

The arms are short on purpose: each is only about 40 mm long, roughly half the length of a leg, and 14 rounds of single crochet each. Sew them to the front of the body a little below the neck, hanging slightly forward, with the same distance from the centre on each side. The left and right arms differ by a couple of stitches in the plan, because the shapes were measured from the model, so do not worry if they are not identical. Stuff them lightly; they should be soft, not stiff.

The three dark green spikes are small cones, each about 108 stitches over 10 rounds and about 35 mm tall. Sew one on the back of the neck, one in the middle of the back and one on the top of the tail, in a straight line down the centre with roughly the same gap between them. Stuff each one just enough to stand up; too much stuffing makes them stick out like horns, and too little lets them fold over.

Hook and stuffing: use worsted yarn with a 3.5 mm hook, a size or two under what the label says, so the fabric is tight and the stuffing does not show. Check with a swatch of 10 single crochet, which should measure about 50 mm; if it is wider, go down a hook size. Stuff the legs, body and tail firmly, because they carry the head and balance the dinosaur. Stuff the head fairly firmly and the arms and spikes lightly. Add the stuffing in small pieces, and fill the snout and the tip of the tail with a pencil or a chopstick.

Changing the size: these counts are for worsted yarn at about 5 mm per single crochet. DK yarn with a hook half a size to a size smaller gives a T-rex of roughly 5.5 inches, and bulky yarn with a larger hook one of about 9 inches, and you will need less or more yarn than stated. Use the same yarn and the same hook for every piece, so that the head, the legs and the tail stay in proportion, and so that the tail still reaches the table.

Is this a beginner pattern? It is a good second or third amigurumi. It uses only single crochet in a spiral, with increases and decreases, and there are no turning chains, wings or colour changes inside a piece. What takes practice is the balance: sewing the legs and the tail so the dinosaur stands, and fixing the head at the right angle. Allow two or three evenings, make the legs and the tail first, and keep a ball of stuffing handy for adjustments.

Care: spot clean with a damp cloth. If it needs a full wash, put the dinosaur in a pillowcase, wash by hand or on a delicate cycle in cool water, press the water out in a towel, and let it dry flat. The thick tail and the legs hold the most water, so let them dry completely before it goes back on a shelf or into a cot. Shape the spikes and the snout with your fingers while it is still damp.

Checking your work: the interactive 3D preview on this page lets you turn the finished T-rex around. Look at it from the side first, to see how the body leans forward, how far out the head sits and where the tail touches down, then from the front, to compare the arms, the legs and the row of teeth. Each piece's section below names the piece it is sewn to, so you can check a placement against the preview before you sew.

Make the parts in the order of the sections. A part is sewn to the one it names, which is always made before it.

Stuff firmly before closing or sewing a part: it should be full and hold its shape. Pin each part in place and check the look from the front before sewing; weave the ends in.

Left eye on Head, black, about 12 mm across, high, 45 mm up, on the left, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Right eye on Head, black, about 12 mm across, high, 45 mm up, on the right, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Left nostril on Head, black, about 7 mm across, low, 27 mm up, on the left, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Right nostril on Head, black, about 7 mm across, low, 27 mm up, on the right, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Smile on Head, black, about 53 mm across, low, 14 mm up, towards the front: a flat piece, cut from felt or crocheted flat, 8 mm thick, sewn on. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Tooth (far left) on Head, cream, about 8 mm across, at the bottom, 10 mm up, on the left, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Tooth (left of centre) on Head, cream, about 9 mm across, at the bottom, 7 mm up, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Tooth (right of centre) on Head, cream, about 8 mm across, at the bottom, 7 mm up, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

Tooth (far right) on Head, cream, about 9 mm across, at the bottom, 10 mm up, on the right, towards the front: embroider it, or sew on a small piece of felt or yarn. Add it last, after the stuffing and sewing, so you can place it by eye.

The yarn amounts are an estimate from the stitch count; buy a little extra.