Jojo has been created for Valentine’s day. I don’t really like the very commercial aspect of Valentine’s day, like as if you need to buy something to show/prove your love. But I love the little attentions of that day, like a breakfast in bed, your favourite flowers (doesn’t have to be 50 roses!), a surprise activity for two, a love letter, small love notes throughout your day… Read more about the inspiration for Jojo the mailman bunny amigurumi pattern below, and get Jojo’s love tips and ideas 😉
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JOJO THE MAILMAN BUNNY: THE INSPIRATION
What is more irresistible than a cute little messenger to deliver your love note! And it’s great that there is a special day for Love, but this guy can carry on many more love notes all year long. It’s actually a simple and adorable way to maintain this little spark in a relationship, as we easily get caught up in our busy lives and tend to take what we have for granted. Small attentions count.
Why a bunny? Well obviously, because the occasion was Valentines Day, so it was either a bunny or a bear, not very original here. But when I thought of a mailman bunny I just laughed at the idea of a bunny hopping around in his carrot-mail-truck to deliver letters.. stay tuned for the carrot car, coming soon! And why Jojo? Because Jojo the bunny is my dad’s favourite story for kids, with a different version every time, so I couldn’t have anything else than “Jojo” for my bunny.
BEFORE YOU START
MATERIAL
- 3.5mm / US E-4 crochet hook
- 2.5mm crochet hook (for the bag and heart applique)
- Yarn:
- #3 / DK / light worsted yarn, 8ply, 80% cotton 20% Milk Fiber, in light beige, dark blue, marine blue, white, plus a small piece of light peach or light pink for the nose
(I use a local shop yarn, that I find quite thick for a #3, an equivalent would be Paintbox Cotton Aran but keep the 3.5mm hook to obtain tight stitches and avoid gaps where the fiberfill shows) - DMC Happy cotton shade 777 for the bag
- DMC Cotton Perle N°8 shade 938 to embroider the eyebrows
- Any 1meter piece of red yarn that fits a 2.5mm hook (or you can use the same DK yarn as the one for the body, and work with only 2 or 3 plies).
- #3 / DK / light worsted yarn, 8ply, 80% cotton 20% Milk Fiber, in light beige, dark blue, marine blue, white, plus a small piece of light peach or light pink for the nose
- Tapestry needle
- Fiberfill
- Stitch marker or a strand of thinner yarn
- A pair of 8mm safety eyes
- Ball point pins for assembly
- Embroidery needle
LEVEL
Intermediate to advanced
GAUGE AND SIZE
With the above material: 5-round circle = 5cm (2″). Find out how to measure gauge for amigurumis in my tutorial here.
With the material mentioned above and when gauge is achieved:
• The bunny is 22cm tall (8.7″) from the feet to the top of the ears
PATTERN NOTES AND SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
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The number before the abbreviation represents how many times to work one type of stitch into consecutive stitches from the previous round (unless stated otherwise). Ex: 3inc = work one increase into each of the next 3 stitches.
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This pattern is worked in continuous spiral rounds (i.e. without closing the rounds with a slip stitch) unless stated otherwise. It may help to mark the first stitch of each round with a stitch marker.
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For amigurumi in general, I always use an invisible decrease (unless stated otherwise) to minimize the gaps between these stitches so that the fiberfill doesn’t show too much. You can check this simple technique in a video tutorial here, but if it’s too much hassle and you prefer to start right away you can also work with normal decrease, no big deal!
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I use a great, easy, invisible colour change technique with no cut and sew, check the tutorial on my blog, or just use yours and replace the sl st and chain after the colour change by a normal single crochet.
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Do spend time to arrange the eyebrows and nose nicely, try different things and see what you like the most, these details make a big difference on the final look of your amigurumis!
STITCHES AND ABBREVIATIONS (US CROCHET TERMS)
st: stitch/es
sc: single crochet
dc: double crochet
hdc: half double crochet
sl st: slip stitch
inc: single crochet increase (work 2 sc into the same st)
dec: single crochet decrease (single crochet two stitches together).
[number]: total number of stitches of the round
Rnd: round
(…) x 2: repeat whatever is in between the parenthesis the number of times indicated
in BLO: in the back loop only
in FLO: in the front loop only
JOJO THE MAILMAN BUNNY AMIGURUMI PATTERN
THE LEGS AND BODY
With light beige yarn.
Rnd 1: Work 5sc into a magic ring. [5]
Rnd 2: inc in each st around. [10]
Rnd 3 – 5: sc around. [10]
Rnd 6: (2s, inc) x 3, sc in last st. [13]
Fasten off, leave a tail to close the gap between the legs later. This one is leg 1.
Make a second leg, and don’t fasten off after round 6. This one is leg 2.
Rnd 7: now let’s join the two legs together. In leg 2, 7sc, continue in first stitch of leg 1, sc in all 13 stitches of leg 1. Continue in leg 2, 7sc (work the first sc in the stitch that already has a sc, not in the first available stitch). [27]
Rnd 8: sc around. [27]
Rnd 9: (3sc, inc) x 6, 2sc, inc. [34]
Use the tail of leg 1 to sew closed the small gap between the two legs.
Rnd 10: sc around. [34]
Change colour with marine blue (finish your last sc with the new colour, tutorial here).
Rnd 11: sl st (tight), chain 1 (make it loose), sc around. [34] (the sl st doesn’t count as a st).
Rnd 12: make your first sc in the chain, then keep sc around. [34]
Tighten up the sl st by pulling on the blue yarn tail. Stuff the legs with fiberfill.
Rnd 13: sc around. [34]
Rnd 14: (3sc, dec) x 6, 2sc, dec. [27]
Rnd 15 – 17: sc in each st around [27]
Start filling the body with fiberfill, not too much so that it doesn’t get in your way.
Rnd 18: (2sc, dec) x 6, 3sc. [21]
Rnd 19 – 20: sc around. [21]
Fasten off and leave a long tail to sew to the head later. Finish stuffing firmly with fiberfill.
THE HEAD
With light beige yarn.
Rnd 1: Work 6sc into a magic ring. [6]
Rnd 2: inc in each st around. [12]
Rnd 3: (sc, inc) x 6. [18]
Rnd 4: (2sc, inc) x 6. [24]
Rnd 5: (3sc, inc) x 6. [30]
Rnd 6: sc in each st around. [30]
Rnd 7: (4sc, inc) x 6. [36]
Rnd 8: sc in each st around. [36]
Rnd 9: (5sc, inc) x 6. [42]
Rnd 10-14: sc in each st around [42]
Insert safety eyes between round 11 and 12, with 7 stitches between the 2 eyes.
Rnd 15: (5sc, dec) x 6. [36]
Rnd 16: (4sc, dec) x 6. [30]
Rnd 17: (3sc, dec) x 6. [24]
Rnd 18: (2sc, dec) x 6. [18]
Stuff firmly with fiberfill.
Rnd 19: (sc, dec) x 6. [12]
Rnd 20: 6dec. [6]
Fasten off and sew closed. (You’re not sure how to sew closed nicely? I’ve got you covered, check this tutorial on my blog).
THE EARS (make 2)
With light beige yarn.
Rnd 1: Work 6sc into a magic ring. [6]
Rnd 2: (sc, inc) x 3. [9]
Rnd 3: (2sc, inc) x 3. [12]
Rnd 4: (3sc, inc) x 3. [15]
Rnd 5 – 10: sc in each st around. [15]
Rnd 11: (3sc, dec) x 3. [12]
Rnd 12: sc in each st around. [12]
Rnd 13: (2sc, dec) x 3. [9]
Rnd 14 – 15: sc around. [9]
Don’t stuff. Flatten and single crochet both sides together to close (you should be able to make 4sc).
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.
Pinch the edges and sew together to create the curved shape and secure it before assembly.
THE ARMS (make 2)
Start with light beige yarn.
Rnd 1: Work 5sc into a magic ring. [5]
Rnd 2: sc, inc, 2sc, inc. [7]
Rnd 3: sc, dec, 4sc. [6]
Rnd 4 – 5: sc around. [6]
Change colour to marine blue
Rnd 6: sl st, chain 1 (loose), 5sc. [6] (the sl st doesn’t count as a st, the chain does)
Rnd 7: work your first sc in the chain, then keep sc around. [6] Tighten up the sl st to get a neat colour change.
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Make a second one. Don’t stuff.
THE MAILMAN HAT
With marine blue yarn.
Rnd 1: Work 6sc into a magic ring. [6]
Rnd 2: inc in each st around. [12]
Rnd 3: inc, sc, chain 4 (make them loose), skip 2 st, inc in next, 2sc, inc, chain 4 (same, loose), skip 2 st, inc, sc. [20]
Rnd 4: 2inc, 6sc, 4inc, 6sc, 2inc [28]
Rnd 5: sc around. [28]
Rnd 6: (3sc, inc) x 7. [35]
Rnd 7: in BLO, 3dec (normal decrease for all this round), (sc, dec) x 3, 5sc, (dec, sc) x 3, 3dec. [23]
Rnd 8: 11sc, inc, 11sc . [24]
Rnd 9: in FLO, hdc around. [24]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.
THE CAP PEAK
With the dark blue yarn, make a slip knot, and insert your hook in the FLO of the 9th st of round 9.
Rnd 1: (in FLO) sc, 2hdc in next st, (3dc in next st) x 2, 2hdc in next st, sc. [12]
Fasten off and weave in ends.
THE HEART
With the red yarn and 2.5mm hook. Chain 3. In the 3rd chain from the hook, make in the same st: 2dc, 2hdc, 1dc, 2hdc, 2dc, ch2, sl st. Pull the yarn tail tight, fasten off and weave in end at the back.
THE MAILMAN BAG
Use DMC happy cotton and 2.5mm hook.
The beginning of the bag is worked around the chain.
Rnd 1: Chain 10. Work 2sc in 2nd chain from the hook, sc in the next 7 st, work 4sc in the last chain, turn to crochet on the other side of the chain, sc in the next 7 st, inc in last. [22]
Rnd 2: in BLO, sc around. [22]
Rnd 3 – 7 : sc around (normal sc in both loops) [22]
To make the bag flap:
Rnd 8: chain 1, turn, 10sc. [10]
Rnd 9 – 12: chain 1, turn, 10sc. [10]
Fasten off and weave in ends.
To make the bag strap:
Make a slip knot, leaving a tail for sewing. Chain 30, fasten off, and sew to the back of the bag, just below the bag flap.
PS*: This accessory doesn’t need to be attached to the body for assembly, you can just slip it on after assembly, from the feet.
PS**: before fastening off, adjust the number of chains to obtain the length you like.
THE LOVE MAIL
With white yarn and 3,5mm hook. This accessory is worked in rows.
Row 1: Chain 10. Starting in 2nd chain from the hook, sc in next 9 st. [9]
Row 2 – 6: chain 1, turn, 9sc. [9]
Fasten off, leave a long tail for sewing, weave in the other yarn end.
With red embroidery floss, (or with red yarn, splitting the plies and using only one ply with an embroidery needle) embroider the heart.
I used a ply of the brown yarn from the bag to embroider the address lines. (You can also use black or brown embroidery floss).
ASSEMBLY
1) Sew the head to the body.
2) Sew the ears to the head on round 2 and 3 of the top of the head.
3) Slip the mailman hat down the ears, and use ball point pins to pull a bit the last row of the hat and secure its position in a nice round shape.
4) Sew the arms one row below the top of the body.
5) Attach the heart on the hat.
6) Make the nose and eyebrows. You can also add a bit of pink blush on his cheeks.
7) Attach the mail to the hand.
8) Slip the bag on from the feet.
Now the last thing you need to do is to take your nicest pen and write down a love letter for the lucky one! You can even use Jojo’s bag to put a love note there from time to time…
Let’s connect on Instagram !
I’d be really happy to see your finished Jojo ! Tag me on Instagram, you can find me as @octopuscrochetdesign and use the hashtag #octopuscrochet
I look forward to seeing it!
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