Crochet Adorable Hippo

Crocheting an adorable hippo is a delightful and heartwarming craft project that can bring joy to both the creator and the receiver. The process of carefully selecting the soft yarn, following the pattern with precision, and gradually seeing the hippo come to life stitch by stitch is truly magical. Imagining the recipient's face lighting up with a big smile upon receiving this handmade gift adds an extra layer of warmth to the project. Whether you are a seasoned crocheter or a beginner looking for a fun challenge, creating an adorable hippo through crochet is a rewarding and charming endeavor that is sure to brighten someone's day with its cuteness.

Materials:

Crochet hook size E4 / 3.5mm
Worsted weight acrylic yarn in baby blue and white (or two other colors of your choice)
Small amount of brown felt for eyes
Small amount of brown and white embroidery floss for eyes and nostrils
Sewing needle
Tapestry/ yarn needle
Polyester stuffing

You’ll need to know how to do these stitches:
Chain (ch)
Double loop start
Single crochet (sc)
Single crochet together/ decrease (sc2tog)
Slip stitch (sl st)

Head:
With baby blue yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc into a double loop start and pull the loop closed (6).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12).
Rnd 3: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (18).
Rnd 4: [Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (24).
Rnd 5: [Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (30).
Rnd 6: [Sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (36).
Rnd 7: [Sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (42).
Rnd 8: [Sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (48).
Rnd 9: [Sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (54).
Rnd 10: sc in each sc around (54).
Rnd 11: [Sc in next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (60).
Rnds 12-13: sc in each sc around (60).
Rnd 14: [Sc in next 8 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (54).
Rnd 15: sc in each sc around (54).
Rnd 16: [Sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (48).
Rnd 17: [Sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (42).
Rnd 18: [Sc in next 5 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (36).
Rnd 19: [Sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (30).
Rnd 20: [Sc in next 3 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (24).
Rnd 21: [Sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (18).
Finish off, leaving a 12” tail for sewing.

Body:
With baby blue yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc into a double loop start and pull the loop closed (6).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12).
Rnd 3: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (18).
Rnd 4: [Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (24).
Rnd 5: [Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (30).
Rnd 6: [Sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (36).
Rnd 7: [Sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (42).
Rnd 8: [Sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (48).
Rnds 9-10: sc in each sc around (48).
Rnd 11: [Sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (54).
Rnds 12-16: sc in each sc around (54).
Rnd 17: [sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (48).
Rnd 18: sc in each sc around (48).
Rnd 19: [sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (42).
Rnd 20: sc in each sc around (42).
Rnd 21: [sc in next 5 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (36).
Rnd 22: sc in each sc around (36).
Rnd 23: [sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (30).
Rnd 24: [sc in the next 13, sc2tog] 2 times (28).
Rnd 25: [sc in the next 12, sc2tog] 2 times (26).
Rnd 26: [sc in the next 11, sc2tog] 2 times (24).
Rnd 27: [sc in the next 10, sc2tog] 2 times (22).
Rnd 28: sc in each sc around (22).
Rnd 29: [sc in the next 9, sc2tog] 2 times (20).
Rnd 30: [sc in the next 8, sc2tog] 2 times (18).
Finish off and secure end. Stuff head and body firmly with polyfil and sew head to body.

Arms: make 2
With white yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc into a double loop start and pull the loop closed (6).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12).
Rnd 3: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (18).
Rnd 4: [Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (24).
Rnd 5: sc in each sc around (24).
Rnd 6: [Sc in next 10 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (22).
Rnd 7: [Sc in next 9 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (20).
Rnd 8: [Sc in next 8 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (18).
Switch to baby blue yarn
Rnd 9: sc in each sc around (18).
Rnd 10: [Sc in next sc, sc2tog] 6 times (12).
Rnds 11-25: sc in each sc around (12).
Finish off and secure end, leaving a 10” tail for sewing. Stuff with polyfil and sew an arm to each side of the hippo at neck level.

Legs: make 2
With white yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc into a double loop start and pull the loop closed (6).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12).
Rnd 3: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (18).
Rnd 4: [Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (24).
Rnd 5: [Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (30).
Rnd 6: sc in each sc around (30).
Rnd 7: [Sc in next 13 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (28).
Rnd 8: [Sc in next 12 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (26).
Rnd 9: [Sc in next 11 sc, sc2tog] 2 times (24).
Switch to baby blue yarn
Rnd 10: [Sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog] 6 times (18).
Rnds 11-30: sc in each sc around (18).
Finish off and secure end, leaving a 10” tail for sewing. Stuff with polyfil and sew a leg to each side of the hippo at Rnd 10 of the body.

Ears:
Inner Ear: make 2
With white yarn, ch 2.
Row 1: 3 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn (3).
Row 2: 2 sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn (6).
Row 3: [sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 3 times, ch 1, turn (9)
Change to baby blue yarn
Row 4: [sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 3 times (12).
Finish off, leaving 8 " tail for sewing.
Outer Ear: make 2
With baby blue yarn, ch 2.
Row 1: 3 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn (3).
Row 2: 2 sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn (6).
Row 3: [sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] 3 times, ch 1, turn (9).
Row 4: [sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 3 times (12).
Finish off but do not break yarn. Using yarn tail from inner ear and with right sides facing, sew inner ear and outer ear together around the outside edge of ears (but not the bottom).
Turn ear right side out. Ears are not stuffed. Sl st bottom of inner ear and outer ear
together and finish off leaving an 8’ tail for sewing. Making ear into a curved shape as you sew it on, sew each ear to top sides of head about 2” away from the top center of head.

Nose/Muzzle:
With baby blue yarn
Ch 9
Rnd 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 6 ch, 2 sc in next
ch, working on the other side of the chain sc in next 7 ch, 2 sc
in next ch (18).
Rnd 2: [Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (24).
Rnd 3: [Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (30).
Rnd 4: [Sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (36).
Rnd 5: sc in each sc around (36).
Rnd 6: [Sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (42).
Rnds 7-10: sc in each sc around (42).
Rnd 11: [Sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 6 times (48).
Finish off leaving an 18” tail for sewing.
Using a sewing needle and dark brown embroidery floss, make nostrils on the muzzle as
shown in the picture. Sew the muzzle onto the head between Rnd 13 of head and the neck
about ¾ of the way around, stuff lightly with polyfil and continue to sew. Weave in ends.

Eyes:
Cut out 2 circles from dark brown felt about the size of a dime. Using a 6” strand of white embroidery floss, sew a “pupil” onto each felt circle. Using dark brown embroidery floss, sew the eyes onto the head as shown in the picture right above the muzzle.