Crochet an Amigurumi Cupcake

This amigurumi cupcake pattern is my original design and the PDF is available as a free download from Ravelry.com.

To see more of my work or get copies of other patterns I've written, please visit my blog or Ravelry Pattern Shop. I also sell finished amigurumi in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for checking out my instructable and happy crocheting!
Karla (The Itsy Bitsy Spider)

To make my amigurumi cupcake, I used the following materials:

• Red Heart Designer Sport yarn in Latte
• Bernat Baby Jacquards in Cherry Berry
• 6mm plastic safety doll eyes
• Polyester fiber fill

All of the items were purchased at Jo-Ann Stores, but you can find them at almost any craft store. By the way, you can use any colors of yarn you like for this project, so have fun with it!

If you're having trouble finding the doll eyes, you may also want to try one of the following Etsy shops:

• 6060 (my personal favorite)
• ChezMichelle or SuncatcherEyes.net
  

The tools you will need include:

• Size E crochet hook (see my workshop on hooks for tips on selecting one)
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Stitch marker

Again, all of these items can be purchased at any craft store. However, if you want some really nice stitch markers, take a peek at S. Kate Hutchinson's shop, Spindle Cat Studio.

• Single Crochet
• Half-double crochet

This completes the cake base. Do not finish off your work because we will be continuing with the cake sides in the next step.

For round 7, you will work in the back loops of the stitches you made in round 6. I found a picture on About.com that gives you a good way to tell the front and back loops apart. Or, if you want to stick with the video tutorials I mentioned in the earlier workshops, here's a link.

When you work in the back loops for round 7, you will get a little ridge around the outside of your work. It's really a matter of personal taste, but I think the ridge helps to more clearly define the base from the sides.

Round 7: Working in back loops only, make one single crochet in each stitch around. Move your marker to the last (36th) single crochet.

Rounds 8-12: Working in both loops now, make one single crochet in each stitch around. Move your marker to the last (36th) single crochet.

Here's what you should have so far. Just a note, round 7 is highlighted between the two arrows so that you can see the difference from working in the back loops only.

With round 12 finished, we'll start on the lip of the cupcake.

Round 13: *Make two single crochet stitches in first stitch from round 12, then make one single crochet in the next. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (54th) single crochet. The sides of the cupcake should start to flare out, like this:

Round 14: Make one single crochet in each stitch around. Move your marker to the last (54th) single crochet.

In round 15, we're going to work some decrease stitches to make a nice edge on the lip. You'll find that having this edge helps to hide your stitches when you sew the icing to the cake later on in the assembly phase.

When you decrease, you're essentially working one single crochet over two stitches. Again, my illustration is thanks to About.com. Also, here's a link to the NexStitch video.

Round 15: *Decrease over the first two stitches from round 14, then make one single crochet in the third stitch. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around.

Once you finish round 15, you are done with the cake base. Cut your working yarn, knot it, and weave in the loose end. Your finished cake base will look like this:

Finally, the entire icing section is worked in the back loops of the stitches you made in the previous round.  Because we will be working every stitch in the back loops, the ridge will spiral from the middle of the work, giving it the appearance that creamy icing has been spread on in layers.

Round 1: Attach your yarn to the hook with a slip knot and chain two. Make six half-double crochet stitches in the second chain from the hook. Place your stitch marker in the last (6th) half-double crochet.

Round 2: Working in the back loops of round 1, make two half-double crochet stitches in each stitch around. Move your marker to the last (12th) half-double crochet.

Reminder: Don't forget to keep working the the back loops from the previous round for the rest of the pattern!

Round 3: *Make 2 half-double crochet stitches in the first stitch from round 2, then make one half-double crochet stitch in the next. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (18th) half-double crochet.

Round 4: *Make 2 half-double crochet stitches in the first stitch from round 3, then make one half-double crochet stitch in each of the next two stitches. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (24th) half-double crochet.

Round 5: *Make 2 half-double crochet stitches in the first stitch from round 4, then make one half-double crochet stitch in each of the next three stitches. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (30th) half-double crochet.

Round 6: *Make 2 half-double crochet stitches in the first stitch from round 5, then make one half-double crochet stitch in each of the next four stitches. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (36th) half-double crochet.

Round 7: *Make 2 half-double crochet stitches in the first stitch from round 6, then make one half-double crochet stitch in each of the next five stitches. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. Move your marker to the last (42nd) half-double crochet.

Once you finish round 7, you are done with the icing. Cut your working yarn, knot it, and weave in the loose end. Your finished icing will look like this:

To add the cupcake's face to the cake base, you will need your pair of plastic doll eyes, a bit of pink yarn, and a yarn needle.

Note: If you're making your cupcake for someone under 3 years of age, you may want to consider stitching the eyes using black yarn. I use safety eyes on my projects and have found them to be nearly impossible to remove when attached properly. But, if you want to be totally safe, you can avoid the potential for a choking hazard all together.

Step 1: Place the eyes near round 12 of the cake base. This should be just below the lip of the cake. I typically place my eyes a little less than one inch apart.

Step 2: Using a bit of pink yarn and your yarn needle, stitch the smile in below the cupcake's eyes. I make my smiles in the shape of a "V" where the point of the "V" is exactly in the middle of both eyes.

Step 1: To attach your icing, you need to first fold over the lip we created with rounds 13-15 of the cake base. Pinch rounds 13 and 15 together with your fingers so that you get a double layer of the brown cake portion.

Step 2: With rounds 13 and 15 of the base held together, pinch the icing piece on top of the cupcake. You should now have three layers pinched together.

Step 3: Stitch the icing to the top of the cake base with a bit of yarn in the icing color. To make sure that your stitches are invisible from the bottom of the cupcake, sew through only the icing and round 15 of the cake base as shown below. Sew all the way around leaving about one inch of icing unsewn so that you can stuff the cupcake.

Step 4: Push poly fiber fill in through the hole (see below) until the cupcake is plump (but not so plump that you are unable to shape it!)

Step 5: Finish stitching around the icing, cut and tie off your yarn. For a neat appearance, weave the loose end in to the icing.

Step 6: Shape your cupcake gently by tugging at the cake base and icing... and, VIOLA! you've created a cute cupcake!!