Balloon animals! What fun! But it’s not so fun when balloons pop. A great solution to that is crocheting your own balloon toy. Sure, balloon dogs are the standard, but other animals can be fun too. Why not a rabbit?
As much as I love my original balloon bunny, it is kind of big. And since it contains a whopping 5,069 stitches, it takes quite a long time for me to make one and isn’t very cost effective for what I can sell them for.
I scaled it down considerably into a more handheld size and reduced the stitch count to 2,930 total stitches. Now it’s a great size to fit in an Easter basket. Wouldn’t that be a nice alternative to chocolate bunnies on Easter morning? It might even make a nice addition to your spring craft show display.
This small balloon bunny pattern is free to view and use here on the blog. I rely on the tiny ad revenue I get from visitors to cover website hosting fees so please share a link and do not redistribute this pattern elsewhere.
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Jennifer Yelk-Hateruma holds the copyright for this pattern. Please do not share or redistribute this pattern in any format or any translation into any other language. Feel free to sell any finished items.
I used about 56g of #4 medium worsted weight acrylic yarn and a 3.0 mm hook.
When assembled the bunny measures 6.5” (16.5 cm) tall and 5.5” (14 cm) from toes to tip of tail.
Unassembled it is 32” long.
Gauge is not important but make sure you use a hook appropriate for the yarn weight.
Stitches used in American terminology:
MR – magic ring
sc – single crochet
inc – increase (by creating 2 sc stitches together into the same space)
dec –decrease (by joining 2 sc stitches together with a single stitch)
st – stitch
FO – finish off
FLO – front loop only
[…] – repeat sequence between brackets indicated number of times
This is a no-sew pattern and you will be stuffing as you go. You want to stuff firmly enough so that each section holds its shape even with a lot of handling but not so firmly that the pieces can’t fit between each other while twisting together. When twisting, I usually start with the front legs because you will have to feed either the entire length of ears and head, or the body to tail parts through the ring formed to basically tie each part.
If this is your first balloon animal, it is suggested to use variegated yarn to see your stitches more easily in the thin link sections.
Start crocheting from the tail end.
Tail:
1. 4sc in MR. (4)
2. sc in each st. (4)
3. [ inc, sc ] x 2. (6)
4. inc x 6. (12)
5. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
6-7. (2 rows) sc in each st. (18)
8. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
9. dec x 6. (6) 10. dec x 3. (3)
*For the joining rows of 3 sc I usually do FLO if I can’t catch both loops due to the thinness of the rounds. The thin links are necessary for proper twisting. Use the following photos for reference of how to hook the front loop in the easiest way.
I usually hold my hook in the knife position so I need to swing the handle of my hook away from me so I can use the hook point instead of the terminal point to grab my front loop of the stitch.
Back Leg (do this section twice to make 2 leg segments):
1. sc in each st. (3)
2. inc x 3. (6)
3. inc x 6. (12)
4. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
5-28. (24 rows) sc in each st. (18)
29. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
30. dec x 6. (6)
31. dec x 3. (3)
Body:
1. sc in each st. (3)
2. inc x 3. (6)
3. inc x 6. (12)
4. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
5-16. (12 rows) sc in each st. (18)
17. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
18. dec x 6. (6)
19. dec x 3. (3)
Front Leg (repeat instructions for body 2 times):
After you have finished the front legs you will have a total of 6 segments; tail, 2 legs, body, and 2 legs.
Neck:
1. sc in each st. (3)
2. inc x 3. (6)
3. inc x 6. (12)
4. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
5-6. (2 rows) sc in each st. (18)
7. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
8. dec x 6. (6)
9. dec x 3. (3)
Ears (do this section twice to make 2 ear segments):
1. sc in each st. (3)
2. inc x 3. (6)
3. inc x 6. (12)
4. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
5-22. (18 rows) sc in each st. (18)
23. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
24. dec x 6. (6)
25. dec x 3. (3)
Muzzle:
1. sc in each st. (3)
2. inc x 3. (6)
3. inc x 6. (12)
4. [ inc, sc ] x 6. (18)
5-8. (4 rows) sc in each st. (18)
9. [ dec, sc ] x 6. (12)
10. dec x 6. (6)
11. dec x 3. (3)
Nose:
1. FLO 3sc in each st around. (9)
FO
You should have 10 segments from beginning to end.
Assembly:
Basically, you will fold your pairs of legs and ears and give a single twist to make it into a ring and then pass the other segments through the ring to tie it together. It is necessary to do the middle part before doing the last end. Tuck the arms into the leg opening to achieve the sitting position. Please see the following photos as guidance.
Front legs will be folded together and an overlap at the body and neck. One half of the links will need to be threaded between the front legs so you may want to do that before making sure the body and neck links touch. It’s just like tying a simple knot in a string. This is the most challenging part of assembly.
Fold the ears together, twist muzzle around link area and pass muzzle between ears.
Fold back legs together, twist tail around link area and pass between legs.
Tuck the front legs into the back legs and now your balloon bunny can sit. Congratulations, you have just completed a small balloon bunny!
If you have any questions, need help, or just want to show off your finished item, please consider joining the public group Hateruma Handmade Community on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2199992810089812
I would love to see your finished items as a Ravelry project, on Instagram with a tag for HaterumaHandmade, or on my FaceBook page Haterumahandmade.
Hateruma Handmade and family own the rights to this pattern. Please do not reprint or redistribute this pattern (or translations) in any way. I thank you very much for your purchase and hope you enjoy giving and/or selling as many finished items as you like!
If you have any problems, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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