Everybody knows Eric Carle’s delightful story about an adorable little bug with a voracious appetite. There are also many soft toys of this character available for purchase. But there is always something more satisfying about sitting down to read with your child as they hold a homemade friend to enjoy the story with.
I searched the internet for a free pattern and I found so many that instructed to make a series of balls and then sew them together. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of all of that sewing.
Eventually, I came across this cute little pattern that has a body worked in a single piece. It’s also small enough to be a rattle.
Even though I usually stuff VERY firmly, this design still remained a bit flexible and poseable. How fun!
For the most part, the pattern was great for me while I was still a beginner and still just learning. It’s worked in the round and there aren’t any unexpected clusters of increases or decreases because there is no sculpting. It’s all basic shapes and super simple amigurumi.
I did run into a couple of issues though.
The original eyes were NOT done with yellow yarn of the same thickness as the rest of the caterpillar. I could not get mine to look the same despite my yarn definitely being the same thickness as my other yarn colors.
I did my antennae inside out because I had trouble turning 4sc rounds. I was a beginner, after all, and still not experienced to handle those really tight 4sc tubes. It worked out fine inside out though.
My feet did not turn out like the picture when following the directions. I changed round 5 to be just dec around so they would end up being more rounded like the designer’s sample image.
Overall, I rate this pattern very highly. It was a pleasure to do and I look forward to my next reason to make another one of these. Since it is a copyrighted character I do not recommend you making any of these to sell. That’s kind of the reason I haven’t made any more as we don’t need more than one in our family and I haven’t had anyone to gift another one to.
This pattern by Gillian Dite can be found as a free Ravelry download HERE.
