Oliver the Wombat: My Free Amigurumi Pattern

Oliver taking a nap on his favourite rock...luckily it's cloudy or he'd be hiding in his burrow!

Meet Oliver the baby Amigurumi Wombat! Oliver is a very inquisitive wombat who loves to snuffle about the place, and his favourite things are sleeping, digging holes, messing up my stuff, and eating flowers.

Wombats are one of my favourite animals, so when I couldn’t find a free amigurumi pattern online I just had to make my own! These Australian mammals are herbivores who live in burrows and typically come out at night to go about their business. As a wombat’s young are raised in the pouch of a female until about 6 months, they are more specifically classified as marsupials. There are three main species of wombat that live in south-eastern Australia, although some small pockets of them still apparently exist in south-west Australia. Being a West-Aussie I have never seen them in the wild – only in the zoo.

As cute as wombats look, they would not make very good pets (I have to come to terms with that ). They are about a metre long and weigh about 20-35kg. Although they move slowly, if threatened they can sprint short bursts up to 40km/h and won’t hesitate to attack you! Their powerful back legs can give you a nice swift kick, their sharp teeth and claws can give you a severe gouge, and their size and weight can bowl an adult human over at a run. Wikipedia offers some funny (but very useful) advice: “Humans who accidentally find themselves in an affray with a wombat may find it best to scale a tree until the animal calms and leaves.“

They are quite clever and can be tamed somewhat to be patted and cuddled, but they have strong instincts so even if they have been bred in captivity they can still be released into the wild to thrive. Fortunately for you, my amigurumi wombats have been bred to enjoy your love and home environment! To find out how to breed your very own wombat, read on below.

I thought wombats couldn't climb trees...

Baby Wombat Amigurumi Pattern

My patterns are written down as I create my amigurumi, but let me know if there is anything missing. This is quite a general pattern and could easily be adapted to make other animals (e.g. pig, bear, etc).

Techniques

You will need to know how to crochet in the round and sew separate items together. See my Amygurumi page for details if you get stuck!

Materials

Wombat fur can range from cream to grey, brown, or black, so you have a choice of colours to choose from. But of course, your wombat can be whatever colour you choose!

* Yarn (one colour for whole wombat)
* Stuffing/filler (I used polyfill/polyester fibre)
* Crochet Hook
* Yarn Needle
* Materials for eyes and nose (purchased plastic ones, ones made of wool or tapestry yarn, felt, etc)

Pattern

Note: US crochet stitch terminology is used. ch=chain, sc=single crochet (US), 2sc in next sc=increase, sc2tog=decrease (crochet two sc together to make one sc). I use the invisible decrease method for all decreases.

Wombat: Head/Body

RND1:  4sc magic circle [4]
RND2:  sc in next 1 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [6]
RND3:  2sc in next sc. Repeat [12]
RND4:  sc in next 5 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [14]
RND5:  sc in next 6 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [16]
RND6:  sc in next 3 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [20]
RND7:  20 sc around [20]
RND8:  sc in next 3 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [16]
RND9:  sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [14]  **stuff head**
RND10: sc in next 6 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [16]
RND11: sc in next 7 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [18]
RND12: 18 sc around [18]
RND13: sc in next 8 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [20]
RND14: sc in next 4 sc, 2sc in next sc. Repeat [24]
RND15: 24 sc around [24]
RND16: 24 sc around [24]
RND17: 24 sc around [24]
RND18: 24 sc around [24]
RND19: 24 sc around [24]
RND20: sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [20]
RND21: sc in next 8 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [18]
RND22: sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [16]
RND23: sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog. Repeat [12] **stuff body**
RND24: sc2tog. Repeat [6]

Finish off, put yarn tail inside body.

Wombat: Ears (make 2)

RND1:  5sc magic circle [5]

Slip stitch, cut yarn with plenty spare. Squish ear together so the third stitch will be the “point” of the ear. Tie the two threads at the bottom together, and sew this bit to head.

Wombat: Feet (make 4)

RND1:  4sc magic circle [4]
RND2:  2sc in next sc. Repeat [8]
RND3:  8 sc around [8]
RND4:  8 sc around [8]

Slip stitch, cut yarn with plenty spare. Sew each foot to body.

Wombat: Finishing Touches

Create and attach eyes and nose to wombat, and even stitch a small mouth beneath the nose if you like. You may also want to create and add other decorative touches to pretty up your wombat (they do like to be spoilt) – perhaps a nice flower, scarf, button, or hat?

Now you have your very own little Aussie wombat! Why not make a whole family of them to forage round your house?

Oliver in his flowers

Note: You are free to use this pattern to make as many wombats (and similar animals) as you like, but please do not post this pattern anywhere else. If you follow my pattern and  blog about it I would appreciate a link back to my website (so others can make it too!). I do not mind if you sell items you make from my patterns, but please be fair and acknowledge the pattern source. More information about pattern use here: http://amysodyssey.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/my-crochet-patterns/

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