Mother, Baby Elephants & Rhinos in King Cole Merino DK - 9046 - Downloadable PDF

Pattern Summary: Mother, Baby Elephants & Rhinos in King Cole Merino DK – Leaflet 9046

This downloadable PDF crochet pattern from King Cole guides crafters through creating a charming collection of amigurumi toys — specifically a Mother Elephant, Baby Elephant, Mother Rhino, and Baby Rhino — all worked in King Cole Merino DK yarn. Amigurumi is the beloved Japanese art of crocheting small, stuffed figures, and this pattern brings that tradition to life with endearing animal characters full of personality. The pattern is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it ideal for crocheters who are comfortable with the basics and ready to tackle shaping, assembly, and finishing techniques.

What Is Being Made

The pattern covers four distinct amigurumi figures:

• Mother Elephant – a larger stuffed elephant toy with shaped body parts assembled together
• Baby Elephant – a smaller companion figure worked using the same core techniques
• Mother Rhino – a larger rhino figure with characteristic shaped features
• Baby Rhino – a smaller rhino including separately crocheted legs, a head, and a tail

Each figure is constructed from multiple individual pieces — such as heads, bodies, legs, and tails — that are crocheted separately and then sewn together during assembly. The pattern encourages crafters to pin pieces before sewing and to play with placement to give each toy its own character and personality.

Techniques Used

This pattern makes use of several core amigurumi construction techniques:

• Working in continuous spiral rounds – rather than joining rounds with a slip stitch, the work progresses in an unbroken spiral. Crafters are instructed not to turn their work at the end of rounds, which is standard amigurumi practice and helps create a seamless, smooth fabric.
• Stitch marker use – the pattern specifically instructs crafters to mark the last stitch of each round to keep accurate track of progress, which is essential when working in spirals.
• Increasing and decreasing – shaping is achieved through strategic increases (working two stitches into one) and decreases (reducing two stitches to one), creating the rounded, three-dimensional forms typical of amigurumi.
• Back Loop Only (BLO) working – certain rounds, such as in the Baby Rhino legs, are worked through the back loop only, creating a distinct ridge or texture that adds definition to the piece.
• Working into the magic ring (ch2 method) – rounds are started by chaining 2 and working double crochet stitches into the second chain from the hook, a common amigurumi starting technique.
• Stuffing and assembly – polyester toy stuffing is added at specified points during construction, and all pieces are sewn together using long yarn tails left when fastening off (at least 20cm recommended).
• Safety eye application – safety eyes are used for the standard version; however, the pattern includes an important safety note that sewn-on felt patches should be substituted when making toys for young children.
• Holding yarn double – the Baby Rhino tail is worked with the yarn held double, adding thickness and texture to this small detail piece.
• Colour work with Main Colour (MC) and Contrast Yarn (C) – the pattern uses a main colour alongside a contrast yarn, allowing for creative colour choices to differentiate features or add detail.

Stitches Used

The following crochet stitches and techniques appear throughout the pattern:

• Double Crochet (dc) – the primary stitch used throughout all pieces; in UK crochet terminology this is equivalent to the US single crochet
• Half Treble Crochet (htr) – referenced within the pattern for specific shaping or detail areas
• Chain (ch) – used to start pieces and as part of the foundation
• Increase (inc) – two double crochet stitches worked into the same stitch to expand the round