Crochet Mini Cat: A Tiny Amigurumi Cat Face You Can Finish in One Sitting

What Is a Crochet Mini Cat?

A crochet mini cat is a head-only amigurumi: a stuffed sphere worked in continuous single crochet rounds from a six-stitch magic ring to thirty stitches, decreased and closed, with two pointed ears and an embroidered face added last. No body, no arms, no pieces to sew together.

Every part of the anatomy comes from the same fifteen rounds:

• The crown — rounds 1–5, the increase ladder that turns 6 stitches into 30.
• The face — rounds 6–12, plain in one color or split into a muzzle blaze.
• The chin — rounds 13–15, three decrease rounds that fold the ball shut.
• The ears — two triangles, each just three chains and two stitches, sewn on after.
• The face detail — 8 mm eyes at round 10, a black “T” nose, two whiskers.

Every round is a plain sc, inc, or dec round, so this suits a first-time amigurumi maker as well as someone testing a yarn scrap — a miscounted round costs minutes, not an evening.

The finished head measures roughly 5–6 cm (2–2.5 in) across with 5-ply yarn and a 3.5 mm hook — a walnut with ears on. It works as a brooch, bag charm, or gift topper.

Materials & Tools

Everything below is a scrap-basket item. If you crochet regularly, you likely already have all of it except the eyes.

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Not sure what “5-ply” means on your label? Check the Craft Yarn Council’s yarn weight system first.

Abbreviations & the One New Technique

Every stitch here is one you already know if you have made amigurumi before. The only pattern-specific vocabulary is the repeat notation in every increase and decrease round.

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The one technique this pattern teaches, if new to you, is a mid-round color change: on the last pull-through of the stitch before the change — the moment you would normally finish in the old color — finish with the new color instead.

Getting the Size You Want

Stitch counts never change — every version tops out at 30. What changes the finished size is yarn weight and hook, matched so the fabric stays dense enough to hold stuffing.

1. Pick your yarn weight first, not your hook — the cat scales directly with the yarn.
2. Match the hook one or two sizes below the yarn band’s recommendation, for a firmer fabric.
3. Swatch rounds 1–3 and check no magic-ring hole is visible when stretched gently.
4. If gaps show, drop a hook size and re-swatch rather than fighting tension by hand.
5. Measure the head at its widest point (round 10–11) before adding ears.

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The Crochet Mini Cat Pattern, Round by Round

Work the whole head in a continuous spiral, no joins. Clip a stitch marker into round 2 and move it up every round.

Rounds 1–6: The Crown

Every version starts identically: six stitches added per round until the disc curls into a shallow bowl — the top of the head.

1. With the main color, make a magic ring.
2. Rnd 1: 6 sc into the ring (6 sts), then pull the tail to close the ring completely.
3. Rnd 2: 6 inc — two sc into every stitch (12 sts). Clip your stitch marker into the first stitch of this round.
4. Rnd 3: (1 sc, inc) ×6 (18 sts).
5. Rnd 4: (2 sc, inc) ×6 (24 sts).
6. Rnd 5: (3 sc, inc) ×6 (30 sts).
7. Rnd 6: 30 sc, one in every stitch, no increases.

Rounds 7–12: One Color or the Muzzle Blaze

After round 6, the pattern splits: the one-color cat works 30 sc every round to 12; the two-color cat grows a white blaze widening two stitches per round, then turns fully white for the muzzle.

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How to change color cleanly

1. Work up to the counted stitch — round 7’s is the 14th sc.
2. Finish that stitch’s last pull-through with the new color.
3. Work the white stitches — 2, 4, 6, then 8 — then change back at the count.
4. Drop the unused color; do not carry it inside, or it will shadow through.
5. After round 10, cut white. Change to white at round 11, cut main color, work 11–12 in white.

Rounds 13–15: Closing the Head, Eyes & Stuffing

The last three rounds fold the ball shut, and this is when the eyes go in. Their spacing is the difference between a face that reads “cat” and one that reads as a blob.

1. Rnd 13: (3 sc, dec) ×6 — consumes 30 sts, produces 24.
2. Rnd 14: (1 sc, dec) ×8 — consumes 24 sts, produces 16.
3. Eyes: insert 8 mm eyes on round 10, 4 stitches apart, or sew eye discs first and glue the eyes to those.
4. Stuff firmly, in small bits, before the opening narrows too much.
5. Rnd 15: 8 dec — consumes 16 sts, produces 8. Long tail for sewing.
6. Sew shut: weave the tail through the front loops of the remaining 8, pull gently, knot inside, bury the tail.

The Three-Chain Ear

The shortest recipe in the pattern — a slip knot, three chains, two stitches. The single dc gives the ear its point; two sc in the same spot would give a bump instead.

1. Slip knot with the ear color, then 3 chains.
2. In the 2nd chain from the hook, work 1 sc.
3. In the 3rd chain, work 1 dc — the tall stitch beside the short one makes the triangle point.
4. Cut with a long tail, repeat for the second ear.
5. Sew both flat onto the crown, above the outer edge of each eye, mirrored left and right.

Optional: Crocheted Eye Discs

Wide-eyed, cartoon-style cats get their look from a crocheted disc behind each eye instead of a safety-eye post — optional, but the fastest way to read as kawaii.

1. Magic ring, 6 sc into it, then sl st into the first sc to close. Cut a long tail; make two.
2. Sew both discs onto the face along the round 10 line, 4 stitches apart.
3. Dot each 8 mm eye’s back with glue, press onto the disc center, hold a few seconds.

Embroidering the Face

With black thread, the ball becomes a cat. Keep it to two elements — nose and whiskers — using short lengths so nothing tangles inside.

1. Nose: one short vertical stitch centered below the eyes, then a horizontal bar across its top — a small “T”.
2. Whiskers: two short horizontal stitches on each side of the face, level with the nose.
3. Bring the needle out through the crown or the seam, knot, and hide the tail inside.
4. Stand the cat upright and step back before trimming — symmetry reads from a distance, not up close.

Troubleshooting, Variations & Care

Troubleshooting

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Variations

• All-black cat: skip the color change, work one-color in black, gold eye ring for contrast.
• Cream cat, brown ears: solid cream head, ears crocheted in contrasting brown.
• Bag charm: add a short chain loop at the crown before weaving in the final tail.
• Brooch or magnet: glue a pin back or flat magnet to the closed chin seam.

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Care

Dust with a soft brush or lint roller. For an actual clean, spot-wash with cool water and mild soap, then air-dry fully. Glued-eye cats should never be soaked or machine washed.

Enjoyed the head-only build and want a full-body cat next? The crochet black cat plushie pattern on this site uses the same amigurumi basics, scaled into a full plush toy.