Sweet Strawberries for Valentine's Day

Ever since I created my first batch of strawberry themed amigurumi I've been itching to revisit them because they were so much fun to make. I figured this month would be a great time with Valentine's Day just around the corner. Chocolate covered strawberries are popular around the holiday . . . do you think maybe strawberry covered bunnies and bears will catch on just as well? :)

The first strawberry trio were crocheted out of mohair blend yarn, but this time I used some fluffy chenille yarn.

I normally use beads for the strawberry seeds on the caps, but since most of my crafting supplies (beads included) are still tucked away in storage I had to improvise some. Instead, I just embroidered dozens and dozens of french knots with some pale yellow crochet thread. It's a tedious process, but I love the end result.

To complete the outfit, I gave them coordinating ruffled scarves.

Since strawberries are the theme for this month, I thought I would share with you a simple pattern to crochet a large, juicy strawberry of your own. The strawberry is about 3.5 inches long and 2 inches wide. It's a nice size to use as a pin cushion, which is what I use it for. Or maybe attach a clasp to make it into a keychain.

Strawberry Amigurumi Crochet Pattern

Use sport weight yarn with a 3.5 hook

Terms:

magic adjustable ring -- see link

sc -- single crochet

st(s) -- stitch (es)

sc2tog -- single crochet decrease

sl st -- slip stitch

ch(s) -- chain(s)

Strawberry:

Round 1: 6 sc into magic adjustable ring, pull tail to close and weave in end witha darning needle (6)

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (12)

Round 3: 1 sc in each st around (12)

Round 4: *1 sc in one st, 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (18)

Round 5: 1 sc in each st around (18)

Round 6: *1 sc in next two sts, 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (24)

Round 7: 1 sc in each st around (24)

Round 8: 1 sc in each st around (24)

Round 9: * 1 sc in next three sts, 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (30)

Round 10: *1 sc in next four sts, 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (36)

Round 11: 1 sc in each st around (36)

Round 12: 1 sc in each st around (36)

Round 13: *1 sc in next five sts; 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (42)

Round 14: 1 sc in each st around (42)

Round 15: *1 sc in next six sts: 2 sc in next st; repeat from * around (48)

Round 16: 1 sc in each st around (48)

Round 17: *1 sc in next four sts, sc2tog; repeat from * around (40)

Round 18: *1 sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog; repeat from * around (32)

Round 19: *1 sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog; repeat from * around (24)

Round 20: *1 sc in one st, sc2tog; repeat from * around (16)

Round 21: *sc2tog; repeat from * around (8). Leave a tail long enough for stitching.

Stuff with fiberfill. Thread tail with darning needle and weave tail in and out of the opening's edge in a running stitch, then pull taught to close opening. Tie off.

Stem & Leaf Top:

Round 1: 6 sc into magic adjustable ring, pull tail to close and weave in end with a darning needle (6)

Round 3: 1 sc in each st around (6)

Round 4: 2 sc in each st around (12)

Round 5: * sl st in next st, ch 6, sl st in second chain from end, 1 sc in next three chs, 1 hdc in next ch, sl st in next st over; repeat from * 6x to form six leaves. Leave a long tail for stitching.

Thread tail with darning needle and stitch stem & leaf to the top of the strawberry. Tie off. Because the leaves tend to curl up, tack down each leaf (I stitch them down with needle and thread, but you can use a dot of fabric or hot glue) to the strawberry's body.

Enjoy!