Pei the Panda

Step 1

With black yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* 6 times [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]05. *sc 3, inc* 6 times [30]06 – 07. sc in each st around [30]08. *sc 3, dec* 6 times [24]09. sc, dec, *sc 2, dec* 5 times, sc [18]10. *sc, dec* 6 times [12]Fasten off, leaving an 18 inch yarn tail. Do not stuff the ear. Pinch the final round together and slip stitch closed. Hide the remainder of the yarn tail inside the work. Your ear is now ready to attach while crocheting the head at a later step.

Step 2

With black yarn:01. Chain 5 start: ch5, inc in second ch from hook, sc 2, 5sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 2, 3sc in the last ch [14]02. inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20]03. inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc, inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc [26]Fasten off, leaving an 24 inch tail. Create an Invisible Finish and secure with a knot on the back of the work. Leave the remainder of the tail intact; You will use this to sew the Eye Oval to the head at a later step.

Step 3

With black yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. *sc, inc* 3 times [9]03. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 2 times, sc [12]04. *sc 2, inc* 4 times [16]Fasten off, leaving a 24 inch tail. Do not stuff the nose. Pinch the final round together and slip stitch closed. The remainder of the tail will be used to sew the nose to the head at at later step.

Step 4

With white yarn:01. Chain 5 start: ch5, inc in second ch from hook, sc 2, 5sc in the last ch. Continue on the other side of the chain base, sc 2, 3sc in the last ch [14]02. inc, sc 4, *inc* 3 times, sc 4, *inc* 2 times [20]03. inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc, inc, sc 6, *inc* 2 times, sc [26]04. inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times, inc, sc 8, *inc, sc* 2 times [32]05. sc 14, *inc* 2 times, sc 14, *inc* 2 times [36]06 – 07. sc in each st around [36]08. *sc, dec* 12 times [24]09. inc in each st around [48]10. *sc 7, inc* 6 times [54]11. sc 4, inc, *sc 8, inc* 5 times, sc 4 [60]12 – 18. sc in each st around [60]Attaching the Ears: In the next round, you'll be attaching the ears. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Attach Ears" in the Notes section of the pattern.19. sc, Attach the first ear: (sc 6), sc 12, Attach the second ear: (sc 6), sc 35 [60]At the end of round 19, the ears should appear centered on the top of the head. If your ears appear off center, redo the round and adjust the placement of the ears as necessary.20 – 22. sc in each st around [60]23. sc 4, dec, *sc 8, dec* 5 times, sc 4 [54]24. *sc 7, dec* 6 times [48]25. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]26. *sc 5, dec* 6 times [36]27. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30]Stuff head ¾ full. Pin the Eye Ovals to the head with 9 stitches in between, and 4 rounds before the ears. To view photos of the placement, see Figures 1 & 2 in the Notes section of the pattern. When you're satisfied with the placement, sew the Eye Ovals to the head.The safety eyes will be placed in the top chain of the Chain 5 Start used to begin round 1 of each Eye Oval (see the white dot in Figure 2 for placement). Create indents for the eyes, then insert your safety eyes and secure the backings. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Indent Amigurumi Eyes" in the Notes section.Tip: It can be difficult to insert the safety eyes through two layers of crochet. You can use something sharp (like a pen) to push through both layers & create a hole before inserting the eye.28. *sc 3, dec* 6 times [24]29. sc, dec, *sc 2, dec* 5 times, sc [18]Finish stuffing.30. *sc, dec* 6 times [12]31. *dec* 6 times [6]Fasten off, leaving a tail of about 8 inches. Close with an Ultimate Finish, then hide the tail inside the work.Sew the nose to the panda's snout. The tip of the nose should be centered over the first round of the head (see Figure 3).

Step 5

With black yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* 6 times [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]05. *sc 3, inc* 6 times [30]06. BLO: sc in each st around [30]07 – 09. sc in each st around [30]10. sc 14, dec, sc 14 [29]11. sc 27, dec [28]12. sc 13, dec, sc 13 [27]13. sc 25, dec [26]14. sc 12, dec, sc 12 [25]15. sc 23, dec [24]16. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]17. sc 21, dec [22]18. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]19. sc 19, dec [20]20. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]21. sc 17, dec [18]22. *sc 7, dec* 2 times [16]23. *sc 2, dec* 4 times [12]Fasten off, leaving an 18 inch yarn tail. Stuff the leg. Pinch the final round together and slip stitch closed. Hide the remainder of the yarn tail inside the work. Your leg is now ready to attach while crocheting the body at a later step.

Step 6

With white yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* 6 times [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]05. *sc 2, dec* 6 times [18]06. *sc, dec* 6 times [12]Fasten off, leaving a 18 inch yarn tail. Lightly stuff the tip of the tail. Pinch the final round together and slip stitch closed. Hide the remainder of the yarn tail inside the work. Your tail is now ready to attach while crocheting the body at a later step.

Step 7

With black yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* 6 times [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]05. BLO: sc in each st around [24]06 – 08. sc in each st around [24]09. sc 11, dec, sc 11 [23]10. sc in each st around [23]11. sc 21, dec [22]12. sc in each st around [22]13. sc 10, dec, sc 10 [21]14. sc in each st around [21]15. sc 19, dec [20]16. sc in each st around [20]17. sc 9, dec, sc 9 [19]18. sc in each st around [19]19. sc 17, dec [18]20. sc in each st around [18]21. sc 8, dec, sc 8 [17]22. sc in each st around [17]23. sc 15, dec [16]24 – 25. sc in each st around [16]26. *sc 2, dec* 4 times [12]Fasten off, leaving an 18 inch yarn tail. Stuff the arm. Pinch the final round together and slip stitch closed. Hide the remainder of the yarn tail inside the work. Your arm is now ready to attach while crocheting the body at a later step.

Step 8

With white yarn:01. start 6 sc into a magic ring [6]02. inc in each st around [12]03. *sc, inc* 6 times [18]04. sc, inc, *sc 2, inc* 5 times, sc [24]05. *sc 3, inc* 6 times [30]06. sc 2, inc, *sc 4, inc* 5 times, sc 2 [36]Attaching the Legs: Attach the legs where instructed while crocheting the next round. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Attach Legs | No-Sew Method" in the Notes section of the pattern.07. Attach the first leg: (sc 5, inc), sc 5, inc, Attach the second leg: (sc 5, inc), *sc 5, inc* 3 times [42]08. sc 3, inc, *sc 6, inc* 5 times, sc 3 [48]09. *sc 7, inc* 6 times [54]10. sc 4, inc, *sc 8, inc* 5 times, sc 4 [60]Attaching the Tail: Attach the tail where instructed while crocheting the next round. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Attach Tail | No-Sew Method" in the Notes section of the pattern.11. sc 41, Attach the tail: (sc 6), sc 13 [60]At the end of round 11, the tail should be centered above the legs on the opposite side of the round. If your tail appears off center, redo the round and adjust the placement of the tail as necessary.To view a photo of what your work should look like at this stage, see Figure 4 in the Notes section of the pattern.12 – 17. sc in each st around [60]18. sc 4, dec, *sc 8, dec* 5 times, sc 4 [54]19. sc in each st around [54]20. *sc 7, dec* 6 times [48]21. sc in each st around [48]22. sc 3, dec, *sc 6, dec* 5 times, sc 3 [42]23. sc 24, Switch to black yarn for remainder of body: sc 18 [42]24. sc in each st around [42]25. *sc 5, dec* 6 times [36]26 – 27. sc in each st around [36]28. sc 2, dec, *sc 4, dec* 5 times, sc 2 [30]29. sc in each st around [30]Attaching the Arms: Attach the arms where instructed while crocheting the next round. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Attach Arms | No-Sew Method" in the Notes section of the pattern.30. sc, Attach the first arm: (sc 6), sc 8, Attach second arm: (sc 6), sc 9 [30]At the end of round 30, the arms should be centered above the legs. If your arms appear off center, redo the round and adjust the placement of the arms as necessary.Stuff the body.31. *sc 3, dec* 6 times [24]Fasten off and leave a tail the length of your arm span (5+ feet). The final step is to sew the head to the body. To view a video tutorial, see "How to Sew Head to Body" in the Notes section.