Jun
Getting Started with the Actual Crochet Part
So you’re gonna need some white yarn obviously since Cinnamoroll is like 90% white with those little blue accents. I used Red Heart Super Saver in White when I made mine in summer 2022 because I was broke and also it was just sitting in my stash anyway. Some people get all fancy with the expensive Japanese yarn but honestly for a first attempt just use whatever white worsted weight you have around. The Red Heart worked fine, maybe a little stiff but whatever.
The pattern itself starts with a magic ring which if you don’t know how to do that yet, you gotta learn it because basically every amigurumi starts that way. You make 6 single crochets in the magic ring for the head. Then you increase every round for like 5 or 6 rounds until you get to about 36 stitches around. I always lose count honestly so I use a stitch marker, one of those little plastic ones from the dollar store.
One thing that really annoyed me was those stupid ears. The long floppy ears are what make Cinnamoroll recognizable but they’re SO tedious to make because you have to crochet them flat and then they need to be shaped just right or they look like rabbit ears instead of puppy ears. I made mine too pointy the first time and it looked more like some weird bat character.
The Body and Assembly
The body is pretty straightforward, it’s just a rounded oval shape. Start the same way as the head with a magic ring but you don’t increase as much. I think I only went up to like 24 stitches for the body? The pattern I was loosely following said 30 but that seemed too big proportionally. You kinda have to eyeball it based on how big your head turned out.
For stuffing I used Poly-Fil polyester stuffing, the kind that comes in the big bag at Walmart. Don’t overstuff the body or it gets really firm and not squishy. I learned this the hard way because my cat kept knocking it off the couch and it would just… bounce. Not cute.
The tail is this little curly thing and honestly I just winged it. The pattern had some complicated instruction about making a curl but I literally just made a small cone shape and sewed it on. Nobody’s gonna inspect your Cinnamoroll’s tail that closely unless they’re being weird about it.
Those Little Feet and Arms
The limbs are tiny and kind of annoying. Each arm is basically just a little tube, maybe 8 or 9 rounds of single crochet. Same with the legs but slightly shorter. I used a 3.5mm hook for the whole project which is smaller than what the yarn label recommended but it makes tighter stitches so the stuffing doesn’t show through.
When you’re attaching the limbs, use the same white yarn to sew them on but make sure you position them right or your Cinnamoroll will look like it’s doing some weird yoga pose. I put the arms kind of high up on the body and the legs at the bottom but slightly forward so it looks like it’s sitting. Took me three tries to get the positioning right because I kept sewing them on and then having to rip the stitches out.
The Face Details That Actually Matter
Okay so this is where it either looks like Cinnamoroll or just like some generic white blob. You need black embroidery floss or black yarn for the eyes. They’re just little oval shapes, kind of elongated. I used DMC embroidery floss in black because I had it from some cross-stitch project I never finished. You make like 3 or 4 horizontal stitches close together to create each eye.
The nose is pink and it’s just a tiny triangle. I used some pink yarn I had lying around, I think it was Caron Simply Soft in Pink? The shade doesn’t matter that much as long as it’s a soft pink not like hot pink. Just make a few stitches in a triangle shape between and below the eyes.
The cheeks are also pink and they’re these little curved lines on each side. Again just use the pink embroidery floss or yarn and make small curved stitches. Don’t make them too big or it looks more like blush from a makeup tutorial than the cute Sanrio style.
The Ears That Made Me Want to Quit
Back to these ears because they deserve their own section honestly. Each ear is worked flat back and forth in rows not in the round. You start with like 6 chains I think? Then you single crochet back and forth, increasing on the sides every few rows to make it wider, then you stop increasing and just go straight for a while to make them long.
The thing is they need to be LONG. Like really long. Longer than you think. I made mine too short the first time and it just looked off. They should be almost as long as the entire body when you lay them out flat. Then you fold them slightly and sew them to the top of the head angled backward.
For the blue color on the inner ears, I used Bernat Softee Baby in Baby Blue. You crochet a smaller version of the same ear shape and sew it onto the white ear before attaching the whole thing to the head. Or you could just embroider some blue lines if you don’t wanna make separate pieces, nobody’s judging.
That Little Tail Curl Thing
I mentioned the tail before but let me actually explain it better. Some patterns say to make it with wire inside so it holds the curl shape but I didn’t have any wire and also that seemed complicated. I just made a small cone shape, maybe 5 or 6 rounds of decreasing single crochet, and then sewed it onto the back of the body positioned upward.
If you want it to actually curl you could… I don’t know, maybe crochet a longer tube and then twist it? I was watching The Office for like the fifth time while making this and just couldn’t be bothered to get fancy with the tail.
Adjusting the Pattern to Actually Look Right
Here’s the thing about amigurumi patterns, they’re more like guidelines really. Your tension is different from whoever wrote the pattern, your yarn might be slightly different thickness even if it’s the same weight category, your hook size interpretation might vary. So you gotta adjust as you go.
For the head, I ended up doing 7 increase rounds instead of 6 because my stitches were tighter and it was looking too small. The body I actually made a bit more oval by doing some strategic increasing only on the sides for a couple rounds in the middle section. This made it look more like Cinnamoroll’s chubby puppy body instead of just a ball.
The proportion that matters most is head to body ratio. The head should be pretty big compared to the body, like maybe 60-40 or even 65-35. If the body is too big it looks more realistic puppy and less Sanrio cute.
Finishing Touches and Details
Some people add a little yellow star or other accessories but honestly the basic Cinnamoroll doesn’t need all that. The simple version is recognizable enough. I did see some patterns that include the little cinnamon roll pastry as a separate piece you can make and that’s actually cute if you wanna do it.
For the cinnamon roll pastry you basically make a flat spiral in tan or light brown yarn. Start with a magic ring, increase every round until it’s the size you want, then switch to white yarn for the “frosting” and do one more round around the edge. Attach it to the top of the head between the ears if you want that look.
I didn’t do the pastry on mine because I ran out of— wait no I just forgot to do it and by the time I remembered I’d already given it to my friend’s kid so whatever.
Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
If your Cinnamoroll looks lumpy it’s probably because your stuffing isn’t distributed evenly. You gotta really push it into all the corners and smooth it out before you close up each piece. I use the end of my crochet hook to push stuffing into tight spots.
If the limbs keep falling off it’s because you didn’t sew them securely enough. Go around each limb at least twice with your yarn needle, maybe three times, and tie it off really well inside the body where it won’t show. I had an arm fall off once and had to redo it which was embarrassing because I’d already posted a photo of it.
If the ears won’t stay in position and keep flopping forward, you can add a few hidden stitches connecting the ear to the back of the head further down. This gives them support without being visible from the front.
Yarn Weight and Hook Size Stuff
I mentioned using worsted weight yarn with a 3.5mm hook but you could also use DK weight yarn with a 3mm hook for a smaller version. Or go bigger with bulky yarn and a 5mm hook if you want like a giant one. The pattern scales pretty easily.
Just remember that whatever hook size you choose, you want your stitches tight enough that the stuffing doesn’t show through. If you can see white stuffing poking between your stitches, go down a hook size.
The yarn brand honestly doesn’t matter much for the white parts. I’ve used Red Heart, Bernat, Caron, even some random acrylic from the craft store clearance bin. They all work fine. The only place brand might matter is the pink for the nose and cheeks because some cheap pink yarns look kind of weird or too bright.
How Long It Actually Takes
The whole thing took me like 6 hours total? But that’s spread over a few days because I only crochet in the evening usually. If you sat down and did it all at once you could probably finish in 4 or 5 hours assuming you know the basic stitches already.
The head took the longest because it’s the biggest piece and also you have to really focus on the face details. The body went faster. Each limb is maybe 15 minutes. The ears took forever because I messed them up and had to redo them twice.
Assembly and sewing everything together is probably another hour at least. Don’t rush this part because sloppy assembly will make the whole thing look bad even if your crochet is perfect.
Alternative Methods and Shortcuts
If you really don’t wanna make the ears as separate flat pieces, you could crochet them in the round like little tubes and then flatten them before sewing them on. It won’t look exactly the same but it’s faster and less annoying.
For the face, instead of embroidering you could use safety eyes if you have them. Size 9mm or 10mm would probably work. But honestly the embroidered eyes look more accurate to the actual Sanrio character design.
Some people make the whole thing in one continuous piece without assembly but I think that’s actually harder because you have to do weird increases and decreases to create the shape. Separate pieces is easier for beginners.
You could also skip the pink cheeks entirely if you don’t have pink yarn, they’re not absolutely necessary for it to be recognizable as Cinnamoroll. The eyes and nose are the critical parts.
