**Below you will find the concise written pattern for this Baby Squirrel Girl.  For the step-by-step pictures and instructions, check out my blog post here. **

Okay, so first lets address the question on everyone’s mind (at least it would be on mine if I came across this post)… “What is with the squirrel in a hot air balloon?”  The short answer: its cute.  😛  The longer answer is: when we were trying to pick a theme for Audrey’s first birthday party, I wanted to do a Hot Air Balloon theme and Will wanted to do a Woodland/ Squirrel theme.  So like with most of our marriage, we compromised.  A Hot Air Balloon Flying Squirrel theme was born.  I thought it was actually really cute (see pictures below), so I brought it back here too.  Hope you get as much a kick out of it as I did!

Now to business, below is the pattern for the Baby Squirrel Girl.  She has a lot of details and will therefore require a little bit of patience.  Check out my blog post to read the story behind this pattern and to get step-by-step pictures of how to make her here.  I had so much fun making this pattern, and I hope you have just as much fun making your very own!

What you need:

1 2.50 mm crochet hook

1 4.00 mm crochet hook

Medium worsted weight (4) yarn- approximately 100 yards 

Secondary color medium worsted weight (4) yarn (optional)

Eyelash yarn (I used Yarn Bee Snuggle up in Silver Fox and Yarn Bee Haute Fur in chocolate, both of which you can buy at Hobby Lobby)- approximately 4 yards

1 piece of white felt or white embroidery floss (I used felt)

Black and pink embroidery floss

Fiberfill

2- 10mm safety eyes

2- 6mm safety eyes

1 Slicker Pet Brush (optional)

Abbreviations used for the pattern:

sc- Single Crochet

st- Stitch

sc2tog- Single Crochet two together

ch- Chain

The Completed Squirrel Measures

3.5″ tall and 2.5″ wide

Pattern for the Head:

*Please note that this pattern is worked in continuous rounds vs joined rounds*

Round 1: Work 5 in a magic ring (5)

Round2: 2 sc in each st around (10)

Round 3: *sc, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (15)

Round 4: *sc 2, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (20)

Round 5: *sc 3, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (25)

Round 6: *sc 4, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (30)

Round 7-12: sc 30 around placing 10mm safety eyes in between rows 8&9

Round 13: *sc 4, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (25)

Round 14: *sc 3, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (20)

Embroider face on.  Start with nose, then the lines for the sides and top of mouth.  Stitch or glue on a small piece of  felt for teeth (you can also embroider teeth on with white floss if preferred), draw black embroidery floss down across teeth felt, and then back up under mouth line and up to base of nose.  Add more lines across nose as needed for your preferred width.   Start stuffing head with fiberfill.

Round 15: *sc 2, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (15)

Round 16: *sc, sc2tog*, repeat from * around.  Finish stuffing head with fiberfill (10)

Round 17: sc2tog around (5).  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Pattern for the Body

Round 1: Work 5 in a magic ring (5)

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (10)

Round 3: *Sc, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (15)

Round 4-7: Sc around (15)

Stuff with fiberfill

Round 8: *Sc, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (10)

Pattern for the ears (make 2)

ch 3, turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook, fasten off

Pattern for the arms (make 2)

Round 1: Work 3 in a magic ring (3)

Round 2: 2 sc in each around (6)

Round 3-7: sc around, fasten off leaving long tail. Do not weave in ends yet (6)

Lightly stuff with fiberfill

Pattern for the legs (make 2)

Round 1: Work 4 in a magic ring (4)

Round 2: 2 sc in each around (8)

Round 3: sc around (8)

Round 4: Sc 2, sc2tog, sc 2, sc2tog (6)

Lightly stuff with fiberfill

Round 5-9: Sc 6 around, fasten off and weave in ends (6)

Pattern for the tail

Switch to the 4.00 mm crochet hook

Round 1: work 6 in the magic ring (6)

Round 2: 2 sc in each around (12)

Round 3-6: sc around (12)

Round 7: *sc, 2 sc in next*, repeat from * around (18)

Round 8: 2 sc in next, sc 8, 2 sc in next, sc 8(20)

Round 9: 2 sc in next, sc 9, 2 sc in next, sc 9 (22)

Round 10-15: Sc around (22)

Round 16: sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc 11 (18)

Round 17: sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc 10 (15)

Round 18: sc, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc 9 (13)

Bend a pipe cleaner into a “w” shape with a tail.  Use that tail to pinch the top of the “w” together so that the bottom flares out.  Insert into tail with the wide part towards the bottom and the small part towards the top. Begin to lightly stuff with fiberfill on the back side of pipe cleaner

Round 19: sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc 8 (11)

Round 20: sc2tog, sc 9 (10)

Finish stuffing with fiberfill

Round 21: sc2tog around (5) Weave in end.  Utilizing the pipe cleaner, shape the tail so the side profile resembles a “S” (5)

Finishing touches to the tail

Using your 2.50 mm crochet hook, pull up the eyelash yarn through a sc st of the bottom of the tail and sc over it.  Insert hook every few stitches (I did about every 2-3 stitches) and pull up another sc of eyelash yarn.  Continue to do this, working up and down the tail until you have achieved the look you want working with loose tension (I went once up and once down in the brown and just once up with the gray). Brush lightly with pet brush to pull out any fibers that may be stuck underneath.  Trim any straggler fibers to give a cleaner look.

Pattern for the Bow

using 2.50 mm hook and embroidery floss of your choice

Row 1: starting with a longer tail, ch 7, turn

Row 2-6: ch 1, sc 6 starting in 2nd ch from hook, fasten off leaving long tail.

Weave the long tail in and out of the top till half way across then weave down towards bottom.  Weave the tail from the foundation towards the middle as well.  Pull the tail tight which will pinch the bow together.  Wrap the tail around the middle a few times and tie together with the foundation tail.  Fasten to head.

Pattern for the Acorn

using 2.50 mm hook and tan embroidery floss

Foundation: chain 3

Round 2: working in 3rd ch from hook, sc 2 in each around (6)

Round 3: *sc, sc 2 in next*, repeat from * around (9)

Round 4: sc around (9)

Round 5: *sc, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (6)

Round 6: sc2tog around, fasten off (3)

Switch to dark brown embroidery floss for the top

Round 1: Pull up loop through middle of the tan portion and sc around 8 times (similar idea to pulling up sc with the eyelash yarn on the tail) (8)

Round 2: *sc, sc 2 in next *, repeat from * around (12)

Round 3: *sc, sc2tog*, repeat from * around (8)

Round 4: sc2tog around (4)

fasten off and ch 2, fasten off and attach tail to top of acorn to create the stem.  Fasten using needle and thread to the squirrel hand(s)

For Assembly

Insert 6mm safety eye on the inside of each arm right below the last row created, now you can weave in the ends of the arm to close up the top of the arm.  Insert the eye now inside the arm to the body 2 rows down from the top on either side of the body.  Fasten with washer placed inside the body.  Stuff the body and attach to the bottom of the head.

Attach legs to either side of the bottom of the body, leaving enough room for the tail and making sure that they are flush with the bottom of the body (this will help the finished squirrel sit better)

Attach tail starting at bottom, making sure the bottom of the tail is flush with the bottom of the body to give good sitting support.  Attach the back of the tail to the back of the body.

Attach ears to either side of the top of the head, attach bow and acorn according to your preference.