Crochet Leopard Square | Wildlife Animal CAL Part 10

Oct 4, 2024 | Crochet patterns

Introducing the Crochet Leopard Square, a stunning addition to the Wildlife Animal Blanket CAL!

This sweet square features the vibrant face of a leopard, complete with bold black spots, expressive eyes, and a charmingly detailed nose and mouth.

Perfect for wildlife lovers, this crochet leopard square brings the spirit of the jungle into your home and is sure to be a favorite part of the Wildlife Animal Blanket collection.

This crochet leopard square is Part 10 in the Wildlife Animal Blanket CAL – a year long crochet event! If you would like more details on this fun blanket CAL and get all the details on the other free squares you can find that all on this blog post.

Table of Contents

How to Make this Crochet Leopard Square

For the full written pattern instructions for this free crochet leopard pattern, scroll down below. You can purchase the ad-free PDF of the Leopard crochet square for a small fee. Or, become a Lifetime Member and never pay for a PDF again!

1. Begin with a double crochet circle in yellow for the leopard’s face. The double crochet circle is made with simple rounds of increasing double crochet to make a flat circle.

2. Once the leopard’s face is complete, we will square off the circle using green yarn and beginner-friendly crochet stitches – single, half double, double crochet and treble stitches.

3. After the square is complete, we will crochet applique pieces that will be sewn to the front of the square for the face details – eyes, nose, muzzle, ears and spots in different sizes. I am not going to lie to you – sewing soooo many spots to the leopard’s face was not my favorite thing to do! To make it a little easier I recommend using straight pins to hold the spots in place and then sew the spots in the desired location.

4. Instead of plastic safety eyes I am using my double crochet cartoon Crochet Eyes. These are the same crochet eyes I have used for my previous blankets and I just love how much personality they add! I have a complete photo and video tutorial for the crochet eyes to help you make them as well. Several size variations are provided if you want to change up the size for your eyes.

This square works up to a large 14″ x 14″ square. Perfect size for a matching pillow!

I hope you love this free crochet leopard pattern and be sure to check back in November for the Rhino Square!

Tonya

Crochet Wildlife Animal Blanket Squares Jan - Sept

Crochet Leopard Square Supplies

*This post contains affiliate links. You can click on any yarn or material highlighted to purchase. I will receive a small commission if you purchase but it won’t cost you any extra! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My crochet leopard square and the entire Wildlife Animal Blanket use Red Heart Super Saver* which is a medium worsted weight acrylic yarn. Very economical and with plentiful color options! You can certainly substitute your favorite worsted weight yarn – Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn!, Red Heart With Love, Paintbox Simply Aran, Vanna’s Choice, Big Twist Value, Caron Simply Soft, Caron One Pound and so many more! Raid your yarn stash – even mix and match.

You may also like the following free crochet patterns by Nana’s Crafty Home:

Elephant Granny Square free crochet pattern

This pattern is also available as an ad-free, printable PDF! You can purchase the individual pattern, or if you love PDFs, you might want to check out my Lifetime Membership. It’s an awesome deal! Never pay for one of my PDFs again!! (Or, scroll down for the free version!)

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Leopard Square Free crochet pattern

Pattern written in US crochet terminology

Supplies:

Red Heart Super Saver Weight 4 / Medium (100% acrylic)

Cornmeal 2.2 oz / 115 yds (Yellow)
Frosty Green 1.5 oz / 80 yds (Green)
Aran 0.3 oz / 16 yards (Cream)
Black 0.4 oz / 21 yds (Black)
Turqua 0.01 oz / 1 yard (Blue)
White 0.01 oz / 1 yard (White)

Size I (5.5 mm) crochet hook
Scissors
Stitch marker (optional)
Tapestry needle

Approximate finished size: 14” square

Gauge: First 4 rounds = 4” / 4 dc sts = 1”

Abbreviations:

MC = magic circle
ch(s) = chain(s)
sc = single crochet
hdc = half double crochet
dc = double crochet
tr = treble
sp = space
st(s) = stitch(es)
sk = skip
sl st = slip stitch
WS = wrong side
RS = right side

Pattern Notes:

Ch 3 at beginning of each round counts as first dc stitch.
Ears, eyes, nose, muzzle and spots are worked separately and then sewn to front of panel.
Ears and spots are worked in seamless rounds, do not sl st join at the end of each round. Place a st marker in first st of each round to mark first st.

Recommended Tutorial:

Crochet Eyes in 3 Sizes Tutorial

Pattern Instructions

With yellow, make MC.

Round 1: Ch 3, 11 dc in MC, join with sl st in top of ch-3 and tighten ring. (12)

Round 2: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, sl st in top of ch-3. (24)

Round 3: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next st, *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next st,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st in top of ch-3. (36)

Round 4: Ch 3, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st,* repeat from * to * to last st, 1 dc in last st, sl st in top of ch-3. (48)

Round 5: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next 3 sts, *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next 3 sts,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st in top of ch-3. (60)

Round 6: Ch 3, 1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in next 4 sts, 2 dc in next st,* repeat from * to * to last 2 sts, 1 dc in last 2 sts, sl st in top of ch-3. (72)

Round 7: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next 5 sts, *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next 5 sts,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st in top of ch-3. (84)

Round 8: Ch 3, 1 dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, *1 dc in next 6 sts, 2 dc in next st,* repeat from * to * to last 3 sts, 1 dc in last 3 sts, sl st in top of ch-3. (96)

Round 9: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next 7 sts, *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next 7 sts,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st in top of first st. (108)

Fasten off yellow.

Round 10: Join green in first st, ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts, dc in next 4 sts, tr in next 4 sts, *(2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in next st, tr in next 4 sts, dc in next 4 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, dc in next 4 sts, tr in next 4 sts,* repeat from * to * two times; (2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in next st, tr in next 4 sts, dc in next 4 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, sl st in first st. (120 + 4 ch-2 corner sp)

Round 11: Ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts, dc in next 6 sts, tr in next 4 sts, *(2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in ch-2 sp, tr in next 4 sts, dc in next 6 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, dc in next 6 sts, tr in next 4 sts,* repeat from * to * two times; (2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in ch-2 sp, tr in next 4 sts, dc in next 6 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, sl st in first st. (136 + 4 ch-2 corner sp)

Round 12 – 13: Ch 3 (counts as first st), *dc in each st to next ch-2 sp, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-2 sp,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st top of ch-3. (152 round 12, 168 round 13)

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Ears (make 2)

Round 1: (RS) With yellow, make a MC, ch 1, 6 sc in MC. (6)

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

Round 3: *2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st,* repeat from * to * to end. (18)

Round 4: 1 sc in next 3 sts, switch to cream, 1 sc in next 3 sts, switch to yellow, 1 sc in next 12 sts. (18)

Round 5: 1 sc in next 2 sts, switch to cream, 1 sc in next 5 sts, switch to yellow, 1 sc in next 11 sts. (18)

Round 6 – 7: Repeat round 5.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Eyes (make 2)

With black, make MC.

Round 1: (RS) Ch 3, 10 dc in MC, join with sl st in top of ch-3, tighten ring. (11)

Fasten off black, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Row 2: Join blue in first st of round 1, sl st in next 5 sts.

Fasten off blue.

Row 3: Join white in first st of round 1 (behind slip stitches of row 2), sl st in next 5 sts.

Fasten off white, leaving a long tail for embroidery of eye.

With long tail of white, embroider center of eye.

Weave in remaining ends not left for sewing.

Muzzle

With cream, make MC.

Round 1: Ch 3, 11 dc in MC, join with sl st in top of ch-3 and tighten ring. (12)

Round 2: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, sl st in top of ch-3. (24)

Round 3: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next st, *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next st,* repeat from * to * to end, sl st in top of ch-3. (36)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Nose

With black, ch 3.

Row 1: Sc in second ch from hook, sc in last ch. Turn. (2)

Row 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in same st, 2 sc in last st. Turn. (4)

Row 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in same st, sc in each st to last st, 2 sc in last st. Turn. (6)

Work sc sts evenly around outside edge of nose, working 2 sc sts in each corner, sl st to first st.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing and for smile.

Small Spots (make 9)

With black, make MC, ch 1, 6 sc in MC, sl st to first st. (6)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Large Spots (make 3)

With black, make MC.

Round 1: Ch 1, 6 sc in MC. (6)

Round 2: 2 sc in each st, sl st to first st. (12)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Assembly

Note: Sew following pieces to RS of square. Also, this is the order I sew my pieces but it is only the recommendation. If you want to place the eyes first and work from there it is fine!

With long tail, sew nose to muzzle, use remaining length to embroider smile below nose.

With long tails, sew ears to each top corner of face.

With long tails, sew eyes to face.

With long tails, sew muzzle to face below eyes.

With long tails, sew spots to face.

With a long length of black yarn, embroider whiskers over muzzle into face.

Weave in remaining ends.

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