The Gingham Plaid Crochet Bunny Cuddler is a free Easter Crochet Pattern by Nana’s Crafty Home!

I must admit I have been a little bit obsessed with gingham plaid crochet lately. And after designing the Gingham Bunny Table Runner I knew the next perfect project had to be a bunny cuddler for my grandkids!

They love all things plushie and squishy! I can barely keep up with their demand for stuffed animals, blankets and softies. I think their motto is, “so many stuffed animals, so little house” 😂

The Gingham Bunny is made with the single crochet Tapestry crochet technique. Tapestry crochet is a wonderful crochet color work technique that uses simple single crochet stitches. Since we are making the silhouette shape of a bunny with this pattern you will be working rows with increases and decreases as well to create the desired bunny shape.

If you have never tried Tapestry Crochet or would like a little refresher, I have a Guide to Tapestry Crochet – tips and tricks Photo & Video Tutorial you can check out as well. If you are having trouble viewing the video – you can find it on my YouTube Channel.  Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to get notified whenever I post a new video.

I have the complete row by row written pattern instructions with color changes below or you could easily use the provided graph to create this pattern.

For my original bunny I used Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn which is a standard medium worsted weight acrylic yarn. This yielded a bunny that was approximately 17” tall x 8.5” wide (after stuffing). A great size for small hands or as an accent pillow. However, I knew the grandkids would fall even more in love with a “bigger is better” idea. So, for my second bunny I made it with Bernat Blanket yarn* for a big, soft plushie bunny that ended up an approximate size of 13″ wide x 32″ tall. A fabulous big and squishy size!

It sometimes amazes me still how just changing up yarn weight can yield such a difference in size and appearance – these bunnies are made following the exact same pattern!

For my smaller bunny, I found some adorable blue gingham buttons for his eyes which turned out perfectly with the addition of his safety nose. I found both of these items on Amazon. The larger bunny I used the largest size safety eyes (also Amazon) I had on hand but you could certainly use buttons if you prefer.

These guys work up pretty quickly so you still have plenty of time to make at least a few before Easter. 😉 However, they would also make great little baby gifts any time of the year. Bunnies are in style year round, right?

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!)

Purchase the ad-free pdf of this pattern for a small fee.  Thank you so much for supporting my work!

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You may also like the following free crochet patterns at Nana’s Crafty Home!

1. Gingham Bunny Table Runner
2. Some Bunny Loves You Easter Basket
3. Flower Easter Basket

Gingham Plaid Crochet Bunny Cuddler free crochet pattern

Pattern written in US crochet terminology

Supplies:

• Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn! Weight 4/Medium (100% acrylic) 7 oz/355 yds
• Navy 1.5 oz / 80 yards (navy)
• Dark Country Blue 2.5 oz / 130 yards (blue)
• White 2.0 oz / 102 yards (white)

Size I (5.5 mm) crochet hook

(2) 0.5” gingham buttons for eyes (optional)*

(1) plastic safety nose

Polyfil for stuffing
Ribbon for bow (optional)
Scissors
Tapestry needle

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. 

Approximate finished size: 17” tall x 8.5” wide (after stuffing)

Gauge: 17.5 rows = 4” / 15 sc sts = 4”

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
sc = single crochet
st(s) = stitch(es)
WS = wrong side
RS = right side
sc2tog = single crochet 2 st together (see special stitches section below)

Special Stitches:

sc2tog = (insert hook into next st, yo and pull up a loop) twice, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook.

Pattern Notes:

• Graph is worked in single crochet (sc) tapestry crochet technique.  Each pixel of graph corresponds to 1 sc stitch.  
• At the end of each row, turn and ch 1.  Ch 1 does not count as a stitch.
• Stitch counts remain the same from previous row unless otherwise specified.
• Since all sts are sc, the pattern is written telling you which color to use and how many stitches of that color. For Example: “[grey 5, white 5] five times” means you will work with grey color for 5 sc sts, then white color for 5 sc sts, and work that pattern 5 times total across the row.

Recommended Tutorials

Tapestry Crochet Tips & Tricks

Written Row-by-Row instructions

Bunny Panel (make 2)

With navy, ch 30.

Row 1:  (RS) sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch to end. (29)

Row 2:  Blue 2 sc in first st, blue 1, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 1, blue 2 sc in last st. (31)

Row 3:  Blue 2 sc in first st, blue 2, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 2, blue 2 sc in last st. (33)

Row 4:  Blue 2 sc in first st, blue 3, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 3, blue 2 sc in last st. (35)

Row 5 – 6:  [blue 5, white 5] three times, blue 5.

Row 7 – 11:  [navy 5, blue 5] three times, navy 5.

Row 12 – 16:  repeat row 5

Row 17 – 21:  repeat row 7

Row 22:  repeat row 5.

Row 23:  Blue sc2tog, blue 3, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 3, blue sc2tog. (33)

Row 24:  Blue sc2tog, blue 2, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 2, blue sc2tog.  (31)

Row 25:  Blue sc2tog, blue 1, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 1, blue sc2tog.  (29)

Row 26:  Blue sc2tog, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue sc2tog.  (27)

Row 27:  Blue sc2tog, blue 4, navy 5, blue 5, navy 5, blue 4, blue sc2tog.  (25)

Row 28:  (Navy 1, blue 1) in first st, blue 4, [navy 5, blue 5] two times, navy 1 in same st as last blue sc st. (27)

Row 29:  Navy 2 sc in first st, [blue 5, navy 5] two times, blue 5, navy 2 sc in last st. (29)

Row 30: Navy 2 sc in first st, navy 1, [blue 5, navy 5]  two times, blue 5, navy 1, navy 2 sc in last st. (31)

Row 31: Navy 2 sc in first st, navy 2, [blue 5, navy 5] two times, blue 5, navy 2, navy 2 sc in last st. (33)

Row 32 – 36: blue 4, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 4.

Row 37 – 41: navy 4, [blue 5, navy 5] two times, blue 5, navy 4.

Row 42 – 44: repeat row 32.

Row 45: Blue sc2tog, blue 2, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 2, blue sc2tog. (31)

Row 46: Blue sc2tog, blue 1, [white 5, blue 5] two times, white 5, blue 1, blue sc2tog. (29)

Row 47: Navy sc2tog, [blue 5, navy 5] two times, blue 5, navy sc2tog. (27)

Row 48: Navy 1, [blue 5, navy 5] two times, blue 5, navy 1. 

Ear #1

Row 49: Navy 1, blue 5, navy 5.  Turn.  (Leave remaining stitches unworked). (11)

Row 50: Navy 5, blue 5, navy 1.

Row 51: Navy 1, blue 5, navy 5.

Row 52: blue 5, white 5, blue 1.

Row 53: blue 1, white 5, blue 5.

Row 54 – 56: repeat rows 52-53 ending on row 52.

Row 57: blue sc2tog, blue 4, navy 3, navy sc2tog. (9)

Row 58: navy sc2tog, navy 2, blue 3, blue sc2tog.(7)

Row 59:  blue 4, navy 3.

Row 60:  navy 3, blue 4.

Row 61:  blue sc2tog, blue 2, navy 1, navy sc2tog. (5)

Row 62:  blue 2, white 3.

Row 63:  white sc2tog, white 1, blue sc2tog. (3)

Row 64:  blue 1, white sc2tog. (2)

Fasten off.

Ear #2

Row 1: With RS facing, working on row 49, skip 5 sts, join navy with sc to next st, navy 4, blue 5, navy 1. (11)

Row 2: navy 1, blue 5, navy 5.

Row 3: navy 5, blue 5, navy 1.

Row 4: blue 1, white 5, blue 5.

Row 5: blue 5, white 5, blue 1.

Row 6 – 8: repeat rows 4 – 5, ending on row 4.

Row 9:  navy sc2tog, navy 3, blue 4, blue sc2tog.  (9)

Row 10:  blue sc2tog, blue 3, navy 2, navy sc2tog.  (7)

Row 11:  navy 3, blue 4.

Row 12:  blue 4, navy 3.

Row 13:  navy sc2tog, navy 1, blue 2, blue sc2tog.  (5)

Row 14:  white 3, blue 2.

Row 15:  blue sc2tog, white 1, white sc2tog.  (3)

Row 16:  white sc2tog, blue 1. (2)

Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Eyes & Nose

With RS of panel facing, sew button eyes and safety nose where desired.

Sewing Together

With WS together and RS facing out, attach navy to bottom right corner through both panels, sc evenly around outside edge of bunny panels.  Stuff bunny from bottom before completely working around outside, slip stitch to first st. Note:  To stuff ears, use blunt end of crochet hook to stuff polyfil into ears.

Note: The black color on the color key below and on the graph is simply to outline sections of white at the top of the bunny ears.

Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

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