Bat Amigurumi: Wings, Body and Ears

Bats look complicated because of the wings. The body is a small oval. The ears are triangles. The hard part is making two wings the same size and sewing them on so the bat does not look like it is mid-shrug forever.

You should already be comfortable working in the round and sewing pieces with a yarn needle. If color changes are new, you do not need them here — one dark color is enough.

What you need

• Dark yarn (black, charcoal, deep purple) in a worsted weight — yarn weight chart
• Scrap of lighter yarn or white for fangs/eyes if you want them
• Hook matched to the yarn (hook size chart)
• Stuffing, yarn needle, stitch markers, pins

US terms: abbreviations chart.

Body

Work a short oval: increase, work even longer than a sphere would need, then decrease.

Rnd 1. Magic ring, 6 sc. (6)

Rnd 2. Inc around. (12)

Rnd 3. *Sc, inc; repeat from * around. (18)

Rnds 4–8. Sc around (adjust length for a longer or stubbier body).

Decrease: sc, sc2tog around, then sc2tog around, stuffing as you go. Close.

Keep the body firmer than you think. Soft bodies make wings drag the silhouette out of shape.

Ears (make 2)

Work flat.

Row 1. Ch 2, 2 sc in second ch from hook. Turn. (2)

Row 2. Ch 1, sc in first, 2 sc in last. Turn. (3)

Row 3. Ch 1, sc across, 2 sc in last. Turn. (4)

Row 4. Ch 1, sc across. Fasten off with a long tail.

Fold a tiny pinch at the base when you sew so the ear cups forward. Sew both ears near the top of the head, slightly toward the front, mirrored.

Wings (make 2)

Flat wings read more clearly than tiny 3D ones at small sizes.

Row 1. Ch 8, sc in second ch from hook and each ch across. Turn. (7)

Row 2. Ch 1, sc2tog, sc across to last 2, sc2tog. Turn.

Row 3. Ch 1, sc across. Turn.

Row 4. Repeat Row 2.

Continue decreasing at both ends every other row until 3 stitches remain. Work one row even. Fasten off.

For a scalloped lower edge (classic bat wing), on a longer starting chain work: sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc, skip 1; repeat along one long edge after the wing shape exists. That is optional trim, not structural.

Make the second wing by repeating the same row counts — do not improvise mid-wing on wing two.

Attaching wings

Pin wings to the sides of the body along the “shoulder” line, about halfway down the body height, angled slightly upward and back. Sew through both layers of the wing into the body with small stitches. Reinforce the top inch of the wing; that is where gravity pulls.

If a wing droops, either sew a second pass higher on the body or add a couple of hidden stitches that tack the mid-wing to the body (less poseable, more display-stable).

Face

Two French-knot eyes and a tiny V of white yarn for fangs are plenty. Skip a smile; bats go weird fast when over-embroidered.

Mistakes that spoil the bat

Wings sewn too low. It looks like a cape on a potato. Shoulders, not hips.

One wing with an extra row. Count. Write the row stitch counts in the margin of a scrap of paper as you go.

Ears too far apart. They should sit inside the width of the head, not on the equator of the body.

Overstuffed head, empty body. The bat tips forward. Even stuffing, denser only at the base if you need it to sit.

Frequently asked

Can I crochet the wings in the round?

You can, but flat wings photograph and hang more cleanly for small bats. Tubular wings need wire or dense stuffing to stay open, which is a different project.

What if I only have chunky yarn?

Scale up the starting chain for the wings and stop the body increases earlier (at 12 or 18) so pieces stay in proportion. Chunky bats are cozy; they are just bigger.

How do I hang a bat garland?

Make several bodies, leave long tails at fastening off, and thread them onto a separate chain or piece of twine through the tops of the heads — same idea as a bat garland pattern, even if you are improvising spacing by eye.

What to make next

Practice another sew-on project with the spider and web, or cool down with a no-sew ghost. For flat color practice, see Halloween granny square variations.