Head:

Round 1: With yarn in Black, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.

Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).

Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).

Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).

Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).

Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).

Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).

Rounds 8-11: SC around for 4 rounds.

Round 12: SC 1 in black, 3 in white, 8 in black, 3 in white, and the rest in black.

Round 13: SC 5 in white, 6 in black, 5 in white, and the rest in black.

Round 14: SC 6 in white, 5 in black, 6 in white, and the rest in black.

Round 15: SC 1 in black, 6 in white, 2 in black, 6 in white, and the rest in black.

Rounds 16-18: SC 15 in white, and the rest in black. Insert safety eyes about 6 stitches apart between rounds 15 and 16. You can see from mine that I have 2 white stitches, 2 black and 2 white between the eyes. Secure the backings once you’re happy with the placement.

For the decrease round, use white over the white stitches and black over the black stitches. As you decrease, you’ll see the white section get smaller towards the bottom of the face.

Round 19: *SC 5, dec* around (36).

Round 20: *SC 4, dec* around (30).

Round 21: *SC 3, dec* around (24).

Round 22: *SC 2, dec* around (18). Finish adding stuffing.

Round 23: *SC, dec* around (12).

Round 24: Decrease around (6). Then cut the yarn and thread tail through a tapestry needle. Run the needle under the front loops of each stitch and secure yarn. Weave in the end.

Body:

Round 1: With yarn in Black, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.

Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).

Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).

Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).

Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).

Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).

Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).

Round 8: *SC 6, inc* around (48).

Attach the white yarn and work the first half of the round in white (24) and the second half in black (24). Continue working half white and half black as you decrease.

Rounds 9-18: SC for 10 rounds.

Round 19: *SC 6, dec* around (42).

Round 20: *SC 5, dec* around (36).

Round 21: SC around for 2 rounds.

Round 22: *SC 4, dec* around (30).

Rounds 23-24: SC around for 2 rounds.

Round 25: *SC 3, dec* around (24).

Rounds 26-27: SC around for 2 rounds.

Round 28: *SC 2, dec* around (18). Then BO, leaving a long tail of black for sewing, and stuff the remaining white into the body.

Wings (make  2):

Row 1: With white, chain 5. Turn, and SC 4.

Row 2: Ch 1, turn and SC 4.

Rows 3-6: Ch 1, turn. Increase once, SC to end. (9)

Rows 7-14: Ch 1, turn. Decrease once, SC to end (1). Then BO.

Row 1: With black, chain 6, leaving a long tail to sew it onto the body later. Turn, and SC 5.

Row 2: Ch 1, turn and SC 5.

Rows 3-7: Ch 1, turn. Increase once, SC to end. (10)

Rows 8-17: Ch 1, turn. Decrease once, SC to end (1).

Row 18: Hold the white wing with the black and SC around the entire thing with black yarn to join the two halves together. Then, bind off and weave in the end. Trim the excess yarn.

Nose:

Lastly, our penguin amigurumi needs a nose! Or is it a beak…?

Round 1: With the orange yarn, chain 4. Work 2 SC into the second space from the hook, SC 1, then SC 3 into the last space. Now turn the work so you’re working into the back loops, SC 1, then SC 1 into the first space worked. You should have 8 stitches in your oval now.

Rounds 2-3: SC around for 2 rounds. Then BO, leaving a long tail for sewing the nose onto the face.

Assembly

Now it’s time to put our penguin amigurumi together! First, align the head onto the body, centering the last white stitches of the head onto the body. The sides won’t line up exactly but you won’t see that once it’s all sewn together. Use the tail yarn from the body and a tapestry needle to go under each stitch and around the corresponding space on the head. Work all the way around. Then secure the yarn and weave the end inside the head.

Now position a wing onto the side of the body where the two colors meet. Use the tail yarn from the wing and a tapestry needle to sew those 5 stitches onto the side of the body. Secure the yarn and weave in the end. Repeat on the other side with the other wing.

Finally, use the tail yarn from the nose and sew the nose in place just where the black section between the eyes meets the white. The nose should sit right at the V. Then secure the yarn and weave in the end. Trim off any excess yarn and you are done with your penguin amigurumi!

How cute is Penelope!

I love the way this new version turned out, and most of the difference just comes from learning more about amigurumi and have better quality yarn. It’s not more expensive, but rather than using scraps of a scratchy black and white as I did for the original version, this time I used higher quality acrylic yarn with a little bit of a shine to it. The I Love this Yarn and Caron’s Simply Soft are two of the nicest yarns I’ve used for amigurumi and they cost the same as RHSS. I also used a smaller hook than I originally did which gave me neater, tighter stitches and a more finished look.

Original Penelope (January 2018)

This one! (February 2019)

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