• 30-40 grams of base color yarn;
• some yarn for the mane;
• some kind of filler like holofiber for stuffing;
• a pair of beads or buttons for the eyes.

Head and body are one piece. Legs and handles are knitted one at a time and then sewn to the body. It is convenient to fill and sew on the ears and muzzle when the head is ready and the body has not yet begun. The eyes can be sewn on when the toy is assembled, after which the nose, mouth and eyebrows can be embroidered, and the mane last.

Muzzle

We knit the muzzle with an oval in a circle. Work 6 stitches (VP). From the second loop from the hook, knit 4 single crochet (RLS), one per loop. In the next loop, knit 3 sc. Flip to the other side and knit 3 sc. In the next loop, knit 2 sc. Thus, in the first round we got 12 sc.

2nd circle: in the first loop, knit 2 sc; in the next three loops - one RLS; in the next three - again 2 RLS; in the next three - again one at a time; in the last two loops of this circle, 2 sc. Thus, in this circle, there were 18 sc.

3rd round: in the second, seventh, ninth, eleventh, sixteenth and eighteenth loops, knit two scs; the rest one at a time. In this circle, you get 24 sc.

Round 4: in the second, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, twentieth and twenty-third loops, knit two RLS, the rest - one at a time. It turns out 30 sc.

The muzzle is ready. Leave a long "ponytail" to sew the muzzle to the head later.

Ears

Knit 2 VP and in the second loop from the hook knit 9 RLS.

2nd circle: in every third loop, knit 3 sc. The circle will have 15 sc.

3rd circle: in every fifth loop, knit 3 sc. The circle will have 21 sc.

One part of the ear is ready. Tie another one like this and tie to the first part on two of the three sides of the "triangle". On one side, there will be an untied part to fill the eyelet and sew it with this side to the head. Leave the "ponytail" to sew on to the head.

Tie the second ear by analogy.

Head

Start knitting from above, from the top of the head, in a circle.

Make 2 VP and knit 6 RLS into the second loop from the hook.

2nd circle: in each loop, knit two STB - 12 RLS.

3rd circle: in every second loop, knit two RLS (in the rest, respectively, one RLS) - 18 RLS.

4th circle: in every third loop, knit 2 sc (in the rest, respectively, also one sc) - 24 sc.

5th circle: in every fourth loop, knit 2 sc - 30 sc.

6th circle: in every fifth loop, knit 2 sc - 36 sc.

7th circle: in every sixth loop, knit 2 sc - 42 sc.

8th circle: knit one sc in each loop - 42 sc.

9th circle: in every 7th loop, knit 2 sc - 48 sc.

From the 10th to the 12th circle, knit one sc in each loop - 48 sc.

13th circle: knit every seventh sc in two loops - 42 sc.

14th circle: in every seventh loop, knit 2 sc - 48 sc.

Round 15: knit every sixth sc in two loops - 36 sc.

16th row: knit every fifth sc in two loops - 30 sc.

Round 17: knit every fourth sc in two loops - 24 sc.

Sew the muzzle and ears to the head, lightly stuffing them with filler.

18th circle: knit every third sc in two loops - 18 sc.

Round 19th: knit every second sc in two loops - 12 sc.

The head is ready. Stuff it tightly. Do not cut the thread, but continue to knit the body from the same place.

Body

Continue knitting from where you left off.

1st and 2nd circles: knit one sc in each loop - 12 sc.

3rd circle: in every second loop, knit 2 sc - 18 sc.

4th and 5th circles: knit one sc in each loop - 18 sc.

6th circle: in every third loop, knit 2 sc - 24 sc.

7th and 8th circles: knit one sc in each loop - 24 sc.

9th circle: in every fourth loop, knit 2 sc - 30 sc.

10th and 11th circles: knit one sc in each loop - 30 sc.

12th circle: in every fifth loop, knit 2 sc - 36 sc.

13th and 14th circles: knit one sc in each loop - 36 sc.

15th row: knit every fifth sc in two loops - 30 sc.

Round 16: knit every fourth sc in two loops - 24 sc.

Round 17: knit every third sc in two loops - 18 sc.

Stuff the lion cub's body tightly and finish knitting.

18th round: knit every second sc in two loops - 12 sc.

Finish knitting by knitting each next column in two loops.

Legs

We also start the legs with an oval, by analogy with the muzzle.

Knit a chain of 7 VP. From the second loop from the hook, knit 5СБН one by one into the loop. In the next loop, knit 3 sc. Flip to the other side and knit 4 sc. In the next loop, knit 2 sc.

Thus, in the first round, we got 14 RLS.

2nd circle: in the first loop, knit 2 sc; in the next 4 loops - one RLS each; in the next 3 - again 2 RLS; in the next four - again one at a time; in the last two loops of this circle, 2 sc. Thus, in this circle there were 20 sc.

3rd round: in the second, eighth, tenth, twelfth, eighteenth and twentieth loops, knit two RLS; the rest one at a time. This circle will have 26 sc.

4th round: in the second, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth, twenty-second and twenty-fifth loops, knit two scs, the rest - one at a time. It turns out 32 sc.

From the 5th to the 7th circle, knit one sc in each loop - 32 sc. It will turn out 96 sc.

8th circle: knit 7 sc, one in each loop; 3 RLS - each in two loops; 1 sc in one loop; 2 RLS - each in two loops; 1 sc in one loop; 3 RLS - each in two loops; 7 PRS, one per loop. It turned out 24 sc.

9th circle: knit 5 sc, one in each loop; 5 RLS - each in two loops; 1 sc in one loop; 2 RLS - each in two loops; 1 sc in one loop; 5 RLS - each in two loops; 5 sc, one per loop. It turned out 18 sc.

From the 10th to the 14th circle, knit one sc in each loop - 18 sc. It will turn out 90 sc.

15th circle: knit every second sc in two loops - 12 sc.

On the 16th and 17th circles, knit one sc in each loop - 11 sc. It turns out 24 sc.

Stuff the leg tightly with filler and finish knitting by knitting each next column in two loops.

One leg is ready. Link the second by analogy.

Pens

Tie 2 VP and in the second loop from the hook, knit 6 RLS.

2nd circle: in each loop, knit two STB - 12 RLS.

3rd circle: in every second loop, knit two RLS - 18 RLS.

4th circle: knit one sc in each loop - 18 sc.

5th circle: knit every second sc in two loops - 12 sc.

From the 6th to the 9th circle, knit one sc in each loop - 12 sc.

Round 10: knit the first sc in two loops, in the rest - one sc for one sc - 11 sc.

11th round: knit one sc in each loop - 11 sc.

12th circle: knit the first sc in two loops, in the rest - one sc for one sc - 10 sc.

Round 13: knit one sc in each loop - 10 sc.

Fill the handle with filler and finish knitting by knitting along RLS in two loops to the end.

The handle is ready. Link the second by analogy.

Tail

Tie 2 VP and in the second loop from the hook, knit 6 RLS.

2nd circle: in every second loop, knit two RLS - 9 RLS.

3rd circle: knit every second sc in two loops - 6 sc.

From the 4th to the 9th circle, knit one sc in each loop - 6 sc. It turns out 36 sc.

Without stuffing the ponytail or finishing knitting, sew the ponytail to the body.

The lion cub is almost ready. Sew the legs and arms to the body using the thread hinges. Sew the eyes to the head, embroider the nose, mouth, eyebrows, claws and proceed to the most important thing - the mane.

Mane

It is very simple to make a mane: cut off the required number of hairs (a lion cub of this size will need 200-300 pieces) twice as long as the desired length of the mane, and insert one at a time, pulling it out with a crochet and tying a knot - so that over the post through which you pulled the thread, it turned out like two "hairs". Start at the top, from the top of your head, and continue along the line of the mane. Finish the mane and your lion cub is ready!