Stitch Your Own Lizard: Realistic Crochet Bearded Dragon Pattern

Crochet Pattern: Stitch Your Own Lizard: Realistic Crochet Bearded Dragon Pattern

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn in Terracotta Orange, Mustard Yellow, Beige, Chocolate Brown, and Tan
• 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
• 18mm black safety eyes
• Polyester fiberfill stuffing
• Tapestry needle and scissors
• Stitch markers

Abbreviations

• MR – Magic Ring
• ch – chain
• sc – single crochet
• inc – increase (2 sc in one stitch)
• dec – decrease (sc 2 together)
• bo – bobble stitch (4 dc cluster in same stitch)
• sl st – slip stitch
• st(s) – stitch(es)

Instructions

Head:

Using Terracotta Orange yarn, start with a magic ring.

• Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
• Round 2: inc in each st around (12)
• Round 3: [sc, inc] repeat 6 times (18)
• Round 4: [2 sc, inc] repeat 6 times (24)
• Round 5-8: sc in each st around (24)
• Round 9: [3 sc, inc] repeat 6 times (30)
• Round 10: [4 sc, inc] repeat 6 times (36)
• Round 11-14: sc in each st around (36). Insert safety eyes between rounds 10 and 11, leaving about 10 stitches in between.
• Round 15: [4 sc, dec] repeat 6 times (30)
• Round 16: [3 sc, dec] repeat 6 times (24)
• Stuff head firmly.
• Round 17: [2 sc, dec] repeat 6 times (18)
• Round 18: [sc, dec] repeat 6 times (12)
• Round 19: dec around (6). Fasten off and weave in ends.

Spiky Beard (Beige Yarn):

Join Beige yarn at the lower jaw area of the head to create the spikes.

• Row 1: Chain 20 along the jawline, sl st to secure.
• Row 2: [ch 4, sl st in second ch from hook, sc in next 2 chs, sl st into next st of Row 1] repeat across to create individual spikes. Fasten off and sew down the edges to frame the face.

Textured Body:

The body is worked in two pieces (a flat Beige belly and a textured striped back) then crocheted together.

Belly (Beige Yarn):

• Row 1: Ch 11, sc in second ch from hook and in each across, turn (10)
• Row 2-40: Work in rows, increasing at the start and end of rows to widen to 24 sts, then decreasing back to 10 sts near the tail. Fasten off.

Textured Back (Striped Yarn):

• Work in similar row counts as the belly, alternating colors every 4 rows between Terracotta Orange, Mustard Yellow, and Tan.
• Incorporate Bobble Stitches (bo) every third row to create scale texture: [sc 3, bo] repeat across the row.

Assembly of Body:

Place belly and back pieces together. Using Terracotta Orange, join with sc through both layers around the edges, stuffing firmly before closing completely.

Legs & Toes (Make 4):

Using Terracotta Orange yarn:

• Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
• Round 2-10: sc in each st around (6)
• To make toes: [ch 4, sl st back down 3 chs, sl st to leg] repeat 5 times to form 5 claws. Fasten off and sew legs to the sides of the body.

Tail:

Using alternating stripes of Terracotta, Tan, and Brown:

• Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
• Round 2-30: sc in each st, slowly increasing by 1 st every 3 rounds to match the thickness of the rear body. Stuff lightly and sew to the back of the body.