Free Plush Crochet Rat Pattern: Beginner Amigurumi Tutorial with Bobble Feet & Tail

If you’ve been searching for the perfect beginner amigurumi project, look no further than this adorable plush crochet rat. Rats make surprisingly charming stuffed animals — with their long tails, little rounded ears, and sweet whiskered faces, they’re endlessly customizable and genuinely fun to make. Whether you’re crafting for a child, a rat-loving friend, or just building your amigurumi skills, this free pattern walks you through every step, including how to make the cutest bobble feet and a curled, poseable tail.

This tutorial is written for beginners, so if you’ve mastered the magic ring and basic single crochet, you have everything you need. By the end, you’ll have a plush, squishy little rat you’ll be genuinely proud of.

Why Crochet a Rat?

Rats have become one of the most beloved subjects in the amigurumi community, and it’s easy to see why. They’re expressive, quirky, and a little unexpected — which makes them perfect gifts for anyone who wants something beyond the typical bunny or teddy bear. Pet rat owners especially adore handmade versions of their favorite animals, and the internet has developed a serious soft spot for cute crochet rats (have you seen the tiny pizza-holding ones?).

Beyond the cuteness factor, rats are actually a wonderful beginner amigurumi shape. The body is a simple oval, the head is a sphere, and the details — ears, feet, tail, and nose — are small add-ons that teach you important techniques without overwhelming you. By the time you finish this pattern, you’ll understand how to work in the round, increase and decrease evenly, create bobble stitches, and attach pieces cleanly.

Materials You’ll Need

Before you begin, gather your supplies. You don’t need anything fancy — this is a beginner-friendly project that works with materials you may already have in your stash.

Yarn: Worsted weight yarn (size 4) in your chosen rat color. Classic choices include gray, brown, black, cream, or even pink for an albino rat. You’ll also want a small amount of pink yarn for the inner ears and nose, and a darker or contrasting color for the tail if you want definition.

Hook: A 3.5mm or 4.0mm crochet hook. Many amigurumi makers prefer a slightly smaller hook than the yarn label recommends, because a tighter stitch prevents the stuffing from showing through.

Stuffing: Polyfill stuffing, or any soft fiberfill you have on hand. You’ll want enough to stuff the body and head firmly.

Safety eyes: Two 9mm or 12mm black safety eyes. If you’re making this rat for a child under three years old, embroider the eyes with black yarn instead for safety.

Yarn needle: For weaving in ends and sewing pieces together.

Scissors

Stitch markers: Optional but helpful for tracking your rounds.

Wire or pipe cleaner (optional): For posing the tail. If you insert a pipe cleaner before closing the tail, you can bend it into a curl or drape it naturally.

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

This pattern uses US crochet terminology.

MR — Magic ring
ch — Chain
sl st — Slip stitch
sc — Single crochet
inc — Increase (2 single crochets in the same stitch)
dec — Decrease (invisible decrease: insert hook through the front loops of two consecutive stitches and complete as one single crochet)
bobble st — Bobble stitch (instructions below)
st(s) — Stitch(es)
BLO — Back loop only
FLO — Front loop only

How to Make the Bobble Stitch

The bobble stitch is what gives this rat’s feet that wonderfully rounded, three-dimensional look. Don’t be intimidated — once you try it a couple of times, it becomes second nature.

To make a bobble stitch, start with a yarn over and insert your hook into the stitch. Pull up a loop (3 loops on hook). Yarn over again and pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook). Now yarn over and insert your hook back into the same stitch, pull up a loop (4 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook). Repeat this one more time so you have 4 loops on your hook, then yarn over and pull through all 4 loops at once. That’s your bobble. It will pop to the front (or back, depending on which direction you’re working) and create a satisfying little bump.

For the feet, you’ll work three bobble stitches in a row to form the toes, then continue around to shape the foot pad. The bobbles create the illusion of three little toes without any additional sewing.

Pattern Instructions

Part One: The Body

The body is worked from the bottom up as a simple oval shape.

Round 1: MR, 6 sc into the ring. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st around. (12 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc repeat 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 4: Sc 2, inc repeat 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 5: Sc 3, inc repeat 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 6: Sc 4, inc repeat 6 times. (36 sts)
Rounds 7–16: Sc around in all sts. (36 sts, 10 rounds)
Round 17: Sc 4, dec repeat 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 18: Sc 3, dec repeat 6 times. (24 sts)

At this point, insert your safety eyes if you’re attaching them to the body rather than the head (skip this step — eye placement happens on the head). Begin stuffing the body firmly now and continue stuffing as you close.

Round 19: Sc 2, dec repeat 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 20: Sc 1, dec repeat 6 times. (12 sts)
Round 21: Dec 6 times. (6 sts)

Fasten off and use your yarn needle to close the remaining opening by weaving through the front loops of the 6 remaining stitches and pulling tight. Weave in the end.

Part Two: The Head

The head is a slightly larger sphere than the body, with a small pointed snout added at the end.

Round 1: MR, 6 sc into the ring. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st around. (12 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc repeat 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 4: Sc 2, inc repeat 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 5: Sc 3, inc repeat 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 6: Sc 4, inc repeat 6 times. (36 sts)
Round 7: Sc 5, inc repeat 6 times. (42 sts)
Rounds 8–14: Sc around. (42 sts, 7 rounds)
Round 15: Sc 5, dec repeat 6 times. (36 sts)
Round 16: Sc 4, dec repeat 6 times. (30 sts)

Now place your safety eyes between rounds 12 and 13, spaced about 8–10 stitches apart. For a more realistic rat look, position the eyes slightly to the sides of the head rather than the front.

Round 17: Sc 3, dec repeat 6 times. (24 sts)

Stuff the head firmly at this point.

Round 18: Sc 2, dec repeat 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 19: Sc 1, dec repeat 6 times. (12 sts)
Round 20: Dec 6 times. (6 sts)

Close and fasten off, leaving a long tail for attaching the head to the body.

Part Three: The Snout

The snout adds that essential rat-like pointed nose to the face.

Round 1: MR, 5 sc into the ring. (5 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st around. (10 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc repeat 5 times. (15 sts)
Rounds 4–5: Sc around. (15 sts)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Do not stuff the snout — it will flatten naturally against the face and give that lovely pointed profile. Pin it to the center-front of the head, slightly lower than center, and sew it down. Once attached, embroider a small triangle or Y-shape in pink yarn to create the nose, and use black yarn to add a tiny smile if you like.

Part Four: The Ears (Make 2)

Each ear is made in two pieces — an outer ear in your main rat color, and a small inner ear in pink — then sewn together before attaching to the head.

Outer ear:
Round 1: MR, 6 sc. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st. (12 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc repeat 6 times. (18 sts)
Rounds 4–5: Sc around. (18 sts)
Fasten off.

Inner ear:
Round 1: MR, 5 sc. (5 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st. (10 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc repeat 5 times. (15 sts)
Fasten off.

Place the inner ear on top of the outer ear (pink side facing forward) and whipstitch around the edge to join them. Pinch the base of the ear slightly to give it a natural cupped shape before sewing it to the head. Attach ears to the top of the head, spaced a few stitches apart and positioned slightly toward the back.

Part Five: The Bobble Feet (Make 2)

Here’s where the fun begins. These feet are worked flat and then folded, so the bobbles pop out to form the toes.

Foundation chain: Ch 6, turn.
Row 1: Sc in the 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (5 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Bobble st, bobble st, bobble st, sc, sc. (3 bobbles at the toe end, 2 plain sc at the heel)
Row 3: Ch 1, turn. Sc across all sts. (5 sts)
Row 4: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (5 sts)

Fold the piece in half lengthwise with the bobbles on the outside. Whipstitch the two long edges together to form a small foot shape, stuffing lightly as you go. The bobbles should sit at one end as the toes, and the other end is the heel, which you’ll sew flat against the body.

Attach the feet to the underside of the body, positioned toward the lower third, angling them slightly outward for that classic rat sitting pose.

Part Six: The Front Paws (Make 2)

The front paws are simpler than the feet — just small rounded ovals.

Round 1: MR, 6 sc. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc in each st. (12 sts)
Rounds 3–5: Sc around. (12 sts)
Round 6: Dec 6 times. (6 sts)

Stuff lightly and close. Sew to the front sides of the body, just below where the head will attach, angled forward as if the rat is reaching out or sitting up.

Part Seven: The Tail

The tail is this pattern’s signature detail, and it’s one of the most satisfying pieces to make. You’ll work a long chain, then cover it with single crochets to give it a rounded, cord-like shape.

Foundation: Ch 40 (or more for a longer tail).
Row 1: Starting in the 2nd ch from hook, sc back along the entire chain.

Fasten off, leaving a long end for attachment. If you’d like a poseable tail, lay a pipe cleaner against the finished tail piece and whipstitch it closed around the pipe cleaner before attaching it to the body. Sew the tail to the back base of the body, then curl or drape it as you like.

For added realism, you can work the tail in segments — start with a slightly wider gauge at the base using a larger hook, then switch to a smaller hook and thinner yarn (or split your worsted yarn into plies) toward the tip. This creates that natural tapered look that real rat tails have.

Assembling Your Rat

Once all your pieces are complete, it’s time to put your rat together. Lay everything out before you start sewing so you can play with placement. Here’s the order that works best:

Start by sewing the head to the body. Use the long yarn tail from the head, and pin it in position first — you want the head to sit slightly forward on the body, not perfectly centered, which gives the rat a natural inquisitive posture. Ladder stitch around the entire base of the head, pulling firmly so there’s no gap between head and body.

Next, attach the snout if you haven’t already, then add any embroidery details to the face — the nose, mouth, and whiskers. For whiskers, thread a long piece of thin yarn or thread through the snout from one side to the other, leaving equal lengths on both sides. Tie a small knot at the center to hold it in place, trim to your preferred whisker length, and add one or two more passes for a full whisker set.

Sew on the ears, then the front paws, then the feet. Finally, attach the tail at the back base.

Tips for the Best Results

Working in the round without joining can cause your rounds to spiral slightly, which is completely normal for amigurumi. Use a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round to keep track of where you are.

For a truly plush, squishy result, stuff more firmly than you think you need to. Polyfill compresses over time, and a firmly stuffed amigurumi holds its shape much better than a loosely stuffed one.

If your bobble stitches are pulling to the wrong side, simply poke them forward with your finger or a blunt-tipped tool once the foot piece is assembled.

When sewing pieces together, take your time with pinning. A few minutes of careful placement before you sew saves you the frustration of unpicking seams.

Customization Ideas

One of the best things about this pattern is how endlessly customizable it is. A few simple tweaks completely change the character of your rat.

Try making your rat in pure white or pale cream with pink safety eyes for a sweet albino look. Use gray yarn with black safety eyes and a slightly darker gray for the inner ears for a realistic hooded rat. Tiny yarn details like a miniature scarf, a little felt bow, or even a crocheted piece of cheese in the front paws transform this simple rat into a fully realized character.

You can also scale the pattern up or down by changing your yarn weight and hook size. A chunky yarn with a 6mm hook creates a big, huggable floor rat, while fingering weight yarn and a 2mm hook yields a tiny, jewel-like miniature perfect for a keychain.

Sharing Your Finished Rat

If you make this pattern, I’d genuinely love to see your finished rat! Share your photos in crochet communities, tag your posts, and don’t be afraid to put your own spin on the design. Amigurumi is an art form as much as it’s a craft, and your version of this little rat will have its own personality that no pattern can fully dictate.

If you run into any trouble with a step or need clarification on a stitch count, drop a comment and I’ll do my best to help. Happy crocheting, and welcome to the slightly obsessive, enormously satisfying world of amigurumi rats.