Adorable Crochet Sushi Cats: Free Pattern – Chubbies by Ash

If you’ve ever scrolled through a craft fair, an Etsy shop, or even a cozy corner of Pinterest and spotted a tiny chubby cat wrapped in a strip of nori with a little piece of rice and fish on its head, you already know the kind of pure, unfiltered joy that sushi cats bring into the world. These little amigurumi creations sit at the perfect intersection of two things that the internet has loved unconditionally for decades: cats and sushi. And today, Chubbies by Ash is bringing you a completely free crochet pattern so you can make your very own sushi cat family right at home.

Whether you’re a seasoned amigurumi crocheter who has a shelf full of finished projects, or you’re a confident beginner who has mastered the magic ring and basic single crochet and is ready for your first character project, this pattern is designed to be approachable, fun, and deeply satisfying to complete. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a squishy, chubby little sushi cat that fits in the palm of your hand and looks like it belongs on a shelf between a succulent and a stack of Studio Ghibli Blu-rays.

Let’s get into everything: materials, abbreviations, tips, and the full pattern.

Why Sushi Cats?

Before we dive into yarn weights and hook sizes, let’s take a moment to appreciate the concept itself. The sushi cat — or “neko sushi” — is a whimsical mashup that originated in Japanese internet culture, imagining cats as if they were pieces of nigiri sushi. The idea is as simple as it is charming: a round, chubby little cat sitting serenely inside a band of dark nori seaweed with a colorful topping on its head, like a little salmon slice or a bright orange ikura (roe) cluster.

What makes these so perfect for amigurumi? Everything. The round, compact shape is ideal for crochet construction. The limited color palette — creamy white for the rice, black for the nori, and whatever fun colors you choose for the topping — keeps the project manageable. And the face, with its tiny sleepy or blissful expression, gives you full creative freedom to make each one feel unique.

These also make incredible gifts. They’re small enough to tuck into a card or a small gift bag, they’re universally adored by cat lovers and sushi enthusiasts alike, and they photograph beautifully for social media. Whether you’re making one for yourself, a friend’s birthday, or a craft fair table, sushi cats are endlessly popular.

Materials You’ll Need

One of the things that makes this project so accessible is that the materials list is short and inexpensive. You likely already have most of what you need in your stash.

Yarn: You’ll want a lightweight yarn, ideally worsted weight (size 4) for a finished sushi cat that sits at roughly 3 to 4 inches tall. You can also use sport or DK weight for a smaller version, or bulky weight if you want a big squishy one. The colors you’ll need are white or cream for the rice body, black or very dark charcoal for the nori band, and then whatever color you’d like for the fish or topping. Salmon pink, orange, tuna pink-red, yellow for egg, and bright green for avocado are all popular choices.

Hook: A 3.5mm or 4mm crochet hook pairs well with worsted weight yarn for amigurumi. You want your stitches tight enough that the stuffing won’t show through, so go a size down from what your yarn label recommends.

Stuffing: Polyfill stuffing works perfectly. You don’t need a lot — just enough to give your sushi cat that satisfying chubby firmness.

Safety eyes: 6mm or 8mm black safety eyes are ideal for this project. If you’re making these for very young children, embroider the eyes with black yarn instead for safety.

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

Stitch markers: These are your best friends in amigurumi. Use them to mark the beginning of each round so you don’t lose your place.

Scissors: The obvious.

Optional but wonderful: a tiny piece of wire or cardboard can be tucked inside the nori band to help it hold its shape, though with tight enough crochet it typically isn’t necessary.

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

This pattern is written in US crochet terms.

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 front loops of the next two stitches and single crochet them together)
BLO — back loop only
FLO — front loop only
st — stitch
rnd — round
( ) x — repeat what’s inside the parentheses the number of times indicated

Pattern Notes Before You Begin

Amigurumi is worked in continuous rounds, meaning you do not join at the end of each round and chain up. You simply keep going in a spiral. This is why stitch markers are so important — place one at the start of each round and move it up as you go.

The pieces of this sushi cat are the main body (which doubles as both the rice mound and the cat), the nori band (worked separately and sewn on), and the topping (a small flat oval). The cat’s face details — ears, paws, and expression — are either worked directly into the main body or added on.

Take your time with the face. The expression is everything. A few careful stitches make the difference between a sushi cat that looks serene and one that looks confused.

The Free Pattern

Part One: The Body (White or Cream Yarn)

The body of your sushi cat is a slightly flattened sphere. You’re going to start from the bottom and work upward, increasing to the widest point and then decreasing toward the top.

Round 1: MR, 6 sc into ring. (6 sts)

Round 2: inc in each st around. (12 sts)

Round 3: (sc 1, inc) x 6. (18 sts)

Round 4: (sc 2, inc) x 6. (24 sts)

Round 5: (sc 3, inc) x 6. (30 sts)

Round 6: (sc 4, inc) x 6. (36 sts)

Round 7: sc around. (36 sts)

Round 8: sc around. (36 sts)

Round 9: sc around. (36 sts)

Round 10: (sc 4, dec) x 6. (30 sts)

Insert safety eyes between rounds 7 and 8, approximately 8 stitches apart (or wherever looks balanced for your size). If embroidering, you’ll add these later.

Round 11: (sc 3, dec) x 6. (24 sts)

Begin stuffing your body firmly at this point. Add more as you continue closing.

Round 12: (sc 2, dec) x 6. (18 sts)

Round 13: (sc 1, dec) x 6. (12 sts)

Round 14: dec x 6. (6 sts)

Fasten off and leave a long tail. Use your yarn needle to close the remaining hole by weaving through the front loops of all 6 remaining stitches and pulling tight. Weave in the end.

Part Two: The Ears (White or Cream Yarn, Make Two)

These are tiny and worked flat.

Row 1: MR, 3 sc into ring. Do not join. Turn.

Row 2: inc, sc 1, inc. (5 sts)

Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.

Pinch the base of the triangle together slightly to give it a more ear-like shape before sewing it onto the top of the body. Position the ears at roughly 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock on the top of the head, slightly toward the front. Sew down securely.

Part Three: The Nori Band (Black or Dark Charcoal Yarn)

This is the defining feature of your sushi cat — the dark strip that wraps around the middle of the body like a belt of nori seaweed.

Round 1: ch 36, join with sl st to form a ring, being careful not to twist. (36 ch)

Round 2: ch 1, sc in each ch around, join. (36 sts)

Round 3: ch 1, sc in each st around, join. (36 sts)

Round 4: ch 1, sc in each st around, join. (36 sts)

Fasten off and leave a long tail. This will give you a flat band about 4 rows tall. Slide it over the body of your sushi cat and position it around the middle, like the band of a nigiri piece. Use your yarn needle to tack it in place at several points around the body so it sits flat and doesn’t slide. You can also sew along the top and bottom edges for a very clean finish.

Alternative method: If you find the band approach fiddly, you can crochet the nori strip flat and then sew the two short ends together to form a ring before attaching it to the body. Some people find this easier to control.

Part Four: The Topping (Color of Your Choice)

The topping is a flat oval that sits on top of your sushi cat’s head, between the ears, representing the fish or other ingredient on the nigiri.

Round 1: ch 4.

Round 2: Starting in the second ch from hook: sc 2, 3 sc in last ch. Working back along the other side of the chain: sc 1, inc in first ch. (8 sts)

Round 3: inc, sc 2, inc x 3, sc 1, inc x 2. (14 sts)

Sl st to join and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

This gives you a small, flat oval that mimics the look of a fish topping. Position it on the very top of the head, between the ears, and sew it down securely. If you want a thicker, more raised topping (great for salmon or tuna), you can stuff this piece lightly before closing it off and sewing it on.

Part Five: The Face

The face is where your sushi cat’s personality comes alive. Here are some options:

Sleepy or blissful expression: Use black thread or very thin black yarn. Embroider two small curved lines (like upside-down “u” shapes or very gentle arcs) beneath each eye for a closed, content expression. Add a tiny “w” or “ω” shape for the mouth between and slightly below the eyes for maximum cuteness.

Little paws: With white yarn, embroider or sew on two small oval shapes at the front bottom of the body, just above the nori band, to suggest the front paws tucked underneath. You can also add tiny black stitch lines across each oval for toe beans.

Blush marks: Use a pink or peach yarn and make two or three small stitches on each cheek in a horizontal cluster for adorable rosy cheeks.

Tail: Optionally, crochet a small simple tail by chaining 6, then sc back along the chain, and sew it to the back of the body just above the nori band. Curl it slightly before sewing for a natural look.

Color Combinations and Topping Ideas

Half the fun of making a sushi cat collection is choosing different topping colors to represent different types of sushi. Here are some popular combinations to inspire you:

Salmon nigiri uses a peachy-orange color for the topping against a white body and black nori — it’s probably the most classic and recognizable combination. Tuna goes with a deeper pinkish-red, while yellowtail can be done in a pale golden yellow. Egg (tamago) nigiri uses a sunny yellow topping and often features a little strip of nori “tied” around it, which you can embroider on with black thread. Avocado rolls call for a bright medium green. For something more fanciful, try a spicy mayo look with a creamy yellow-orange, or go wild with a rainbow topping using multiple colors of yarn worked in stripes.

You can also change the body color slightly — a very pale yellow instead of white suggests an egg topping from the body color alone, while a slightly warm cream reads as a freshly-made rice mound. These tiny details make each one feel special and handcrafted.

Tips for Amigurumi Success

If you’re newer to amigurumi, a few things will make your experience much smoother and more enjoyable.

Always work with a tighter tension than you would for garments or blankets. The goal is stitches so close together that no stuffing can peek through. If you can see daylight through your work when you hold it up, go down a hook size.

Invisible decreases are your friend. The standard decrease in amigurumi leaves a visible “bump” on the surface of your work. The invisible decrease, where you insert the hook through only the front loops of the next two stitches before completing the single crochet, lies flat and produces a much cleaner, more professional finish. It takes a little practice but becomes second nature quickly.

Don’t overstuff or understuff. You want your sushi cat to feel firm but not stretched tight. If the stitches are pulling apart and you can see the stuffing, take some out. If the piece feels floppy or flat, add more.

Use locking stitch markers rather than loops of yarn for marking rounds. They’re easier to move up as you go and harder to accidentally lose in your work.

When sewing pieces together, use the same yarn as the piece you’re attaching whenever possible. This makes your join points nearly invisible.

Caring for Your Sushi Cats

These little guys are surprisingly durable once finished, but they do require some care. Hand washing in cool water with mild soap is the safest approach. Gently squeeze out excess water without wringing, reshape while damp, and lay flat to dry. If you’ve used safety eyes, avoid machine washing entirely, as the heat and agitation can loosen them over time. For display pieces, you likely won’t be washing them often — a gentle shake or a soft brush with a lint roller keeps them looking their best.

Sharing Your Makes

If you make a sushi cat using this Chubbies by Ash free pattern, please share your creation! Tag your photos so the community can celebrate with you. Seeing the variety of colorways, topping choices, and facial expressions that different makers bring to the same pattern is one of the most joyful parts of the amigurumi world. Every maker’s tension, color choices, and embroidery style results in a slightly different personality, and that’s exactly what makes handmade objects so special.

No two sushi cats will ever be identical, which means yours is already one of a kind.

A Note from Chubbies by Ash

This pattern is offered completely free for personal use. You’re welcome to make and sell finished sushi cats using this pattern — all I ask is that you credit Chubbies by Ash as the pattern designer. Please don’t redistribute or sell the pattern itself. If you’d like to share it, link back to the original post so others can find it here.

Happy crocheting, and may your stitch markers always stay in place. Now go make yourself a little bowl of sushi cats — you’ve absolutely earned it.