Meet Barry: The Under the Bed Monster Who’s More Huggable Than Horrifying

There’s something wonderfully subversive about turning childhood’s most universal fear into something you can cuddle. That’s exactly what Allison Cleavertitle has done with her beloved crochet pattern, Barry the Under the Bed Monster. Whether you’re a seasoned crocheter looking for your next whimsical project or a nervous beginner wanting to try something genuinely fun, Barry has a way of worming his fuzzy little way into your heart — and your finished object pile.

This post is your complete guide to everything Barry: what makes this pattern so special, what to expect when you sit down to make him, tips for getting the best results, and why so many crafters keep coming back to stitch up another one (and another, and another).

Who Is Barry the Under the Bed Monster?

Barry is a crochet amigurumi monster pattern designed by Allison Cleavertitle, and he is, quite simply, one of the most charming creatures to ever emerge from beneath a bed. He’s got big googly eyes, a wide toothy grin, chunky little limbs, and just enough scruffiness to look the part of a proper monster — while being absolutely impossible to find threatening. He’s the kind of monster that would probably apologize if he accidentally bumped into you in the dark.

The concept behind Barry taps into something deeply nostalgic. Most of us grew up with some version of that prickling anxiety about what might be lurking under the bed. Allison takes that familiar childhood mythology and flips it completely on its head. Barry isn’t something to fear; he’s something to gift to the child in your life, or to keep on your own shelf as a reminder that monsters can be soft, ridiculous, and deeply lovable.

Why Crafters Love This Pattern

Allison Cleavertitle has built a reputation for writing patterns that are clear, well-structured, and genuinely enjoyable to follow, and Barry is a perfect example of her strengths as a designer. Here’s what sets this particular pattern apart from the sea of amigurumi available today.

The personality is built into the design. Barry doesn’t need elaborate embroidery or complicated finishing work to have a face full of character. His proportions — slightly oversized head, stubby arms, wide expressive mouth — do most of the heavy lifting. From the moment you assemble the first few pieces, he already looks like himself.

The pattern is thoughtfully written. Allison’s instructions are detailed without being overwhelming. She breaks the construction into logical sections, provides stitch counts at the end of each round so you can catch mistakes early, and includes helpful notes throughout that feel like having a knowledgeable friend sitting next to you while you work. For anyone who has ever been frustrated by cryptic pattern-writing, Barry is a refreshing experience.

He’s genuinely versatile in terms of yarn choices. While Allison provides guidance on the yarn she used for her original Barry, the design works beautifully in a wide range of weights and textures. A fluffy yarn gives him a truly monstrous texture that children go absolutely wild over. A smooth yarn in a bold color creates a cleaner, more graphic look. A variegated or self-striping yarn can give Barry an unexpected, almost tie-dyed quality that makes each one completely unique.

He’s the perfect gift. Barry hits a sweet spot that few handmade gifts manage: he’s funny enough for adults, adorable enough for children, and weird enough for teenagers to actually think he’s cool. He works as a baby shower gift, a birthday present, a holiday stocking stuffer for a crafty friend, or a “just because” gesture for someone who needs a smile.

What You’ll Need to Make Barry

Before you sit down with your hook and start stitching, it helps to gather your materials and get a sense of what the project actually involves.

For yarn, a worsted weight acrylic is the most commonly used choice for Barry, and it’s what most crafters recommend if you’re making him as a toy for a child. Acrylic is durable, machine washable, comes in every color imaginable, and holds its shape well after stuffing. That said, cotton yarn is a lovely option if you prefer a natural fiber, and some makers reach for a fluffy or chenille-style yarn to maximize the monster effect.

You’ll need a crochet hook in the size appropriate for your chosen yarn — typically a 3.5mm to 4.5mm hook for worsted weight, though you may want to size down slightly from what the yarn label recommends to create a tighter fabric that keeps the polyfill stuffing from showing through.

Polyfill stuffing is essential, and you’ll want to have a generous amount on hand. Barry has a fairly large head relative to his body, and getting that satisfying roundness requires good, even stuffing without lumps.

Safety eyes in a size that suits the scale of your Barry are part of what gives him that endearing, slightly bewildered expression. Black safety eyes in a 12mm or 15mm size are a popular choice, but you can experiment — slightly mismatched sizes, or different colors, can add quirk and individuality. If you’re making Barry for a child under three years old, you’ll want to embroider the eyes instead or use another safe alternative, since safety eyes can present a choking hazard for very young children.

You’ll also need a yarn needle for sewing pieces together and weaving in ends, scissors, and stitch markers to help you keep track of rounds if you’re working in the amigurumi style without joining.

Optional but lovely additions include wire armature if you want Barry’s arms to be poseable, fabric stiffener for any flat pieces, or felt for adding extra details to his teeth or claws.

Understanding the Construction

Barry is constructed in the classic amigurumi style, meaning he’s worked in continuous rounds of single crochet, with each body part made separately and then assembled at the end. If you’ve made any amigurumi before, you’ll feel immediately at home. If this is your first amigurumi, Barry is genuinely a good place to start — his shapes are relatively straightforward, and the slightly larger scale compared to, say, a tiny miniature food item gives you a bit more room to work comfortably.

The head is worked from the top down, gradually increasing to reach the widest point and then decreasing back in. Getting the increases and decreases symmetrical is key to a smooth, round head, and this is where that stitch count at the end of each round becomes your best friend. Take the time to count, especially during the increase and decrease sections, and you’ll be rewarded with a beautifully shaped head.

The body is smaller in proportion to the head, which contributes to Barry’s endearingly childlike silhouette. It’s worked similarly, with increases and decreases creating an oval shape.

The limbs — arms and legs — are simple tubes or cylinders with rounded ends, which are worked in rounds and stuffed lightly. Some crafters stuff the limbs very firmly for a more rigid look, while others prefer a softer, floppier limb that gives Barry more personality when he’s posed or handled. Both approaches work; it really comes down to personal preference.

The mouth is one of the most important elements of Barry’s personality, and Allison’s instructions for creating it are clear and satisfying to execute. Getting the mouth right — that wide, toothy grin that makes him look simultaneously menacing and delighted — is one of those moments in the pattern where the project really comes alive and starts looking like the Barry you’ve seen in photos.

Tips for Your Best Barry

Makers who have stitched up multiple Barrys over the years tend to share a handful of tips that can take your finished monster from good to genuinely great.

Work with a slightly smaller hook than recommended for your yarn. This tightens up the fabric and prevents the stuffing from peeking through, which can make a handmade amigurumi look less polished. A tighter fabric also gives your finished Barry a firmer, more sculptural quality.

Don’t rush the stuffing step. Add polyfill gradually as you go, especially for the head, rather than waiting until the end and trying to force it all in through a small opening. Stuffing a little at a time lets you check the shape as you work and avoid lumps.

Use a yarn needle to sew on pieces before you commit to the final position. Hold arms, legs, and ears in place with pins or just by hand to get a sense of placement before you start stitching. Barry’s personality shifts quite a bit depending on how high or low his arms are placed, how far apart his eyes sit, and how his mouth is angled. Taking a few minutes to play with placement before you sew is always worth it.

Consider using a locking stitch marker or a piece of contrasting yarn to mark the beginning of each round. Working in continuous rounds can become disorienting after a while, and losing track of where your round starts can throw off your stitch count in ways that are genuinely difficult to correct later.

If you’re using a fluffy or chenille yarn, be prepared for it to be harder to see your stitches. Working near a strong light source and using your fingers as much as your eyes helps. The finished result with a fluffy yarn is absolutely stunning, though, so the extra patience is rewarded.

Making Barry Your Own

One of the quiet joys of the Barry pattern is how much room it leaves for individual creativity while still turning out recognizably, unmistakably Barry. Crafters around the world have shared their versions, and the variety is delightful.

Color is the most obvious place to personalize. Classic monster green is always a winner, but hot pink Barrys, deep purple Barrys, electric blue Barrys, and even pastel lavender Barrys have all appeared in maker communities online. Each color gives Barry a slightly different personality — a neon orange Barry feels wildly mischievous, while a soft grey Barry has a certain melancholy dignity.

Some makers add accessories. Barry looks surprisingly dapper in a tiny crocheted bow tie. A little fabric cape transforms him into something vaguely vampiric. A knitted hat perched between his horns or on the top of his head adds an air of cozy absurdity. These additions are simple enough to improvise even without a specific pattern, and they make for a genuinely personalized finished object.

Varying the eye placement changes everything. Eyes placed close together give Barry an anxious, worried look. Eyes placed wide apart give him a more dopey, lovable quality. Eyes at slightly different heights give him a charmingly unhinged expression. The pattern suggests a placement that works beautifully, but don’t be afraid to experiment, especially once you’ve made your first Barry and want to try something different with the second.

Barry in the Wild: The Community Around This Pattern

One of the best things about a popular pattern is the community that forms around it, and Barry has attracted a genuinely lovely one. Head to any major fiber arts platform — Ravelry, Instagram, Pinterest, or the relevant Facebook groups for amigurumi makers — and you’ll find a rich collection of finished Barrys that will simultaneously inspire you and make you want to cast on immediately.

Makers share their yarn choices, their tips for the trickier sections, photos of the children (or adults) who received their Barry as a gift and immediately fell in love with him, and pictures of their own personal Barry armies — those shelves or baskets full of multiple completed monsters in every color combination imaginable. It is, frankly, a very wholesome corner of the internet.

If you get stuck on a section of the pattern, the community is also a fantastic resource. Allison’s patterns tend to attract experienced makers who are genuinely happy to help, and a quick search will often surface a discussion thread or tutorial post that addresses exactly the issue you’re encountering.

Who Is This Pattern Best Suited For?

Barry is often described as an intermediate-beginner pattern, which puts it in a wonderfully accessible spot. If you know how to single crochet, work in the round, increase, decrease, and sew pieces together, you have the skills you need. There’s no advanced stitch work, no colorwork, no complex shaping that requires significant experience to execute.

Absolute beginners who have never made an amigurumi before might find the assembly step — sewing all the pieces together so they look balanced and intentional — a bit challenging, but the pattern provides enough guidance that it’s very manageable with patience. And the beauty of a monster pattern is that a slightly imperfect seam or an ear that sits a little crookedly just adds to Barry’s character. He’s a monster, after all. Perfect symmetry would almost be out of character for him.

For more experienced makers, Barry is a satisfying quick make that doesn’t demand a huge time investment but delivers an enormously gratifying finished object. He’s the kind of project that’s perfect for an afternoon, or for a few focused evenings if you’re working around a busier schedule.

Where to Find the Pattern

The Barry the Under the Bed Monster pattern by Allison Cleavertitle is available through the usual channels for independent crochet designers. A quick search of her name and pattern title will point you toward her shop or the platforms where she sells her designs. Many crafters recommend purchasing directly from the designer whenever possible, as it ensures you’re getting the most current version of the pattern and directly supports the person whose creativity brought Barry into the world.

Once you have the pattern, set aside a little time to read through it completely before you begin. This is good practice with any new pattern, but especially with amigurumi, where understanding the construction sequence from the start helps you make smart decisions about when to add safety eyes (always before you close up a piece and lose access to the inside) and how to plan your assembly.

Final Thoughts

Barry the Under the Bed Monster is one of those patterns that earns its place in your permanent collection — not because it’s technically dazzling or wildly complex, but because it’s joyful. Allison Cleavertitle has created something that captures a very specific kind of magic: the transformation of something a little scary into something entirely lovable. Working through the pattern, you get to participate in that transformation stitch by stitch, and the moment you stuff that last piece, sew on those eyes, and hold up your finished Barry for the first time, you’ll understand exactly why so many crafters have made him not once but a dozen times over.

Whether you’re making him for a child who needs a companion to protect them from things that go bump in the night, or for an adult who appreciates the particular pleasure of a well-made whimsical object, or simply for yourself because you deserve something that will make you smile every time you glance at your shelf — Barry is always a good idea.

Now go find your yarn. There’s a monster under the bed, and he needs you to bring him to life.