Crochet Monkey Car Charm Pattern Free Amigurumi

Hanging from a rearview mirror, the crochet monkey car charm holds its pose thanks to optional craft wire inside the limbs and tail. Ten pieces in tan and brown sport or DK yarn, plus a scarf in any contrast colour, build a monkey of 5 to 7 inches.

That blue scarf and the stitched brows are what make this crochet monkey car charm worth keeping on your keys. Small. Solid. Finished in an evening. It suits makers who want a quick result they will actually use rather than display.

Crochet Monkey Car Charm

Round ears frame a wide, cream-coloured face panel on this monkey, with stitched brow lines and a small nose mark giving it plenty of expression without safety eyes doing all the work. The body is compact, the arms and legs short and rounded at the ends, and a blue scarf sits at the neck as a contrast detail. Parts include the head, body, arms, legs, ears and scarf, all worked separately. Metal keyring hardware attaches at the top. The build is straightforward across every section, making this one of the more manageable charm projects with no single part that requires advanced shaping.

Why I love this one: the helmet shaping in Rounds 16 and 17 uses a mix of dc, hdc and tr that fans outward at three points to create a ridged brim, and there is no equivalent shortcut. It looks involved and it is genuinely quick once you understand that the tall stitches are just landmarks.

What You Will Need

Amounts are estimated.

• Skin colour yarn in beige or tan, roughly 30 to 40 g estimated, for the head, arm paws and leg upper sections
• Brown yarn, roughly 40 to 50 g estimated, for the body, arms and helmet
• A crochet hook suited to your yarn
• Fiberfill stuffing
• Stitch markers
• Soft craft wire for poseable limbs and tail, optional
• Safety eyes, size suited to your yarn weight
• A key ring or lanyard for attachment
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors

Finished height is estimated at roughly 5 to 7 inches without the tail dangling, at sport or DK weight. Allow 4 to 6 hours for the full make.

Pieces List

• Head, make 1 in skin colour
• Helmet, make 1 in brown
• Arms, make 2, skin colour paw into brown sleeve
• Legs, make 2, joined into body
• Body, continuing from legs
• Tail, make 1 with optional wire
• Ears, make 2 in skin colour and brown
• Scarf, make 1 in any contrast colour

Ten components total.

Safety Eye Timing

• The pattern places the safety eyes between Rounds 10 and 12 of the head, before closing. That window is correct and the timing matters. Round 10 begins the straight section at 54 stitches with the opening still fully accessible. By Round 18 the head starts decreasing and by Round 22 the opening is too narrow for a washer.
• Do not wait for the assembly step. The pattern also says in assembly to attach safety eyes if not inserted earlier, but by that point the head is closed, stuffed and sewn to the body. Eyes cannot be added after closing. Place them between Rounds 10 and 12 as the head construction specifies.
• For any charm going to a child under three years old, skip safety eyes and embroider the eyes with black yarn. Anchor every end inside the head and tug firmly before the head is closed.

Abbreviations

• sc, single crochet
• inc, increase, meaning two single crochet in the same stitch
• dec, decrease
• hdc, half double crochet
• dc, double crochet
• tr, treble crochet
• MR, magic ring
• R, round

The Pattern

Head in Skin Colour

• R1: make a magic ring and work 6 sc (6)
• R2: work 6 inc around (12)
• R3: work 1 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (18)
• R4: work 2 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (24)
• R5: work 3 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (30). By Round 5 the head should still lie nearly flat, like a coaster just starting to lift at the edge
• R6: work 4 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (36)
• R7: work 5 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (42)
• R8: work 6 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (48)
• R9: work 7 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (54). By Round 9 the piece should be a clear open bowl, wide and deep, definitely no longer flat
• R10 to R17: sc in each stitch around (54). By Round 14 the head should look like an open dome, taller than the bowl at Round 9, with straight walls rising from the widest point. Insert safety eyes between Rounds 10 and 12 while the opening is still fully accessible
• R18: work 7 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (48)
• R19: work 6 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (42)
• R20: work 5 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (36)
• R21: work 4 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (30). Begin stuffing the head firmly at this point while the opening is still wide enough to pack properly
• R22: work 3 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (24)
• R23: work 2 sc then 1 dec, repeat 6 times (18)
• Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing the head to the body

Helmet in Brown

• R1 to R15: follow the same increase pattern as the head, adding 6 stitches per round from a 6 sc magic ring start, until reaching 54 stitches. By Round 9 the helmet should look the same as the head at that stage. By Round 15 it is a deep wide open bowl
• R16: work 13 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc in next stitch, 2 hdc, 7 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc in next stitch, 2 hdc, 7 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc in next stitch, 2 hdc, 12 sc. The three dc clusters create the raised brim bumps evenly around the helmet edge
• R17: work 13 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc then 1 tr then 1 dc in next stitch, 3 hdc, 7 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc then 1 tr then 1 dc in next stitch, 3 hdc, 7 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc then 1 tr then 1 dc in next stitch, 3 hdc, 12 sc. The tr stitches push the brim peak taller at each of the three points, giving the helmet its ridged shape
• Fasten off
• Set aside to fit over the finished stuffed head

If you're new to crocheting toys, the video tutorial below shows you exactly what each round should look like, you've got this!

Arms, Make 2

• R1: make a magic ring in skin colour yarn and work 7 sc (7)
• R2: sc in each stitch around (7). The paw section should be a very small open tube
• Switch to brown yarn
• R3: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R4: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R5: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R6: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R7: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R8: sc in each stitch around (7)
• R9: sc in each stitch around (7). The finished arm is a two colour tube, skin at the paw end and brown along the sleeve
• Insert soft wire if you want poseable arms
• Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing

Legs, Make 2

• R1: make a magic ring and work 6 sc (6)
• R2: work 6 inc around (12)
• R3: sc in each stitch around (12)
• R4: work 1 sc then 1 inc, repeat 6 times (18). The leg at Round 4 should be a short open cup, wider than the arm tubes
• Switch to brown yarn
• Fasten off the first leg. Do not cut yarn on the second leg
• Join both legs with a slip stitch

Body, Joining from Legs

• R5 is not labelled in the pattern. The join round creates 36 stitches across both legs. R6 below begins from that joined total
• R6 to R10: sc in each stitch around (36). By Round 8 the body should read as a solid cylinder sitting on top of the two joined legs
• Stuff the legs with fiberfill through the open body top before the upper body closes in
• R11: work 4 sc then 1 dec, repeat around (30)
• R12: work 3 sc then 1 dec, repeat around (24)
• R13: work 2 sc then 1 dec, repeat around (18)
• Continue decreasing gradually until 18 stitches remain
• Stuff the body firmly before closing
• Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing the head on

Tail

• Make a magic ring and work 6 sc (6)
• R2 to R20: sc in each stitch around (6). The tail is a very long narrow tube, roughly three times the height of the body
• Insert soft wire inside if you want a poseable tail
• Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing

Ears, Make 2

• Make a small circle in skin colour: magic ring and work 6 sc (6)
• Make a slightly larger circle in brown: magic ring, 6 inc around (12)
• Sew or glue the smaller skin colour circle onto the larger brown circle, centred
• Leave a tail for attaching to the head

Scarf

• Ch 81
• Work 80 sc back across the chain (80)
• Fasten off. The scarf is a long flat strip, just wide enough to wrap once around the neck with a tail hanging at each end

Assembly

• Sew the head to the body first, using the long tail from the head and working around the full 18 stitch opening.
• Fit the helmet over the stuffed head from above. It should slip over easily since it was worked to the same dimensions as the head through Round 15. If it does not fit, check that the head was stuffed before fasten off rather than after.
• Sew the helmet to the head by catching both layers around the base of the helmet.
• Sew both ears to the sides of the head below the helmet line, pinning first to confirm they sit evenly.
• Pin both arms to the sides of the body before sewing. Arms at slightly different heights look immediately wrong. Sew through the open arm top into the body with several passes.
• Sew the tail to the back of the body at the base.
• Wrap the scarf around the neck and tuck or tie the ends.
• Embroider the T shaped mouth and eyebrows with black yarn.
• Attach the key ring or lanyard securely through the topmost stitch of the helmet, passing the attachment yarn or thread through the ring at least three times before anchoring inside.

Stuffing Guide

• Head: firm and packed before R22 closes in. A soft head will not hold the helmet correctly.
• Body: firm. The legs and arms all hang from the body and a soft torso tips with their weight.
• Legs: stuff through the open body before the body narrows at R11.
• Arms: the pattern does not specify stuffing. Light stuffing or none at all lets the arms dangle naturally, which is what you want on a hanging charm.
• Tail: no stuffing, or a thin wire for posing. An unstuffed tail drapes, which usually looks better than a rigid one.

FAQ

• The helmet does not sit straight on the head. How do I fix it? The helmet brim in Rounds 16 and 17 has three raised points and those points should be evenly spaced around the front, sides and back. Check that you started Round 16 at the right position before the first sc group. Rotating the helmet to a better position before sewing takes ten seconds and saves a lot of frustration.
• Can I skip the soft wire in the limbs? Yes. The wire is optional for posing. Without it the arms and tail dangle freely, which looks natural on a hanging charm. The legs do not need wire since they are mostly hidden by the body.
• The scarf is 81 chains and 80 sc. Why the extra chain? The first chain acts as a turning chain and does not count as a stitch. The 80 sc are worked across the remaining 80 chains. This gives you a clean strip exactly 80 stitches long with tidy edges at both ends.
• How do I make the key ring attachment hold long term? Pass the attachment yarn through the key ring three or four times, then run the tail back through the top of the helmet several stitches in different directions before trimming. On a hanging charm that gets moved every time someone enters the car, a single-pass attachment will fail within a month.