Mammoths need the trunk to drop below the eyes before the tusks curve outward. This woolly mammoth amigurumi pattern builds that front-heavy face with chunky tan yarn, cream tusks, 15 mm safety eyes, and a shaggy cap. The finished toy is sized around 18 cm, with an intermediate skill level. Make it when a plain elephant pattern would miss the Ice Age silhouette.
The Design: What Makes This Mammoth Different
You are shaping a mammoth, not an elephant with tusks. The trunk needs a long vertical line, so the head uses a 42-stitch plateau and the trunk is sewn low between the eyes. That keeps the face heavy without pulling the head forward. The ears are round and cupped instead of wide and flat, because a woolly mammoth crochet pattern should read compact, cold-climate, and plush. The maker should also treat the hair as structure, not trim. The shaggy cap hides the crown seam and creates the forehead mass visible in the photo. A common error in a crochet woolly mammoth toy is placing tusks too high. Tusks belong beside the lower trunk, not beside the eyes.
Project Info at a Glance
| Skill Level | Time | Finished Size | Hook | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | Few hours to one day | 18–20 cm sitting height | 4.0–5.5 mm | Shaggy sitting mammoth toy |
Published mammoth patterns list intermediate skill, finished sizes from 18 cm to about 20.3 cm, and hooks from 4.0 mm to 5.5 mm depending on yarn type.
Materials and Tools
Yarn
- Warm tan / caramel brown yarn — Weight 5 bulky chenille or velvet — 130 g — Himalaya Dolphin Baby, Scheepjes Sweetheart Soft, or similar.
- Cream yarn — Weight 5 bulky chenille or matching worsted held firm — 15–20 g — for tusks and small toe pads.
- Light tan yarn — Weight 5 bulky chenille — 8–10 g — for toe patches if not using cream.
- Pink yarn or embroidery floss — DK or floss — 2 g — for cheek patches.
- Darker tan or brown acrylic yarn — DK or worsted — 10 g — for the shaggy hair strands.
Bulky chenille mammoth listings commonly use 130 g of main dark beige yarn, while other woolly mammoth patterns list teddy yarn, DK, worsted, and cream accents.
Tools
- Hook 4.0 mm for dense bulky chenille fabric, or 5.5 mm if using teddy yarn with tighter personal tension.
- 15–16 mm safety eyes.
- Polyester stuffing.
- Yarn needle.
- Stitch markers.
- Straight pins.
- Scissors.
- Dog slicker brush or comb for roughing up hair and tail fibers.
Abbreviations
MR = magic ring; sc = single crochet; inc = 2 sc in one stitch; dec = single crochet decrease; sl st = slip stitch; ch = chain; BLO = back loop only; FO = fasten off.
Invisible decrease is worked through the front loops of the next 2 stitches before completing one sc, which reduces holes on stuffed chenille parts.
Pattern — Step by Step
Continuous spiral unless noted. Place a marker in the first stitch of every round.
Head
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R5: [sc 3, inc] ×6 (30)
R6: [sc 4, inc] ×6 (36)
R7: [sc 5, inc] ×6 (42)
R8–R14: sc around (42)
R15: [sc 5, dec] ×6 (36)
R16: [sc 4, dec] ×6 (30)
R17: [sc 3, dec] ×6 (24)
R18: [sc 2, dec] ×6 (18)
R19: [sc 1, dec] ×6 (12)
R20: dec ×6 (6)
Place safety eyes between R11 and R12, about 9 stitches apart, before closing. Stuff firmly at R17 and refill before R20.
Fasten off. Leave a 20 cm tail and close the remaining hole.
Body
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R5: [sc 3, inc] ×6 (30)
R6: [sc 4, inc] ×6 (36)
R7: [sc 5, inc] ×6 (42)
R8–R13: sc around (42)
R14: [sc 5, dec] ×6 (36)
R15: sc around (36)
R16: [sc 4, dec] ×6 (30)
R17: [sc 3, dec] ×6 (24)
R18: [sc 2, dec] ×6 (18)
R19: [sc 1, dec] ×6 (12)
R20: dec ×6 (6)
Stuff the lower body more firmly than the neck edge so the toy sits without rolling backward.
Fasten off. Leave a 25 cm tail for sewing to the head.
Front Legs / Arms — Make 2
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4–R7: sc around (18)
R8: [sc 1, dec] ×6 (12)
R9: sc around (12)
R10: dec ×6 (6)
Stuff only the lower two-thirds. Leave the top softer so it can flatten against the body front.
Fasten off. Leave a 20 cm tail.
Back Legs — Make 2
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R5–R8: sc around (24)
R9: [sc 2, dec] ×6 (18)
R10: [sc 1, dec] ×6 (12)
R11: dec ×6 (6)
Stuff firmly at the front of each foot and lightly at the back. This creates the squat sitting stance.
Fasten off. Leave a 25 cm tail.
Ears — Make 2
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R5: [sc 3, inc] ×6 (30)
R6–R7: sc around (30)
Do not stuff. Flatten each ear, fold the lower edge inward by about 1 cm, and pin before sewing.
Fasten off. Leave a 30 cm tail.
Trunk
Yarn: warm tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3–R5: sc around (12)
R6: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R7–R13: sc around (18)
R14: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R15–R16: sc around (24)
Stuff the tip firmly, then taper stuffing toward the open base. Bend the trunk slightly left or right before sewing for a natural drop.
Fasten off. Leave a 35 cm tail.
Tusks — Make 2
Yarn: cream — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2–R4: sc around (6)
R5: inc ×6 (12)
R6–R9: sc around (12)
Stuff lightly. Curve each tusk upward while sewing by catching the inner curve tighter than the outer curve.
Fasten off. Leave a 25 cm tail.
Cheek Patches — Make 2
Yarn: blush pink — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
Sl st to first stitch (12)
Keep these flat. Do not stuff.
Fasten off. Leave a 15 cm tail.
Toe Pads — Make 12
Yarn: cream or light tan — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
Sl st to first stitch (6)
Make three pads for each visible foot. Pull the center tight so the pad stays round after sewing.
Fasten off. Leave a 10 cm tail on each pad.
Shaggy Hair Cap
Yarn: darker tan or brown — Source: Standard amigurumi math and photo proportions.
R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
R2: inc ×6 (12)
R3: [sc 1, inc] ×6 (18)
R4: [sc 2, inc] ×6 (24)
R5: [sc 3, inc] ×6 (30)
R6: [sc 4, inc] ×6 (36)
Cut 35–45 yarn strands, each 10–12 cm long. Attach them across the cap with lark’s-head knots, working from the crown forward. Trim the front fringe to stop just above the eyes.
Fasten off. Leave a 30 cm tail for sewing.
Tail
Yarn: warm tan plus darker tan strand — Source: Standard amigurumi math.
R1: ch 8, starting in second ch from hook, sl st 7 (7)
Tie two short darker strands to the tail tip and brush them lightly.
Fasten off. Leave a 15 cm tail.
Assembly
- Sew the body to the lower back of the head, centering the body seam under the chin.
- Pin the trunk between the eyes and down the face, with the base covering roughly 6 rounds of the head.
- Sew the trunk in place, adding small stuffing pieces at the base before the final stitches.
- Place the tusks at the lower sides of the trunk, with the tips curving upward and outward.
- Sew the ears to each side of the head from about R9 to R15, cupping the lower edge forward.
- Attach the front legs to the body front, angled slightly outward so the trunk hangs between them.
- Sew the back legs to the lower side body, keeping both feet flat on the table.
- Attach three toe pads to each foot, spacing each pad 2–3 mm apart.
- Sew cheek patches beside the trunk, below the eyes and above the tusk base.
- Stitch the hair cap to the crown, add the tail to the back body, then weave in all ends.
The finished mammoth has a seated body, centered trunk, visible tusks, round ears, blush cheeks, toe pads, and a shaggy forehead.
7 Technical Tips
- Stitch marker failure mode: round drift on the trunk. Move the marker every round because a shifted marker will twist the 24-stitch trunk base and make the trunk lean.
- Stuffing firmness measurement: head at 80%, trunk at 60%. Overstuffing the trunk base makes it bulge between the eyes, while under-stuffing the head lets the safety eyes sink.
- Invisible decrease failure mode: chenille gaps. Use front-loop invisible decreases on R15–R20 of the head and body so white stuffing does not show through tan yarn.
- Eye placement timing: install before R18 of the head. After R18, the opening is too small for 15–16 mm washers unless the stuffing is removed.
- Velvet tension failure mode: oversized holes near increases. Keep the 4.0 mm hook for bulky chenille even if the yarn label suggests a larger hook.
- Pinning measurement: tusks must sit below the eye line by at least 3 rounds. High tusks change the face into an elephant profile instead of a mammoth profile.
- Tail weaving failure mode: short chenille ends slipping out. Weave each tail through at least 4 cm of fabric, then split the strand path in a different direction before trimming.
Conclusion
This pattern works because the mammoth features are separated into readable construction zones: rounded head, low trunk, curved tusks, cupped ears, cheek patches, toe pads, and shaggy hair. Sew the face first, then check the sitting balance before attaching the back legs. The next concrete step is to cut the hair strands before assembly so the cap can be tested against the eyes and trunk. Share the finished toy on Pinterest and Instagram with #WoollyMammothAmigurumi. For this woolly mammoth amigurumi pattern, would you trim the fringe above both eyes, or leave one side longer like the photo?
