Giant Tardigrade (Water Bear) crochet pattern

By Andro Meda on Ravelry

Materials & Methods

Yarn: 1 full skein (200-220 yds) of super bulky (#6) weight Bernat Blanket (or Baby Blanket)
yarn. If you want the mouth and claws to be in a different color as I did, you will also
need scraps (probably less than 8-10 yds) of a secondary color of the same yarn.
Hook: 8.0 mm (or whatever size you need to get a nice, tight gauge suitable for amigurumi).
Other materials needed:
- Tapestry needle (must be big enough to use with super bulky yarn!)
- 2 safety eyes – I used 12 mm size. Alternately, eyes can be made with buttons, felt, etc.
o (yes, as I was surprised to learn, most tardigrade species have eyes!)
- Scissors
- Polyester stuffing
- Stitch markers (or safety pins, yarn scraps… anything to mark stitches)
Gauge & size: This is amigurumi, so exact gauge does not matter as long as it’s tight. My
tardigrades were roughly 16-18 inches (40-45 cm) long from end to end.
Stitches used:
- Magic ring
- Working in front or back loop only
- Chain (ch)
- Slip stitch (sl st)
- Single crochet (sc)
- Increase (inc) – a.k.a. “2 sc in one stitch”
- Decrease (dec) – a.k.a. “sc 2 together” – I like to use the invisible decrease method, but
regular decreases work too.
- Half-double crochet (hdc)
Construction: The tardigrade is worked top-down, starting with the mouth. The 8 legs are
made separately and seamed on. The details (claws and mouth) in the secondary color
are done last.
Working in the round:
You will be working in the round, but NOT in a spiral! Instead, it is made by joining in
the round, starting in the same st as the sl st join. That means that every round starts
with ch 1 and ends with a sl st into the 1st stitch of the round.
If you’re not sure what that means, here is a detailed description. This is the 2nd method
described on that page, “Joining in the round: Starting in the same stitch as the sl st
join.”
The ch 1 at the start of each round, and slip stitch at the end, do not count toward the
stitch count for that round. When crocheting the next round, no stitches will be worked
in the previous round’s slip stitch join.
If you make the slip stitches tight, the bulky yarn hides the join fairly well, as long as you
keep it on the tardigrade’s underside. I used woven-in tails to hide it further. If you’re
concerned about it, this invisible slip stitch join method would probably work but I
haven’t personally tried it with this pattern to confirm.

Instructions:
We’ll start with the head, working in the main color.
R1. Sc 9 in a magic ring and pull it tight. Sl st to join to the 1st sc. *Place a stitch marker in
the back loop of the 1st sc of this round. [9 sc]
Note: if you’re left with a small hole in the middle of the magic ring, close it when you’re securing yarn
tails in the next few rows. Just sew a couple stitches across it on the inside (wrong side) of the tardigrade.
Now we’re going to make the mouth.
R2. Ch 1. Working in the front loop only, hdc in every stitch around and join with a sl st to
the 1st hdc. [9 hdc]
Cut the yarn and fasten off at this point. For Round 3, start again using a new length of yarn
(same color) to make the rest of the body. Attach that new yarn to the stitch that was
marked in Round 1.
R3. Ch1. Working in the back loops of Round 1: Inc in the marked stitch and in every stitch
around. [18 sc] **At the end of this round and every round: join with a sl st to the first
stitch of that round, then ch 1.**

The hard part is over; the rest of the tardigrade will be worked in both loops. The
construction method is explained in detail in the notes above, but here are some particular
tips to remember as you go:

 At the end of every round, join with a sl st and then ch 1. (For clarity, I won’t repeat that instruction again, but
it applies to every round!!)
 The sl st and ch 1 don’t count toward the stitch count for a round.
 Never crochet in the previous round’s sl st.
 Make the sl stitches very tight to avoid holes at the join.
 Consider using the invisible decrease method.
 Seeing your own stitches can be tricky when using fuzzy blanket yarn, so I found it helpful to use a stitch
marker to mark the first sc of every round. That marker will indicate where the sl st goes, and where, after
chaining 1, the first stitch of the next round will go.
 R4. (Inc, 2 sc) around. [24 sc]
R5. (3 sc, inc) around. [30]
R6. (sc, inc, 3 sc) around. [36]
R7. Sc around. [36]
R8. Sc around. [36]
R9. (Sc, dec) around. [24]
R10. (Inc, sc) around. [36 sc]
R11. (5 sc, inc) around. [42]
R12. Sc around. [42]
R13. Sc around. [42]
R14. Sc around. [42]
R15. (Sc, dec) around. [28]
R16. (Inc, sc) around. [42]
R17-20. Sc around. [42] (4 rounds)

R21-32. Repeat Rounds 15-20 two more times. (12 rounds) *Don’t fasten off!

Now it will look like a head followed by 4 “bumps.”

Find the long, curving trace of the sl st joins down the length of the tardigrade. This will be
on the bottom (underneath the tardigrade, where the legs are attached).

The join (arrows) goes on the bottom

of the tardigrade. Of course, yours
won’t have legs yet.

Next, insert the safety eyes: Count the rounds above the mouth as shown. Place eyes
between rounds 2-3 (seafoam example, left) or 3-4 (teal example, right)-- whichever look
you prefer!
 **Insert the safety eyes on the TOP of the tardigrade (opposite side of the sl st join). When the eyes are on top, the
join will be underneath the tardigrade.

Stuff what you have so far to the perfect level of squishability.

Now as we finish off the body, stuff the rest as you go:
R33. (Sc 5, dec) around. [36]
R34. (Dec, sc 3) x6, dec, sc 2, dec. [28]
R35. (Sc, dec) around. [18]
R36. Dec around. [9]
Fasten off by weaving the yarn tail through final round and cinching it tight, then securing
the tail.

Legs
Make 8 legs using the same yarn color as the body.
R1. Sc 6 in magic ring. [6 sc] *(join with a sl st, ch 1) at the end of each round*
R2. (Sc, inc) around. [9]
R3. (Sc, inc, sc) around. [12]
R4. Sc, inc. Sc rest of the way around. [13]
R5. Sc around. [13]
Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing.
 Leave a tail that is about 2.5-3 times the cir-
cumference of the widest part of the leg (wrap
yarn around leg as shown to measure this)

Note: try sewing on your first leg (instructions

below) and see how much tail you actually need
before making/cutting all the others.

Assembly
Sew the 8 legs onto the bottom of the body as shown. 2 legs go on each of the 4 sections
(“bumps”) of the body, with no legs on the head section.
I chose not to stuff the legs, finding that they’re stiff enough to keep their shape without it, but
you can do so if you want.
Whenever I needed to secure yarn tails, I wove them into the “join” on the bottom of the body,
which helped make it less noticeable.

Noticeable join Join disguised by weaving in ends

 Mouth
Thread the secondary color of yarn onto a tapestry needle. Bring the yarn around and around
the protruding mouth part, making the stitches very close together so that there are no gaps
between them. When the mouth is totally covered by the secondary color, cut the yarn and
secure the ends.

Claws
Each leg has 3 claws on its end in the secondary color.
Cut ~22 inches of yarn for each leg’s claws.

TIP: Cut just 1 length and make the claws for 1 leg before cutting lengths for all the other legs!! That way you can
figure out how much yarn you will actually need.
Depending on your experience level, this part could be confusing. I have repeated the
instructions twice— a short version that just lists the stitches, and a long version in which
each step is broken down with photos + explanations.
Claws, short version:
(Draw up a loop and sl st to the bottom of a leg, ch 2, pull yarn tail through. Weave tail back
down through the chain you just made, then bring needle up in location of the next claw.)
Repeat ( ) two more times for a total of 3 claws on each leg. Secure tails.
Claws, long version:
- Take the length of yarn you just cut and draw up a loop through the bottom of the leg as
shown (A).
- With that loop still on the hook, yarn over (B) and pull the through the loop already on
the hook – sl st made (C).
- (You can weave in the tail either now or at the end)

A B C

- After the slip stitch, chain 2.

- Remove the hook and pull on the last loop so that the yarn tail goes through (as though
finishing off).
- Thread the yarn tail on the needle. Weave a few stitches in and out of the chain that you
have made (D), bringing the yarn tail back down to the leg.
- Insert the needle into the leg and bring it up again at the location of the second claw.
- Using the hook again, draw up a new loop and sl st to start a new claw (E).
 D E

*********

And there you have your tardigrade! Roughly 800 times bigger than most tardigrades, but the
perfect size for cuddling.
If you have made your own tardigrade, please share a picture on Ravelry—it would totally make
my day to see that!! Also, please reach out on Ravelry if you have any questions, suggestions, or
feedback. I’m new to writing/sharing patterns and not sure how this works yet (did I
overexplain it? I feel like I overexplained it… oh well).
Keep an eye on my Ravelry page for more free sciencey crochet patterns! There’s a Klein bottle
pattern on there now, and more critters, including tiktaalik and anomalocaris, coming soon!