Crochet Sheep Lovey with a Curly Round Blanket

This crochet sheep lovey has a circular blanket covered in chain-loop curls, a beige-and-white sheep head and four little feet. Its woolly texture is added to the front loops left free by the underlying rounds. The head and feet are made with a smaller hook than the blanket so their filling stays inside the fabric.

Materials, Gauge and Size

About 100 g medium cotton yarn in white and beige, scraps of black embroidery yarn, a 3.5 mm hook for the blanket, 2 mm for the head and feet, fiberfill, tapestry needle and scissors. The optional yellow bow uses lighter cotton and a 1 mm hook. The source grows the blanket to about 22 cm diameter before the added curl texture; yarn and tension change the final size. It does not give a fixed gauge.

Stitches and Pattern Notes

US crochet terms: ch = chain; sc = single crochet; hdc = half double crochet; dc = double crochet; tr = treble crochet; sl st = slip stitch; st = stitch; sp = space; BLO = back loop only; inc = 2 stitches in one stitch. Sc2tog, hdc2tog and dc2tog combine two neighboring stitches into one. A number before a stitch tells you how many consecutive stitches to work. Parentheses followed by a repeat number describe one complete group repeated that many times.

Step 1: Make the Round Blanket

With the larger hook, work the circular base in BLO. The source begins with ch 1 counted as its first position plus eleven hdc into a magic ring, joined to give twelve positions. Continue joined increase rounds, using ch 2 as the first hdc position on later rounds. Round 2 doubles to 24; Round 3 alternates hdc and inc-hdc to reach 36.

Add twelve stitches per round: Round 4 uses (2 hdc, inc) × 12 for 48; Round 5 uses (3 hdc, inc) × 12 for 60, continuing to 72, 84, 96, 108 and 120 by Round 10. Count the beginning chain within the first repeat so it is not added on top. Continue the same progression only if needed to reach about 22 cm across.

Step 2: Add the Blanket Curls

Join white at the first free front loop near the center. Repeat ch 5, sl st in the next available front loop, working around the exposed loop tracks from the center outward. Keep the chain loops relaxed and work through the front loops left unused by the BLO base. These are surface curls, not additional increases in the circular base.

Spread the blanket flat periodically so the added texture does not gather it. The supplied underside photograph helps identify the smooth base below the curls. Finish the yarn tail securely after reaching the outer loop track.

Step 3: Crochet the Head

Row / round	Instructions	Count / note
1–8	Start with 6 sc; increase six stitches in each following round, using (N sc, inc) × 6 as N grows from 0 to 6.	6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48
9–14	Sc around in beige.	48
15	(6 sc, sc2tog) × 6.	42
16	(5 sc, sc2tog) × 6.	36
17	Sc around.	36
18	(5 sc, inc) × 6.	42
19	(6 sc, inc) × 6.	48
20	Sc around.	48
21–26	Change to white and work sc around in BLO, leaving front loops free.	48
27–33	Successive decrease rounds: (6 sc, dec), (5 sc, dec), (4 sc, dec), (3 sc, dec), (2 sc, dec), (sc, dec), then dec around; six repeats each.	42, 36, 30, 24, 18, 12, 6

Step 4: Make the Ears and Embroider the Face

For each ear, crochet one beige and one white disc: 6 sc in a magic ring, inc around (12), then (sc, inc) six times (18). Join a beige and white disc with white yarn, working (2 sc, inc) six times through both layers for a 24-stitch rim. Make two ears.

Add stuffing to the head as the final decreases narrow it, then close the final six stitches. Keep the head in BLO from Round 21 through its final decrease round. Add head curls to the free white front loops using ch 3 and sl st in the next loop, working from the top of the white section downward. Embroider a V-shaped nose with its upper ends on Round 8 about four stitches apart and its point on Round 6. Add the short line below it. Embroider the eyes at Round 14, each over about three stitches, with three stitches between them.

Step 5: Crochet Four Feet and the Tail

Piece	Round sequence	Finish
Front feet — make two	Start beige with 6 sc, then six increases per round to 36 by Round 6. R7–10: 36 sc. R11: (4 sc, dec) × 6 = 30. R12: (3 sc, dec) × 6 = 24. R13–15: 24 sc. R16: white BLO 24 sc. R17–18: white 24 sc. R19: (2 sc, dec) × 6 = 18. R20: (sc, dec) × 6 = 12. R21: dec × 6.	Close six stitches.
Back feet — make two	Start beige with 6 sc, then six increases per round to 24 by Round 4. R5–9: 24 sc. R10: white BLO 24 sc. R11–12: white 24 sc. R13: (2 sc, dec) × 6 = 18. R14: 18 sc. R15: (sc, dec) × 6 = 12. R16: dec × 6.	Close six stitches.
Tail	With white, work BLO: R1 6 sc in magic ring; R2 inc around (12); R3–4 sc around (12).	Retain sewing tail.

Step 6: Add Curls and Assemble

Stuff the feet as their openings narrow, then close them. For the tail, keep Rounds 2–4 in BLO as specified by the source. Add ch-3 surface loops over the white front-loop tracks on the feet and tail, as on the head. Sew the head and four feet around the blanket edge on the curled side. Attach the tail at approximately blanket Round 6, as indicated in the source. Check the orientation with everything pinned before sewing.

For the optional tiny bow, with light yellow cotton work into a magic ring: ch 4, 3 tr, ch 4, sl st; repeat that group once, close the ring and wrap the center with the tail. Sew firmly to the chosen ear, or omit it. Weave every tail, check the stuffing seams and all attachments, and follow the yarn label’s care directions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the woolly surface made? Chain loops are slip stitched into the front loops left free by BLO rounds.

Are the front and back feet identical? No. The front feet grow to 36 stitches; the back feet grow to 24.

Does the circular base include its beginning chain in the count? Yes. The source counts the initial chain as a position, so do not add twelve more hdc after that starting position.

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Browse our Crochet Baby collection, compare baby bootie patterns, or explore baby cardigan ideas. Save the project to Pinterest before gathering your yarn.

Pattern and Photo Credits

Adapted from the supplied Sheep Blanket Lovey.pdf. Pattern and photographs: supplied Sheep Security Blanket / Sheep Blanket Lovey PDF; designer not named in readable text. Source photographs show the reference samples; captions identify any detail crops. This written adaptation has been reviewed against the supplied pattern pages but has not been physically crocheted or maker-tested. Yarn substitutions and tension can change the result.