PlanetJune Craft Blog

Latest news and updates from June

Squirrel crochet pattern

Today I have a brand new PlanetJune crochet pattern to share with you. I’ve been wanting to make a realistic Squirrel crochet pattern for a long time, and it’s turned out just as cute as I’d hoped!

Squirrel crochet pattern by PlanetJuneWhich is your favourite? It doesn’t matter – you can make both!

I started this design during the Ravellenic Games, but I had to set it aside for a while – it took 6 prototypes to get that perfect squirrel tail, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. All those curves are built right in, and I love the result šŸ™‚

Squirrel Fun Facts

Note: If you hear an animal called just a ‘squirrel’ that means it’s a tree squirrel, but there are also other types of squirrel (ground squirrels and flying squirrels). My pattern, and these fun facts, specifically relate to tree squirrels!

  • Squirrels are rodents that are found all over the world.
  • They live in trees and eat nuts, seeds and berries.
  • Squirrels have long bushy tails that help them to balance as they run and jump through the trees.
  • Their tails are also used to keep them warm in winter, and for communication. For example, they flick their tails rapidly when they sense danger!
  • Squirrels hoard their food, and hide caches of nuts and seeds in trees or buried in the ground.

About the Design

With this design, my goal was to capture the smooth curves of the essential squirrel pose: perfectly balanced while standing up on its back legs with its beautiful bushy tail curving up behind it.

Squirrel crochet pattern by PlanetJune

The front legs are crocheted right into the body, so there are very few parts to assemble at the end, and you can choose to attach the head at any angle, to give your squirrel its own personality – will your squirrel be cute and bashful, or bold and inquisitive?

I’ve included two versions in this pattern: a standard Grey Squirrel (aka Eastern Gray Squirrel):

Grey Squirrel from Squirrel crochet pattern by PlanetJune

…and an adorable European Red Squirrel with long tufted ears:

Red Squirrel from Squirrel crochet pattern by PlanetJune

Ideas for variations:

  • Despite their names, ‘grey’ squirrels can be brownish, black, orange or white as well as grey, and ‘red’ squirrels vary from orange through deep red to black, so you have lots of colour choices, even if you want to make a realistically-coloured squirrel.
  • Although I designed both my squirrels to use regular yarn, you can brush your squirrel’s tail before assembly to give it a fluffy, furry look (and you can brush the tips of the red squirrel’s ear tufts too!) See my brushed crochet tutorial for instructions.

About the Pattern

The Squirrel pattern includes 4Ā pages of step-by-step bonus info in 2Ā two-page appendices (for both right- and left-handers) that clearly explain my innovative method for joining the front legs and body while you crochet so they sit at exactly the right angle in the finished squirrel.

If you’ve made any of my AmiCats, you’ll already be familiar with the concept of this technique and how well it works – the assembly method is the same here, although of course the squirrel shape is very different!

Buy Now

Ready to get started? Pick up my Squirrel crochet pattern Ā from my shop right now. Or, if you’re not ready to make it just yet, add it to your Ravelry queue or favourites so you don’t forget about it:

Squirrel crochet pattern by PlanetJune

By the way, I’m sure you know that squirrels love to gather and hoard their pine cones – and mine are no exception! My Pine Cone Collection pattern is now officially squirrel-approved šŸ˜‰


I hope you’ll love my Squirrel pattern and will start making your own adorable squirrels right away. And please do let me know what you think of them!

10 Comments »

  1. Ellen said

    Hi June,
    I just ordered the squirrel pattern through PayPal.
    But, I tried to download the patter but it said my internet connection was not on, I know I have internet so Iā€™m not sure how I might retrieve my pattern. Please could you help.
    Kind regards
    Ellen Preston

    • June said

      That sounds like a temporary glitch with your connection, Ellen, unless you have a firewall set up that’s blocking the download. Please try downloading your pattern again from your PlanetJune account (see www.planetjune.com/download for instructions if you need them), and email me for more help if there’s still a problem.

  2. Peggy G said

    Hi June! Iā€™m so excited that there are now PlanetJune squirrels!! I have a collection of all kinds of squirrel related things. Itā€™s a fun thing to collect!!
    My husband even has a ā€œpetā€ squirrel that he hand feeds at the back door when she comes begging. Sheā€™s adorable and so sweet. Did you know that when squirrels spread themselves out over branches in the summer to cool off, with their bellies on a branch and legs dangling underneath them, itā€™s called ā€œsplooting?ā€ Actual scientific term!! Ha!!

    • .: petrOlly :. said

      That’s interesting! šŸ™‚

    • June said

      Aww, that is so cute, Peggy! I always dreamed of having a ‘pet’ squirrel (especially a red one, after one of my favourite children’s books that first taught me about the wonders of wildlife).

      I had to look up ‘splooting’ because I’m a bit of a word nerd – surely that couldn’t be a real word?! It apparently started out in dog memes, but it’s listed in all the online dictionaries now (as slang), so now I know that my dog Maggie also loves to sploot. šŸ˜€

  3. .: petrOlly :. said

    I didn’t realise earlier that you’re making both versions of the squirrel at once! Great! And they both turned out so well šŸ™‚

  4. Desley said

    Hello June. i love all your work. These little Squirrels look lovely. I would really enjoy making them, as I love making your patterns. so easy to understand and beautifully written. Thank you. I have learnt so much from your emails and Tutorials. I have a lot of your patterns and make most things more than once.My grandchildren love all the animals I crochet. Kind Regards Desley

  5. Nancy said

    June, you are an amazing artist and teacher. Your squirrels make me smile!
    We have the grey ? in central New Mexico, who eat the orange berries from our pyrocanthia (firethorn) bushes in the fall. Their cheeks are bulging and they stretch up on their hind paws to reach even more. The berries taste like Granny Smith apples.
    One hot summer I saw one cooling his belly in a ā€˜spread eagleā€™ position in the shade!
    Are the pinecones included with your squirrels?
    Nancy

    • June said

      Aww, that’s so cute, Nancy! The Pine Cone Collection is a separate pattern – I gave the link to it just below the picture in the above post. (Sorry if that confused you!)

RSS feed for comments on this post

Leave a Reply

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment here! I read and appreciate every comment. I only respond to questions here on the blog, so please return to this page to see my reply, or check the box below to subscribe to new comments by email.

Please note that I can only answer questions related to PlanetJune patterns and tutorials (see details), and I can only respond to questions or comments written in English. Thank you :) - June

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Quick Links: Crochet

    navigation: arrow

    buy crochet patterns and accessories from my online store

    'Everyday Crochet' and 'The Essential Guide to Amigurumi' crochet books by June Gilbank

    Crochet video tutorials and step-by-step photo tutorials

    Free PlanetJune crochet patterns

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Quick Links: Crafts

    navigation: arrow

    Punchneedle Embroidery information, ebook & patterns

    Papercraft ebook & tutorials

    Free PlanetJune craft projects & tutorials

  • Blog Post Categories

  • Blog Archives

  • CAL Galleries

    Ravellenic Games: Team PlanetJune
    PlanetJune Reindeer Games
    PlanetJune Temperature Snake CAL

  • Welcome to PlanetJune!

    June Gilbank

    Hi, I'm June. Welcome to my world of nature-inspired crochet and crafting. I hope you enjoy your visit!

    If you'd like to get in touch, you can contact me here.
    crocheted Canadian flag by PlanetJune
  • A fanned-out pile of the books Everyday Crochet and The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, with text 'The answers to all your crochet questions at your fingertips - find out more'
  • Support PlanetJune!

    Want to say thanks? You can send me money in seconds at paypal.me/planetjune (over $20) or paypal.me/planetjune2 (under $20) or send me a donation through my shop.

    Or simply click through from my links before you shop at Amazon, Etsy, KnitPicks, LoveCrafts or Crochet.com, and I'll make a small commission on your purchase, at no cost to you! Start here:

    ♥ Support PlanetJune ♥

    Tip: This link is also in the footer of every page!

    Thank you so much for your support!