Crochet Lion Appliques

Today, we’re thrilled to unleash a pride of lions onto your crafting scene with our lion crochet appliques. Whether you’re a seasoned crochet enthusiast or just starting your yarn-filled journey, these free patterns are sure to bring a roar of joy to your projects.

In the heart of every crafting endeavor lies the opportunity to create something truly magical, and what could be more enchanting than a family of crochet lions? These delightful appliqués are perfect for adding a touch of whimsy to everything from blankets and scarves to hats and bags. Let your imagination run wild as you adorn your creations with these charming kings and queens of the savannah.

Don’t forget to join my Facebook group HERE, you can ask your questions, and share your finished projects. I will regularly ask you what pattern you would like to see next (or you can even suggest something even if I am not asking!).

I hope you will enjoy and understand the pattern. If you have any questions, please write to me, I will try my best to help you. And I would love to see your work! Don’t forget to share your finished projects using the hashtag #natalinacraft. I love seeing your beautiful work!

Material:

Yarn calling for 5,5 mm hook in: cream, yellow and brown
A very small amount of pearl cotton in black (for the eyelashes of the female)
Size 3.5 mm crochet hook.
3 black safety eyes (7.5 mm) for each lion
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Abbreviations:

chain (ch)
magic ring (mr)
single crochet (sc)
increase (inc)
invisible decrease (dec)
slip stitch (sl st)
half double crochet (hdc)
double crochet (dc)

What did I use?

Light worsted yarn.
I used « I love this cotton» from Hobby Lobby.

Pattern: How to crochet a lion applique?

The male – Lion Crochet Appliques

The body – Lion Crochet Appliques

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the yellow yarn.

ch 8. (8)
Row 1: starting from the 2nd ch from the hook: 1 sc in the next 7 ch. (7)
Row 2: ch1, turn; 1 inc, 1 sc in the next 5 st, 1 inc. (9)
Rows 3 to 9: ch1, turn; 1 sc in all st. (9)
Row 10: ch1, turn; 1 dec, 1 sc in the next 5 st, 1 dec. (7)
Rows 11 to 13: ch1, turn; 1 sc in all st. (7)
Row 14: ch1, turn; 1 dec, 1 sc in the next 3 st, 1 dec. (5)
Rows 15 to 16: ch1, turn; 1 sc in all st. (7)
do not turn, make 1 sc evenly all around (you do not want to crochet to tight for this part – you can also use a bigger size crochet). (approx. 37 st)

Cut the yarn (leave a long tail to sew the head on), fasten off.

The head – Lion Crochet Appliques

Work in rounds, do not turn unless specified. If needed, use a stitch marker for the first stitch of each round.

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the yellow yarn.

Round 1: start 6 sc in a magic ring. (6)
Round 2: inc 6 times. (12)
Round 3: [1 sc in next st, 1 inc in next st] x6. (18)
Round 4: [1 sc in next 2 st, 1 inc in next st] x6. (24)
Round 5: [1 sc in next 3 st, 1 inc in next st] x6. (30)

Change for the brown yarn:

Round 6: for this round, I just made a mix of sc, hdc and dc as i didn’t want a symmetric mane (you don’t have to do exactly the same if you want a different of more symmetric one): [2 sc in the first st, 3 dc in the next st, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 1 sc, 3 hdc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 1 sc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 3 hdc, 1 sc, 3 hdc, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc, 1 sc, 3 hdc, 1 sc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 1 sc, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 1 sc]. (52 st)

Cut the yarn, fasten off.

Decide where to place the eyes and fix them (not the nose, only the eyes!).

The legs (make 4) – Lion Crochet Appliques

Work in rounds, do not turn unless specified. If needed, use a stitch marker for the first stitch of each round.

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the brown yarn.

Round 1: start 6 sc in a magic ring. (6)
Round 2: [1 sc in next st, 1 inc in next st] x3. (9)

Change for the yellow yarn:

Row 3: 1 sc in the next 3 st. (3)
Rows 4 to 8: ch1, turn; 1 sc in all st. (3)

Cut the yarn (leave a long tail to sew the legs to the body), fasten off.

The muzzle – Lion Crochet Appliques

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the cream yarn.

ch 6. (6)
Round 1: starting from the 2nd ch from the hook: 1 sc in the next 4 ch, 2 sc in the last ch. Now working on the other side of the chain: 1 sc in the next 4 ch. (10)
Round 2: 2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next 2 st, 1 sc in the next st and place a stitch marker, 2 sc in the next st. (7)
sl st in the next st

Cut the yarn (leave a long tail to sew the muzzle to the head), fasten off.

Place a safety eye where your st marker is (it should be the top center of the muzzle – just check before to fix it). If you want to make a mouth (don’t be like me and do it now!), take your black yarn and your tapestry needle. Take the nose off, and make a mouth, then put the nose back on the muzzle. Place the muzzle on the head, fix the nose and with your tapestry needle, sew the nose to the head.

The ears (make 2) – Lion Crochet Appliques

Work in rounds, do not turn unless specified. If needed, use a stitch marker for the first stitch of each round.

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the yellow yarn.

Round 1: start 6 sc in a magic ring. (6)

Cut the yarn (leave a long tail to sew the ears to the head), fasten off.

The tail

With a 3.5 mm crochet and the yellow yarn.

ch 10. (10)
cut 2 strands of brown yarn. Insert your hook in the last ch, grab these 2 strands by the middle and pull them through the ch. With your hands, take all the ends, pull them through the look and tighten up. Cut the brown yarn to a shorter length and separate each strand of yarn to give a more natural look.

Assembling all pieces – Lion Crochet Appliques

Sew the ears to the head (I didn’t take any pictures for the male but I used the same way for the baby – pictures below)

Sew the head to the body.

Sew two legs at the front of the body and sew two legs at the back of the body (see the picture below for their positions).

Sew the tail, just above one of the back leg.