When I made that cute little striped hat, I also made this. The zebra lovey was actually the start of it all. I'm really glad to share this with everyone because it was so fun to make and turned out so cute!
You'll have to take my word for it for now. I have no idea where the pictures went, and unfortunately I don't have it in my possession anymore. I'll have to make it again.
Materials
Grey- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 (anthracite, 10)
White- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 (natural white, 2)
Green- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 (lime, 18)
Blue- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 (light turquoise, 34)
Orange- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 (burnt orange, 66)
Crochet Hook C (2.75 mm)
Crochet Hook E (3.5 mm)
Yarn Needle
Stuffing
Head
Being not so practiced in making amigurumi patterns yet, I decided to mod a pattern I found online that was a pretty good base for what I wanted.
Follow this pattern almost exactly as written for the head piece. Start with anthracite and crochet hook c. The original pattern starts with dark purple and then has a stripe of medium purple. After that, on R10, change to white.
R12- change back to grey
R14- change to white again
Don't do the increases on R16 and R17, stay at 48 stitches
R20- change to grey. Notice that we skipped one of the darker stripes. That is on purpose
R22- change to white (48 st)
R24- change to grey (48 st)
R26- change to white and start decreasing like Round 30 of original pattern. Follow as written to the end.
This results in a slightly smaller head than the original pattern has. Stuff firmly.
Ears, make 2
Make exactly as Zane the Zebra: https://jesshuff.com/zane-zebra-free-amigurumi-pattern/
"Time" it so that the tips of the ears are grey following a two row stripe pattern. Use crochet hook c.
Forelock
This is the fancy name for the zebra's hair in the front between the ears. I don't remember exactly what I did, but here is the gist.
Using anthracite and crochet hook c, ch enough to span distance between ears [pin ears to head to measure]. R1- Starting with the second chain from the hook, sc in each chain across. Ch 1 to turn if desired.
R2- loop stitch in each stitch across
R3- switch to white, sc in each stitch across
R4- loop stitch in each stitch across
R5- switch to grey...
Repeat until it is the length you want. I think I had 5 loop rows [3 grey, 2 white]. End on a loop row and leave a 10 inch tail.
Hooves, make 4
Work in continuous rounds with crochet hook c
R1- Using anthracite, make a magic circle with 6 sc, pull tight
R2- 2 sc in each stitch around (12 st)
R3- *sc in next stitch, 2 sc in same stitch* rep around (18 st)
R4- *sc in next 2 stitches, 2 sc in same stitch* rep around (24 st)
R5- *sc in next 3 stitches, 2 sc in same stitch* rep around (30 st)
R6- sc BLO in each stitch around (30 st)
R7- *sc in next 8 stitches, sc2tog* rep around (27 st)
R8- *sc in next 7 stitches, sc2tog* rep around (24 st)
R9- *sc in next 4 stitches, sc2tog* rep around (20 st)
R10- *sc in next 3 stitches, sc2tog* rep around (16 st)
R11- *sc in next 2 stitches, sc2tog* rep around (12 st)
R12- sc2tog around (6 st), BO
Fish out the tail from the magic circle and tie it to the end tail. This helps the hooves keep a bell shape when they are stuffed.
Blanket
Using anthracite and crochet hook e, chain 61 (60+1 turning chain)
Starting in second chain from hook, sc
The blanket is worked in sc back and forth in rows with a turning chain at the beginning of each. Each stripe is two rows, one right side and then one wrong side. On the right sides, pops of color are added through half color changes on select stitches. Rotate through blue, orange, and green for the colors.
RS Grey- *sc in three stitches, 1/2 color change blue* rep to end
WS Grey- sc in each stitch to end
RS White- sc in first stitch, *1/2 color change orange, sc in next 3 stitches* [only will have two at end]
WS White- sc in each stitch to end
RS Grey- *sc in three stitches, 1/2 color change green* rep to end
WS Grey- sc in each stitch to end
RS White- sc in first stitch, *1/2 color change blue, sc in next 3 stitches* [only will have two at end]
WS White- sc in each stitch to end
RS Grey- *sc in three stitches, 1/2 color change orange* rep to end
WS Grey- sc in each stitch to end
RS White- sc in first stitch, *1/2 color change green, sc in next 3 stitches* [only will have two at end]
WS White- sc in each stitch to end
Follow this pattern until the blanket ends up about a square. This blanket ends up with a lot of ends to sew in because of all the bright colors. I chose to carry the white and grey up the side of the blanket.
Tail
The tail is petty simple. I made a braid. Because I was making this for an infant, I decided to braid loops of yarn rather than strands because I didn't want it to start unraveling. Plus, it matches the loops in the forelock. I used one of the ends to wrap around the end of the braid to keep it braided. I wrapped it and sewed it through the end a couple times before taking it back up to the top of the braid.
Once all the pieces are made, it's assembly time! These are the steps I took to finish the lovey:
Embroider the zebra's eyes using some grey yarn. I did little half circles to make it look like the zebra is sleeping.
Sew the hooves to the blanket corners. Make sure they are secure, so they don't fall off.
Sew the forelock and ears to the head. Pin them in place first. I sewed the forelock first, then the ears.
Sew the head to the blanket on the foundation chain edge. I placed the edge of the blanket almost on the underside of the head. This way I had a longer edge that I could secure.
Sew the braid to the opposite edge from the head.
Double check that all the sewing is nice and tight. Weave in any ends that are still sticking out.
And that's it! If you have questions, please leave them in the comments. Any way I can clarify is my pleasure! Have fun with your zebra loveys!