Crochet Patternsfor All Levels

September 15, 2026

Monster Tomato Amigurumi – A Cute & Quirky Crochet Pattern

Meet this adorable, wide-eyed Monster Tomato! With its bright red body, tiny green limbs, and expressive face featuring one big curious eye and one playful wink, this character is full of personality. It’s a fun, intermediate-friendly project that brings a splash of color and whimsy to any shelf.

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Monster Tomato Amigurumi – Complete Step-by-Step Pattern

1. Gathering Your Supplies

To get that vibrant, smooth look, a high-quality cotton yarn is best. It provides excellent stitch definition for the facial features.

  • Yarn: Worsted weight cotton or acrylic blend (e.g., YarnArt Jeans, Catania, or similar, approx. 160m / 50g). You will need:
    • Red: For the main body (approx. 50g).
    • Green: For the leaves, arms, legs, and eye outlines (approx. 30g).
    • White: For the eyes (small amount).
    • Black: For the pupils and facial embroidery (small amount).
  • Hook: 2.5 mm or 3.0 mm (choose the size that gives you a tight, stuff-proof gauge).
  • Notions:
    • Poly-fil stuffing
    • Tapestry needle
    • Scissors
    • Stitch markers
    • Optional: 12-14 mm safety eyes (if you prefer not to crochet the pupils, though crocheting them gives the exact look in the photo).

What you'll master: Creating a round, sturdy body, assembling multi-part limbs, and crocheting large, expressive eye appliqués.

2. Abbreviations & Special Techniques

Let’s quickly review a few terms. If you're new to any of these, don't worry—you'll be a pro by the time this tomato is ready to roll!

  • MR: Magic ring
  • ch: Chain
  • sc: Single crochet
  • inc: Increase (2 sc in one stitch)
  • dec: Decrease (2 sc crocheted together invisibly)
  • sl st: Slip stitch
  • BLO: Back loop only

3. The Body (Red)

The body is a simple, plump sphere that sits nicely on its own.

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2: 6 inc (12)
  • R3: (1 sc, inc) x 6 (18)
  • R4: (2 sc, inc) x 6 (24)
  • R5: (3 sc, inc) x 6 (30)
  • R6: (4 sc, inc) x 6 (36)
  • R7-11: 36 sc (36) [5 rows]
    • Note: This creates the main roundness. If you want a squatter tomato, do fewer rows here.
  • R12: (4 sc, dec) x 6 (30)
  • R13: (3 sc, dec) x 6 (24)
    • Stuffing: Stuff the body firmly now. It needs to be quite solid to hold its shape.
  • R14: (2 sc, dec) x 6 (18)
  • R15: (1 sc, dec) x 6 (12)
  • Finishing: Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Weave the tail through the front loops of the remaining stitches and pull tight to close the hole. Hide the end inside.

What you'll master: Spiral increase/decrease sequences and achieving a flawless, spherical shape.

4. The Limbs (Green)

These tiny limbs give the tomato its cute, character-like stance.

Legs (Make 2):

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2: 6 sc (6)
  • R3: (1 sc, inc) x 3 (9)
    • This flares out the bottom to create a little foot.
  • R4-6: 9 sc (9) [3 rows]
  • Finishing: Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Flatten the top opening to sew later.

Arms (Make 2):

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2-5: 6 sc (6) [4 rows]
  • Finishing: Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Do not stuff; keep them flat and floppy.

What you'll master: Creating uniform, small appendages.

5. The Leaves (Green)

A cluster of leaves sits on top of the head.

  • Instructions: Ch 4.
  • Row 1: Sc in the 2nd ch from the hook, hdc in the next, dc in the last ch.
  • Row 2: Working down the opposite side of the chain: hdc in the next, sc in the next. Sl st to join.
  • Finishing: Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Make 4-5 of these leaves.

What you'll master: Creating simple, organic leaf shapes.

6. The Eyes (The Star of the Show!)

This character has huge, expressive eyes. We will crochet them as flat circles (appliqués) and sew them on.

The Green Outline (Make 2):

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2: 6 inc (12)
  • R3: (1 sc, inc) x 6 (18)
  • R4: (2 sc, inc) x 6 (24)
  • Finishing: Fasten off.

The White Sclera (Make 2):

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2: 6 inc (12)
  • R3: (1 sc, inc) x 6 (18)
  • Finishing: Fasten off.

The Black Pupil (Make 1 for the open eye):

  • R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
  • R2: 6 inc (12)
  • Finishing: Fasten off.

What you'll master: Creating layered appliqués for detailed facial features.

7. Assembly & The Magic of Personality

Now for the most rewarding part: bringing your Monster Tomato to life!

  1. Attach Limbs:
    • Sew the two legs to the bottom front of the body, spacing them so the tomato can sit.
    • Sew the two arms to the sides, slightly lower than the middle.
  2. Attach Leaves: Cluster the 4-5 green leaves at the very top center of the head (where you closed the hole). Sew them down securely so they fan out like a crown.
  3. The Face:
    • Open Eye: Stack the White circle on top of a Green circle. Place the Black pupil in the center. Sew this stack to the right side of the face (viewer's left).
    • Winking Eye: Stack the second White circle on the second Green circle. Sew this to the left side of the face.
    • The Wink: Using black embroidery floss and a needle, stitch a thick, curved "U" shape or crescent moon over the winking eye to show it's closed.
    • The Smile: Embroider a small, simple black curve below the eyes for a cute smile.

What you'll master: Multi-step structural assembly and expressive surface embroidery.

Final Section: Where to Go from Here

Congratulations! By completing this Monster Tomato, you've practiced foundational shaping, creating appliqués, and adding personality through facial details. This project is a fantastic confidence-builder and makes a wonderfully quirky gift.

From here, try experimenting with different expressions! You could make an "angry" tomato with slanted eyebrows, or a "surprised" one with a little "O" mouth. You could even change the color to make a "Monster Apple" (green body) or a "Monster Orange" (orange body). Happy crocheting, and enjoy your new fruity friend!