Koalas are one of those animals that look adorable in yarn almost no matter what you do. Grey body, round ears, a big soft nose, and the whole thing works with the simplest stitch in crochet. That is why they are such a good beginner project: there is no complicated shaping hiding anywhere, and the result still looks finished.
Below are fifteen free crochet koala patterns, every one with a video tutorial so you can watch the stitches happen instead of decoding written abbreviations. There are keychains you can finish in an afternoon, full plushies, a baby lovey, a nursery basket and a flat applique. Each entry tells you how hard it is and what to expect before you commit your evening to it.
If you are completely new to amigurumi, read my magic ring and flat circle tutorial first. Almost every koala on this list starts with those two things.
What you need before you start
Every koala on this list uses the same short shopping list. If you have made any amigurumi before, you almost certainly own all of it already.
- Grey yarn — worsted weight (4). Two shades if you have them, one light and one darker.
- A small amount of black — for the nose, and for the eyes if you are embroidering them.
- Cream or white — for the fluffy inner ears. A fuzzy or mohair-style yarn works best here.
- A 3.0 mm or 3.5 mm hook — smaller than the yarn label says.
- Polyester fibrefill — for anything stuffed.
- Safety eyes, 6 mm to 10 mm — optional, see the FAQ below.
- A tapestry needle and stitch markers — the markers matter more than you think when you are working in continuous rounds.
Which koala should you make first?
Fifteen options is useful for browsing and paralysing for deciding, so here is the short version.
- Never made an amigurumi before → number 2, the flat keychain. No stuffing, no closing, done in an hour.
- Want a real plushie and have a free evening → number 4, the classic sitting koala.
- Want the pattern written out as well as filmed → numbers 4 and 12. Both designers publish the full text free on their own sites.
- Hate sewing parts on → number 11, worked in one piece.
- Making a gift for a new baby → number 13, the lovey, with embroidered eyes.
- Want something to actually use → number 14, the storage basket.
- Want to batch things to sell → numbers 7 and 8, the keychains. Small, fast, and people buy them on impulse.
15 Free Crochet Koala Patterns
1. Free Koala Amigurumi for Babies
Designer: Sweet Creek Patterns · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A soft, round koala with no tricky shaping, designed to be safe for a baby. The whole thing is single crochet in the round, so if you can make a magic ring you can make this.
Start here if you have never made an amigurumi animal. There is nothing in this one that will trip you up, and the finished size is forgiving if your tension is uneven.
2. Koala Keychain
Designer: The Loopy Lamb · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A flat koala face on a keyring, worked in two colours of grey. The written pattern is free on The Loopy Lamb’s blog, which is useful if you prefer reading to watching.
The fastest koala on this list. Flat means no stuffing and no closing a hole, so it is a good first project if amigurumi still scares you.
3. Kara the Koala, Low-Sew
Designer: Sammie · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
Head and body are worked as one piece, so the only sewing left is the ears and the nose. Big friendly proportions.
Low-sew patterns are where most beginners should live. Sewing amigurumi parts on straight is harder than crocheting them, and this one removes most of that problem.
4. Classic Sitting Koala, Filmed in Four Parts
Designer: HelenMay Crochet · Easy · Watch on YouTube ↗
A full sitting koala taken apart over four videos, with every round explained out loud as it is worked. The written version is free on the designer’s own site, so you can follow the video once and then work from the page.
Pick this one if you want to understand why a round is shaped the way it is instead of only being told how many stitches to put in it.
5. Amigurumi Koala with a Tiny Leaf
Designer: yarnacadabra · Easy · Watch on YouTube ↗
The koala comes with a small eucalyptus leaf you can tuck into its paws. It is a detail that takes ten extra minutes and changes the whole photo.
If you are making these to sell, the leaf is worth it. A koala holding something reads as a scene, and scenes sell better than objects.
6. Easy Koala for Beginners
Designer: Hooks & Needles By Mita · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A slow, clearly filmed tutorial where every round is counted out loud. Nothing is skipped and nothing is sped up.
Pick this one if other tutorials move too fast for you. The pace is the whole point of the video.
7. Koala Keychain for Beginners
Designer: Lemon Crochet · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A small three-dimensional koala head sized for a keyring or zipper pull. Uses scrap grey yarn and very little of it.
Good scrap-buster. You will get two or three out of a single leftover ball, which makes it a sensible one to batch for a craft fair.
8. Koala Keychain, Step by Step
Designer: Rosalie Toys · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A rounder, chunkier keychain koala with oversized fluffy ears. Every step is shown from above with the hook in frame.
The oversized ears are what make it cute. Do not shrink them to save time, they are carrying the whole design.
9. Tiny Koala Amigurumi
Designer: Happygurumi · Easy · Watch on YouTube ↗
A miniature koala, roughly the size of a thumb, with a free written pattern. Worked with a small hook and fine yarn.
Tiny amigurumi is harder than it looks, not easier. Your stitches have nowhere to hide. Make a normal sized one first.
10. Cute Koala, Simple Version
Designer: Betty’s Crochi · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A stripped-back koala with no colour changes at all, just grey yarn, black eyes and an embroidered nose.
Fewer parts means fewer places to go wrong. This is the one to hand to someone who has crocheted for two weeks.
11. No-Sew Koala
Designer: Mico & Mickey · Easy · Watch on YouTube ↗
The ears and arms are crocheted directly into the body, so the koala comes off the hook finished. No tapestry needle at the end.
No-sew is not just about saving time. A sewn-on ear can come loose on a toy that gets handled, a crocheted-in ear cannot.
12. Little Koala, Free Written Pattern
Designer: Little Crochet Farm · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A small sitting koala with a video in two parts and the whole pattern typed out free on the designer’s site, with the stitch counts for every round. It is also listed on Ravelry if you keep your projects there.
This is the most complete entry on the list: video, written pattern, and chapter markers in the video so you can jump straight back to the round you are on.
13. Koala Lovey for Babies
Designer: Tommy’s Sheep Crochet and Knit · Easy · Watch on YouTube ↗
A koala head attached to a soft square blanket. Free tutorial, filmed in two parts.
Loveys are the single best crochet gift for a new baby, and they are mostly flat squares. Most of the work is the easy part.
14. Koala Storage Basket
Designer: Crocheting with White Owl · Intermediate · Watch on YouTube ↗
Not a toy at all, a nursery basket with koala ears and a face on the front. Worked in thick yarn so it holds its shape.
The only project here that is useful rather than decorative. It is also the only one that needs a firm, tight tension to stand up properly.
15. Koala Applique
Designer: Kerri’s Crochet · Beginner · Watch on YouTube ↗
A flat koala face you sew onto something else: a hat, a bag, a baby blanket, a cardigan pocket.
An applique turns a plain handmade item into a themed one in fifteen minutes. If you sell beanies, this is the cheapest upgrade you can make.
Three things that make a koala look right
The nose is the whole animal
A koala is grey and round, and so is a mouse, a bear and an elephant. The thing that says koala is the big dark nose. Make it bigger than you think, and sit it low on the face, not in the middle. If your finished toy looks like a bear, nine times out of ten the nose is too small or too high.
Fluff the ears, not the body
Most of these patterns tell you to brush or tease the ear edges. Do it. Run a small pet slicker brush gently over the outer ear only, and leave the body smooth. That contrast between a fuzzy ear and a tidy body is what makes a handmade koala look professional instead of homemade.
Two greys beat one
Use a slightly lighter grey for the face and belly than for the back and ears. It costs you nothing, you probably already own both, and it adds depth that a single grey never gets. If you only have one grey, use cream for the belly instead.
Want a printable pattern instead?
Video tutorials are great until you have to pause them fourteen times. My PDF patterns are written out with photos, so you can print them, mark your rounds and keep your hands free.
Frequently asked questions
What yarn should I use for a crochet koala?
Worsted weight (4) acrylic in two greys is the standard choice and the cheapest. If you want the toy to feel soft rather than squeaky, use a cotton-acrylic blend. Chunky blanket yarn works beautifully for koalas because the fuzz reads as fur, but you will need a much bigger hook and the finished animal will be large.
What hook size do I need?
Go one or two sizes smaller than your yarn label suggests. For worsted weight that usually means 3.0 mm or 3.5 mm. Amigurumi needs tight stitches so the stuffing does not show through the gaps, which is the opposite of what you want for a scarf.
Do I have to use safety eyes?
No. Embroidered eyes in black yarn look just as good and are the right choice for anything going to a child under three, or to a household with pets. Several of the tutorials above show both options.
How long does a crochet koala take?
A flat keychain or applique takes under an hour. A small amigurumi koala takes two to three hours. A full sized plushie or the storage basket is an evening or two. None of these are weekend-long projects.
Can I sell koalas made from these patterns?
It depends on the designer, and you have to check each one. Many of the creators above allow selling finished items if you credit them, and almost none allow reselling the pattern itself. The answer is usually in the video description or a pinned comment. If you cannot find it, message the creator and ask.
Why does my koala look like a bear?
Three usual causes: the nose is too small, the ears are too small, or the ears are placed on the top of the head instead of the sides. A koala’s ears sit wide and low, roughly level with the eyes. Pin them before you sew and look at the face straight on.
More free patterns to try next
- 15 free crochet keychain patterns for beginners — if the koala keychains were your favourites here
- Crochet giraffe amigurumi pattern — the next animal up in difficulty
- Crochet teddy bear in overalls — same stitches, different animal
- The ultimate beginner crochet guide — start from zero
Made one of these? I would genuinely like to see it. Tag me or leave a comment below and tell me which pattern you picked.