When I first learned how to skate, my mom used to tease me by calling me “Penguin” since I was waddling on the ice, rather than gliding. In my defence, I was only three years old, and I’m happy to say that I have definitely improved since then. At any rate, I’ve always had a soft spot for penguins since then.

• 1/50 skein of Premier Yarns Cotton Fair – a fine weight (2) yarn (above colour A: Slate Gray)
• 1/50 skein of Premier Yarns Cotton Fair – a fine weight (2) yarn (above colour B: Cream)
• 1/100 skein of Caron Simply Soft – a worsted weight (4) yarn (above colour C: Sunshine)
• 10g Loops and Threads Classic Fiber Fill
• 2 safety eyes (7.5mm)
• 2.00 mm hook

Pattern by Amanda at Tiny Moon
MODIFICATIONS by tick-tock hobbies

As always, I prefer to use lighter weight yarn and smaller hooks, because I think tinier creations are just a teensy bit cuter! In this case, I went with fine weight yarns instead of the recommended worsted weight, except for the nose! This was mostly due to the colours of yarn I had available – if I had yellow yarn in a fine weight, I would’ve used it instead.

I also changed the wings a bit, skipping the two single crochet in the first stitch. I think it makes the wings look a little smaller, and a little more delicate, which adds to the cute factor.

The feet looked so cute in Amanda’s version, and I was severely tempted to throw them on as well, but since I want to use this little guy as a keychain charm, I felt like having fewer attached parts to the penguin was a bit safer. If this penguin ends up having a different home, I can always add the feet back on!

One of the biggest thing I learned through this pattern was to not pull my yarn so tight when I bring it across the body for the tapestry crochet technique. It turns out that I pulled it so tight that I was accidentally shrinking the face along the sides, which was not wanted at all. I found that one way to minimize this effect was to stuff the penguin more firmly.

The funny thing is that I actually found this pattern on Pinterest, and at first, all I could find was the Russian version. As you can imagine, that made my work a little bit harder, as I had no idea what each row meant. However, thanks to the power of Google, I found the English version!