Bulbasaur

I was Pokemon crazy as a kid (let’s be real, I still am). The original starter Pokemon will always have a special place in my heart and I’ve seen so many great amigurumi Pokemon projects, I had to try my hand at my own. We’re starting with 001 –  a super cute, beginner friendly crochet Bulbasaur pattern!

If you don’t crochet yourself but still want one of these crocheted Bulbasaur plush dolls, you can grab one from my Etsy store here. You can purchase and ad-free PDF of this pattern over on my Ravelry or Etsy, and if you do a huge thank-you in advance for your wonderful support!

The materials you’ll need

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• turquoise yarn
• green yarn
• dark turquoise or blue/green felt
• polyester filling
• 3.00mm crochet hook
• fabric glue
• 2x 10mm safety eyes

I looked for a good colour for Bulbasaur for a while, and ended up finding a great turquoise colour in the 4 seasons Marvel brand, which is available at Spotlight in Australia. Cascade Superwash has an almost exact colour match with their Duck Egg Blue shade.

Quick reference for beginners

Check out some of the below tutorials if you get stuck on any of the stitches or techniques

• How to read patterns
• Magic ring
• Single crochet
• Increase
• Decrease
• Attaching amigurumi limbs

If you get stuck anywhere else, check out the FAQ.

Crochet Bulbasaur pattern

HEAD

1. (in Turquoise) MR 6 (6)
2. [ inc ]x 6 (12)
3. [ inc, sc ]x 6 (18)
4. sc, [ inc, sc 2 ]x 5, inc, sc (24)
5. [ inc, sc 3 ]x 6 (30)
6. sc 2, [ inc, sc 4 ]x 5, inc, sc 2 (36)
7-10. sc 36 (36)
11. [ inc, sc 5 ]x 6 (42)
12-13. sc 42 (42)
14. [ dec, sc 5 ]x 6 (36)
15. sc 2, [ dec, sc 4 ]x 5, dec, sc 2 (30)
16. [ dec, sc 3 ]x 6 (24)

Leave a tail for sewing and finish off.

Insert the safety eyes between rows 11 and 12, with approximately 7 stitches between them.

BODY

1. (in Turquoise) MR 6 (6)
2. [ inc ]x 6 (12)
3. [ inc, sc ]x 6 (18)
4. sc, [ inc, sc 2 ]x 5, inc, sc (24)
5. [ inc, sc 3 ]x 6 (30)
6-8. sc 30 (30)
9. [ dec, sc 3 ]x 6 (24)
10-12. sc 24 (24)

Finish off.

LEG

1. (in Turquoise) MR 6 (6)
2. [ inc, sc ]x 3 (9)
3-6. sc 9 (9)

Leave a tail for sewing and finish off.

ARM

1. (in Turquoise) MR 6 (6)
2. [ inc, sc 2 ]x 2 (8)
3-4. sc 8 (8)
5. dec, sc 6, (7)
6. sc 7 (7)

Leave a tail for sewing and finish off.

EARS

1. MR 6 (6)
2. sc 6 (6)
3. [ inc, sc ]x 3 (9)

Leave a tail for sewing and finish off.

BULB

1. MR 6 (6)
2. [ inc ]x 6 (12)
3. [ inc, sc ]x 6 (18)
4. sc, inc, [ sc 2, inc ]x 5, sc (24)
5-7. sc 24 (24)
8. sc, dec [ sc 2, dec]x 5, sc (18)
9. [ dec, sc ]x 6 (12)
(stuff the bulb at this point)
10. [ dec ]x 6 (6)
11. [ inc, sc ]x 3 (9)

Leave a long tail and finish off.

When stuffing the bulb make sure that it’s not stuffed too much, and that the base can be flattened. You should be able to easily pinch it and have it stay flat, like the picture above.

Now we’re going to take the tail, thread it onto a yarn needle, and use it to shape the bulb. What you want to achieve is to see a flower-like shape from above with 6 even sections. Use the tail, and take it from the top of the bulb to the bottom, inserting the needle into the center of the magic ring that was created in the first round, and then threading it back up, and poking the needle out in the row just before the top lip, so it can’t be seen from the top. Then pull it very tight so that it makes a dent in the bulb (picture on the right above). Then do the same thing, going back up from the bottom of the bulb to the top on the opposite side. Do this until you have 6 even sections and it has a flower-like outline when placed flat.

Putting it all together

That’s all of the crocheting done! Stuff the head, legs and body. I find the ears and arms don’t really need stuffing (and we’ve already done the bulb). After they’re stuffed I like to use pins to hold them in place before sewing them on. It makes it easier to gauge placement.

Then I just sew them on! I usually find this order easiest: legs, arms, head, ears, bulb. I find it easier to place the bulb and ears evenly after the rest of the body has been put together.

Last thing left to do are the small marks on his arms and face. Cut out 5 weird oval-like shapes out of a dark turquoise felt. The one I’ve used is a bit greener than it should be because I couldn’t find anything closer to the colour I wanted. You could also stitch the markings on using yarn. Glue them in place and then you’re done!

I hope you had fun with your finished crochet Bulbasaur! If you share on Instagram or Tumblr, don’t forget to tag @53stitches so I can check it out.

Other Pokemon crochet patterns

Haven’t had enough? Check out some of the other Pokemon crochet patterns in the collection. You could make a Squirtle or Charmander to complete to starter trio, or check out some of the Eeveelutions.