Triceratops crochet pattern: 105 rounds across eleven pieces
A free triceratops crochet pattern for a dinosaur about 20 cm nose to tail and 10 cm to the top of the frill, worked in four colours on a 4.0 mm hook over roughly six and a half hours. The frill is the animal: a flat sage disc that runs 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and then takes ten increases in its last round instead of six, so the rim waves into five scallops rather than lying flat. The other ten pieces are ordinary shapes. All 105 rounds are written out, each with the count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 105 rounds was checked against the round before it by machine — the counts, the increases and the decreases all add up. What nobody can promise you yet is how it sits in the hand.How we check
6 of 8 checks ran on 2026-09-04
- 1 format and stitch chainscripts/validate.py — 113 patterns, all counts chain.
- 2 catalogue auditscripts/audit-patterns.py — 113 audited, 0 errors, 66 warnings.
- 3 geometrygeometry-check.py — 113 checked, 0 errors, 4 warnings.
- 5 not a duplicate113 distinct display names across 113 patterns
- 6c target on the recordseo.headKeyword, confidence and demand present and cross-checked by scripts/validate.py
- 8 page readinessscripts/check-completeness.py --gate — 0 required fields missing, 114 editorial flags, 0 unearned claims.
Not yet checked
- 4 render matches the pattern — no image has been compared against its own prompt, so a render showing a piece the rounds do not make would not be caught here. Nothing has counted how many do.
- 6a recognisability — provenance.recognisability is empty in every pattern, so there is no feature list to check the parts against.
Why it is rated Medium
Eleven separate pieces, a frill whose last round breaks the flat-circle rule on purpose, and two pairs of legs at different heights that decide whether the animal stands.
Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.
00
00What you need before you start
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What you need before you start
Yarn — four colours, all weight 4
1 skein (about 60 g)Worsted / aran weight (CYC 4) cotton or acrylic
small amount (about 20 g)Worsted / aran weight (CYC 4), same yarn as the body
scraps (about 15 g)Worsted / aran weight (CYC 4), same yarn as the body
small amount (about 20 g)Worsted / aran weight (CYC 4), same yarn as the body
Tools
6 you probably own, 3 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Pins
Measuring tape
A chopstick or dowel for stuffing
You need to buy
8 mm black safety eyes ×2
Polyester stuffing (~40 g)
Charcoal embroidery floss or a length of the charcoal yarn, for the nostrils and mouth
Optional
A locking stitch marker in a contrast colour for the round start
Two yarn bobbins for the charcoal spots on frill round 7
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Not critical. Work tight enough that stuffing cannot show between stitches — a looser hand gives a larger dinosaur and eats more yarn.
Finished size
~20 cm nose to tail, ~10 cm to the top of the frill, and the frill about 10 cm across
The frill is the piece that must not shrink. If you drop a hook size for the body, work the frill on the larger hook anyway — a frill narrower than the body is long stops reading as a triceratops.
How to make the triceratops, piece by piece
Switching rewrites every round:US6 sc in mrUK6 dc in mrWork a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01The body
A low barrel. Six rounds open it out, eight straight rounds hold the…21 RNDS
starts in slateBlue· magic ring· Piece 1 of 11
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [30] [36]
Opening out
RND 1–61[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[30]
6[36]
Straight sides
RND 7–147[36]
8[36]
9[36]
10[36]
11[36]
12[36]
13[36]
14[36]
Tapering to the tail
RND 15–2115[30]
16[30]
17[24]
18[24]
19[18]
20[12]
21[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff the barrel firmly and the tail end more lightly, so the back stays level instead of sagging in the middle.
2
02The head
Not a ball. It widens in three steps from the muzzle to the eyes…13 RNDS
starts in slateBlue· magic ring· Piece 2 of 11
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [24] [24]
Muzzle out to thirty
RND 1–71[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[24]
6[24]
7[30]
The eye rounds
RND 8–98[30]
9[30]
Drawing in to the neck
RND 10–1310[24]
11[24]
12[18]
13[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is donePlace the safety eyes on round 8, one each side and about nine stitches apart, before you stuff and close.
3
03The frill
A flat disc in sage, eight rounds from a magic ring. It ends about…8 RNDS
starts in sage· magic ring· Piece 3 of 11
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [30] [36]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[30]
6[36]
7[42]
8[52]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneRound 8 takes ten increases where a flat circle would take six. Group them in five pairs around the rim and the edge waves into five soft scallops.
4
04The nose horn
Six rounds of bone, straight and then widening, so it reads as a stub…6 RNDS
starts in bone· magic ring· Piece 4 of 11
First six rounds[6] [6] [9] [9] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[6]
3[9]
4[9]
5[12]
6[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff it lightly. A horn packed hard will not bend to sit against the curve of the head.
5
05The brow horns
Two the same, longer and thinner than the nose horn. A magic ring of…8 RNDS
starts in bone· magic ring· Piece 5 of 11
First six rounds[4] [4] [4] [6] [6] [9]
1[4]
2[4]
3[4]
4[6]
5[6]
6[9]
7[9]
8[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is donePush a scrap of stuffing into the three narrow rounds at the tip and leave the rest empty, then flatten the twelve-stitch base so it sits against the curve of the head.
6
06Right brow horn
— the same 8 rounds again, worked from piece 058 RNDS
starts in bone· magic ring· Piece 6 of 11· mirrors the brow horns
First six rounds[4] [4] [4] [6] [6] [9]
1[4]
2[4]
3[4]
4[6]
5[6]
6[9]
7[9]
8[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
7
07The front legs
Two the same and deliberately short. Four rounds of a charcoal foot…7 RNDS
starts in charcoal· magic ring· Piece 7 of 11
First six rounds[6] [12] [15] [15] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
5[12]
6[12]
7[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff the foot firmly and the upper leg loosely, so it flattens where it meets the body.
8
08Right front leg
— the same 7 rounds again, worked from piece 077 RNDS
starts in charcoal· magic ring· Piece 8 of 11· mirrors the front legs
First six rounds[6] [12] [15] [15] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
5[12]
6[12]
7[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
9
09The back legs
Two the same, two rounds taller than the front pair and wider at the…9 RNDS
starts in charcoal· magic ring· Piece 9 of 11
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [15] [15]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[15]
6[15]
7[12]
8[12]
9[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff to the top of the foot and stop there. The last three rounds hold at twelve and stay soft, so the leg flattens against the hip instead of holding the body off the table.
10
10Right back leg
— the same 9 rounds again, worked from piece 099 RNDS
starts in charcoal· magic ring· Piece 10 of 11· mirrors the back legs
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [15] [15]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[15]
6[15]
7[12]
8[12]
9[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
11
11The tail
Worked from the tip. Six stitches for two rounds, then four widening…9 RNDS
starts in slateBlue· magic ring· Piece 11 of 11
First six rounds[6] [6] [9] [9] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[6]
3[9]
4[9]
5[12]
6[12]
7[16]
8[16]
9[18]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff the thick end only. Leaving the last two rounds soft lets the tip rest on the table.
You are here
Eleven pieces from eight lists. Three lists — the brow horns, the front legs and the back legs — are written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.105 ROUNDS IN ALL
Nine notes on the triceratops
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Every piece is worked in a continuous spiral in single crochet. Nothing is joined and nothing is turned.
03The fabric is smooth single crochet all over. There is no ribbing, no openwork and no gap anywhere in the piece; the wave in the frill's rim comes from extra stitches, not from a textured stitch.
04The frill is the whole animal. It finishes about 10 cm across, wider than the body is long, and that is deliberate — shrink it and you have made a small blue quadruped instead of a triceratops. Work all eight rounds at full size.
05Frill round 8 puts ten increases into a round that a flat circle would take six. Space them as five pairs around the rim and the edge waves into five soft scallops; the round total is what the app counts, so the placement lives here in the notes.
06Frill round 7 carries six charcoal spots, two stitches each, worked as per-stitch colourwork. Carry the sage behind the charcoal rather than cutting it each time.
07The head is a blunt wedge, not a ball — it widens in three steps from the muzzle to the eyes, holds for three rounds, then draws in at the neck.
08Set the safety eyes on head round 8 before stuffing. For a child under three, embroider the eyes in charcoal instead.
09Assembly order that works: stuff and close the body, sew the four legs on with the back pair a little further out than the front, sew the tail over the rear taper, then sew the frill flat to the back of the head before the head goes on the body. Reaching the back of the head is much harder once the neck is closed.
Four questions this pattern answers
Not questions anybody asked. Each one is written from this pattern's own record, and every answer is read off the fields it names.
How is the colour worked into the triceratops?
How much yarn will the triceratops take?
What hook will the triceratops need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the triceratops take to crochet?
A round that will not add up?
Tell us the piece and the round number — the stepper already knows where you are.There is nowhere to send one yet.
Put the laptop down mid-round
The iPhone app keeps your place — piece of 11, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
