Free Crochet Animal Applique Patterns

These free crochet animal applique patterns are small, useful crocheted pieces you can use to decorate baby blankets, clothes, nursery baskets, wall hangings, banners, garlands and handmade gifts. The collection includes woodland animals, safari animals and other easy-to-recognize motifs, with both flat and lightly padded designs. Choose one animal for a simple accent or mix several patterns to build a coordinated nursery or baby project.

By Jan Bay

These Crochet Animal Applique Patterns can be mixed and matched to decorate baby blankets, nursery wall hangings, garlands and other handmade projects.

Compare the Crochet Animal Applique Patterns

Choose a Crochet Animal Applique Pattern

You can choose an animal by nursery theme, the shape of the finished appliqué or the project you want to decorate. Each animal links to its own complete free pattern with materials, stitch instructions, assembly and finishing directions.

Woodland and Forest Animal Appliqués

For woodland baby projects, start with the crochet bunny applique pattern, crochet fox applique pattern, crochet deer applique pattern or crochet bear applique pattern. These work well for woodland blankets, nursery baskets, banners and handmade baby gifts, and the animals can be mixed without needing every motif to be exactly the same shape.

Safari and Jungle Animal Appliqués

The crochet lion applique pattern, crochet elephant applique pattern, crochet giraffe applique pattern and crochet monkey applique pattern make a coordinated safari group. Use one animal as a focal design or repeat several across a blanket, nursery banner or wall hanging.

Reptile and Wetland Animal Appliqués

The crochet alligator applique pattern gives you a longer horizontal shape that works especially well across the front of a nursery basket, blanket panel or wall hanging.

Farm animals and pet appliqués can be added as their own groups as the collection grows rather than mixing them into categories where they do not belong.

Crochet Lion Applique

The crochet lion has a rounded golden-tan body, a full caramel or rust scalloped mane, small ears, a cream muzzle and an embroidered face. Its mane gives it the boldest outline of the four safari animals, so it works especially well as a focal appliqué on a baby blanket or nursery banner.

The complete lion pattern includes the matching body panels, two-piece mane construction, ears, muzzle, secure tail, embroidered facial details, light stuffing and final assembly instructions.

Crochet Elephant Applique

The elephant is a good choice when you want a safari animal with a broad, recognizable silhouette. The lightly padded version shown here has oversized layered ears, a separate curved trunk, a secure tail and embroidered facial details.

The dedicated elephant page includes this lightly padded safari elephant plus the flat circus elephant design, giving you two different constructions for blankets and nursery projects.

Crochet Giraffe Applique

The crochet giraffe stands out from the other safari animals because of its long neck, capped ossicones and scattered brown crochet spots. A cream muzzle, small ears and embroidered face keep the details easy to recognize without making the appliqué overly busy.

The complete giraffe pattern covers the shaped body and neck, matching ears, ossicones and caps, muzzle, two sizes of crochet spots, secure tail, light stuffing and final facial embroidery.

Crochet Monkey Applique

The crochet monkey has a rounded brown silhouette, wide layered ears, a tan face patch and a curled tail. The tail gives this design a different shape from the lion, elephant and giraffe and makes it easy to recognize even when several safari animals are arranged together.

The complete monkey pattern includes a pear-shaped body, separate round head, layered ears, shaped tan face patch, narrow curled tail, embroidered facial details and complete assembly and attachment directions. This monkey is a flat layered appliqué with no stuffing.

Crochet Applique Sizing for Baby and Nursery Projects

The best appliqué size depends on where you plan to use it. A motif that looks balanced on a baby blanket can overwhelm a small bodysuit, while a tiny appliqué can disappear on the front of a large nursery basket.

As a general guide, an appliqué about 2 to 4 inches across works well for many baby clothes and small accessories. Repeated blanket motifs are often easier to arrange when they are roughly 3 to 5 inches, while a single focal animal on a blanket, basket or wall hanging can be closer to 4 to 7 inches or larger.

Long animals such as an alligator may need to be judged by width rather than height. A giraffe may need more vertical space because of its neck, while a lion or bear can fill the same area with a rounder shape. Measure the actual space on your project instead of choosing every animal by one finished dimension.

If an individual pattern is larger or smaller than you need, changing yarn weight and hook size can adjust the finished size while keeping the basic construction similar. Make a test piece first when size is important because yarn, hook size and personal tension can all change the final measurements.

Best Yarn and Weight for Crochet Animal Appliques

A smooth yarn usually gives animal appliqués the clearest shape. You want the ears, muzzles, tails, spots and facial details to remain easy to see, so heavily textured or fuzzy yarn can make a small motif harder to define.

Worsted weight number 4 yarn is a useful all-purpose choice for medium-size appliqués and works well when you want the animal to stand out on a blanket, basket or nursery project. DK number 3 yarn makes a smaller, lighter appliqué and can be a better choice for baby clothes, small banners or projects where you do not want much added bulk.

Smooth cotton gives flat appliqués crisp edges and good stitch definition. Soft acrylic is another practical choice, especially for washable blankets and nursery projects. Use the yarn recommended on the individual pattern page when you want the appliqué to come out close to the intended size and proportions.

If you substitute a thinner yarn and smaller hook, the same pattern will generally produce a smaller motif. A heavier yarn and larger hook will make it larger. Keep in mind that very small features such as ears, spots, muzzles and tails may need extra attention when a pattern is scaled far up or down.

Using Crochet Animal Appliques on Blankets, Clothes and Nursery Projects

Animal appliqués are useful because the same small crochet pattern can be used on several different projects. The best attachment method and amount of dimension depend on whether the finished item will be displayed or handled regularly.

Animal Appliques on Baby Blankets

A single animal can be used in one corner of a blanket, or several smaller appliqués can be spaced across the blanket or arranged along one edge. Lay out all of the animals before sewing so you can check the spacing and make sure one large motif is not pulling attention away from the rest.

For a blanket that may be handled frequently, securely attach ears, tails, manes, trunks and other projecting pieces rather than leaving them loose for dimension. Flat or lightly padded appliqués usually sit more comfortably on a blanket than heavily stuffed designs.

Animal Appliques on Baby Clothes

Choose smaller, flatter motifs for bodysuits, shirts, sweaters and other baby clothes. A large padded appliqué adds unnecessary bulk, especially on an area that may press against the baby when sitting or lying down.

Position the appliqué on the garment before sewing and check how the fabric stretches. Sew around the stable outer edges without pulling tightly enough to gather the clothing underneath. Any ears, tails or other small pieces should be securely attached.

Animal Appliques on Nursery Baskets

A nursery storage basket gives you more room for a medium or large animal motif. Center one appliqué on the front or use two smaller animals if the basket is wide enough. Bears, foxes, deer and bunnies work naturally with woodland storage baskets, while safari animals can coordinate with jungle or safari nursery decor.

Attach the appliqué firmly enough that the edges do not catch when items are placed in or removed from the basket. If the basket has a soft fabric wall, avoid pulling the attachment stitches so tightly that the front puckers.

Animal Appliques on Nursery Projects

Use the same animal patterns on nursery banners, wall hangings, decorative pillows and other handmade projects. Display pieces allow a little more freedom to leave mane edges, ears or tails slightly raised for dimension because the finished item is not being handled like a blanket or piece of clothing.

Keep decorative banners, pillows, baskets and wall hangings outside the baby's sleep space. For anything a baby may handle, securely attach all small and projecting pieces and check the appliqué occasionally for loose stitching.

Finishing Free Crochet Animal Applique Patterns

Once your Crochet Animal Applique Patterns are assembled, a few finishing steps will help them stay secure and lie flat on your completed project.

How to Attach a Finished Animal Appliqué

Finish assembling and shaping the appliqué before attaching it. If a flat piece needs blocking to lie smoothly, do that before attachment. Lay the finished appliqué on the blanket, banner, pillow or wall hanging and secure it temporarily with locking stitch markers or rustproof pins. Check that the body is straight and that the ears, mane, trunk, tail and other outer pieces are positioned as intended.

Thread a yarn needle with matching yarn. Follow the attachment directions on the individual animal pattern page because the edge construction differs between the flat and lightly padded designs. As a general method, use small whip stitches around the stable outer edge of the main body, taking shallow stitches through the blanket or other project beneath it. Keep the attachment yarn unobtrusive and avoid pulling the stitches tightly enough to pucker the project.

Add separate hidden tacking stitches beneath any large mane sections, ears, trunk base, tail base, spots or other pieces that lift away from the project. For a wall hanging or banner, some outer portions may remain free for dimension. For a blanket or another item a baby may handle, securely tack down all projecting ears, mane scallops, trunks, tails, ossicones and tail-tuft loops with closely spaced hidden stitches.

After the appliqué is attached, check the front for puckering. Ease any tight attachment stitches before weaving the yarn tail through several stitches on the back of the project in two directions. Trim only after the tail is secure.

After each crochet animal appliqué is assembled, check every sewn-on piece before adding it to a blanket, banner, wall hanging or nursery decor project. Tug gently on ears, tails, muzzles, trunks, manes and spots. Reinforce anything that shifts before the appliqué is sewn permanently in place.

For a larger safari nursery project using these same animal designs, see the full crochet safari animal mobile pattern.

The animal appliqué patterns in this collection can be mixed and matched on baby blankets, nursery baskets, banners, wall hangings and other handmade projects. Choose animals from one theme for a coordinated look or combine individual motifs to suit the project you are making.

For many more ideas for how to use handmade pieces that you can make yourself around the room, browse my DIY nursery decor ideas hub for crochet, quilts, wall decor, painted furniture and baby mobiles.

More Free Crochet Animal Patterns

If you enjoyed these Crochet Animal Applique Patterns, you may also like these free crochet baby patterns and coordinating nursery projects.

• Crochet Animal Lovey Patterns
• Crochet Cat Lovey Pattern
• Easy Baby Lovey Crochet Patterns
• Crochet Baby Mobile Patterns
• Free Baby Crochet Patterns