There is a special kind of joy in a pet that never needs its cage cleaned, and that is exactly what a handmade crochet hamster gives you. These round little darlings are the happiest of stash-busters: most of them use a handful of yarn, one quiet evening and the simplest stitches you know, yet they come off the hook with so much personality that you will want to line them up along your desk, your bookshelf and every windowsill in the house.
So I have gathered twenty of my favourite hamster designs for you, and every single one is genuinely free. There are tiny three-inch minis and a big twenty-centimetre cuddle size, no-sew wonders, a superhero in a cape, a hamster in a knitted-hood sweater, one very dramatic meme hamster, and even a tiny doll wearing a hamster hoodie of her own. I have noted the yarn, the size and the honest little details for each one as we go — pick your favourite, raid the yarn basket, and let's make some hamsters.
1. Tiny Hannah, the Three-Inch Sweetheart
We are starting with the hamster that proves small is mighty: Hannah, designed by Stephanie at Grace and Yarn, finishes at just about three inches tall in worsted weight yarn. She is worked in soft neutrals — the sample uses Lion Brand Feels Like Butta in white with a khaki accent — with tiny sewn-on hands and feet, embroidered lashes and a sweet pink nose. Stephanie calls her a perfect early amigurumi project, and she is right: if you can make a magic circle, work an invisible decrease and change colours, you can make Hannah tonight. The full written pattern is free on the blog, and there is an optional ad-free printable PDF in her shops for $3 if you prefer paper in hand. Add a little chain loop before you close her up and she becomes the cutest keychain on your bag.
Pattern: Hannah the Hamster by Stephanie at Grace and Yarn — Get the free pattern
2. A Pocket-Sized Friend in Fluffy Chenille
Sweet Softies designed the Pocket Hamster to be exactly what the name promises: a four-inch friend who fits in a coat pocket and goes everywhere with you. She is worked in super bulky chenille velvet yarn in beige and brown with a 5 mm hook, 12 mm safety eyes and simple colour changes, and the pattern is rated familiar-beginner friendly. Her ears and tail are crocheted on by attaching yarn directly to the body, which keeps the sewing blissfully light, and you can pose her sitting or standing just by where you place her little legs. The complete pattern is free on the blog; an optional paid PDF is available in her store, and she even offers a free printable adoption certificate when you join her mailing list. Make one for every coat you own — I will not judge.
Pattern: Pocket Hamster by Sweet Softies — Get the free pattern
3. The Classic One-Piece Starter Hamster
If you have never crocheted an animal before, StringyDingDing's Hamster Amigurumi is the friendliest place in the world to begin. The head and body are worked as one easy piece, and then you add the ears, arms, legs and one very cheerful detail — a tiny crocheted piece of fruit for him to hold. The designer rates it easy, walks you through the colour changes step by step, and the whole pattern is free on the page with clear photos as you go. There is an optional paid PDF if you like an ad-free copy, but nothing is hidden from the blog version. In a warm caramel with a cream tummy he looks like he just escaped from the nicest pet shop in town.
Pattern: Hamster Amigurumi by StringyDingDing — Get the free pattern
4. An Autumn Hamster With His Own Acorn
StringyDingDing's second hamster is pure October: a six-and-a-half-inch autumn fellow wearing a little fall hat and clutching a crocheted acorn. He even has tiny toes, which might be the most adorable amigurumi detail I have ever typed into a sentence. The pattern is free in full on the page, with the optional paid PDF at $2.49 if you want the printable version. Worked in cosy rust, mustard and cream, he is the hamster your autumn shelf has been waiting for — sit him beside a pumpkin and try not to smile. He makes a lovely handmade gift for anyone whose favourite season involves falling leaves and hot drinks.
Pattern: Autumn Hamster Amigurumi by StringyDingDing — Get the free pattern
5. The No-Sew Hamster in a Pointed Hat
Over at All Things Heart and Home lives a brown hamster peeking out from under a tall green pointed hat with a curled tip and a sunny yellow petal brim — and he is almost entirely no-sew. The body and head are worked as one continuous piece with clever colour changes that carry the cream face and belly up the front, bobble stitches form his little paws, and only the ears and hat need stitching on at the end. The complete pattern is written out free on the page, row by row, so you can follow along at your own pace. He has real storybook energy — part garden gnome, part wizard's familiar — and would steal any Halloween or autumn display he sat on. A few hours of colour-change concentration buys you a hamster with serious character.
Pattern: Crochet Hamster Wearing a Hat by All Things Heart and Home — Get the free pattern
6. Eggy the Bottom-Up Plushie
Eggy the Hamster, guest-designed by Miranda of Crazy 4 Crochet Momma for A Crafty Concept, is built on the sweetest idea: an egg-shaped body worked from the bottom up in chunky Premier Parfait yarn with a big 6.5 mm hook. Bobble stitches pop out as his little feet, a safety nose (or a stitched T-shaped mouth) finishes the face, and the pattern even includes a bunny-ear modification if you fancy a two-species afternoon. The whole written pattern is free on the blog, rounds and all. Because the yarn is plush and the hook is big, Eggy grows fast — an evening's work for a seriously squishable friend. Try him in soft grey with a cream belly stripe for a dwarf-hamster look.
Pattern: Egg-y Hamster by Miranda of Crazy 4 Crochet Momma at A Crafty Concept — Get the free pattern
7. A Mini Hamster in Fine Cotton
Pocket Yarnlings works in the miniature world, and their free hamster is a delicate little thing crocheted in Scheepjes Catona cotton with a 2.5–3 mm hook and tiny 4 mm eyes. The cleverness is in the construction: the ears are worked right into the head rounds, bobble stitches make the cheeks and feet, and the whole hamster takes around thirty minutes once you find your rhythm. The complete pattern is published free on the blog post, head to tail, with the designer's notes on turning him into a keychain. Miniatures like this are wonderful for using up the last precious metres of a favourite yarn. Make a whole mischief of them in peach, grey and cream and try to give any away — I dare you.
Pattern: Free Crochet Hamster by Pocket Yarnlings — Get the free pattern
8. The Palm-Sized No-Sew Mini
Momina Stitch's no-sew hamster is the one to reach for when you want a win in under an hour: a palm-sized rounded mini in worsted yarn whose ears are crocheted directly onto the body, so there is essentially no sewing at all. The full step-by-step pattern is free on the page, from the first magic ring to the embroidered nose, cheeks and optional keychain loop. The pattern page is wonderfully practical, with colourway ideas for golden, white, grey dwarf and even panda-marked hamsters from the same simple rounds. Beginners will love how forgiving the shape is, and experienced makers will love how fast a gift appears. Work a basketful in chenille for party favours and watch them vanish.
Pattern: No-Sew Crochet Hamster by Momina Stitch — Get the free pattern
9. A Cuddly Hamster With a Bonus Donut
Some patterns give you a hamster; lapochkatoys gives you a hamster and a donut, which feels like the correct serving suggestion. The hamster finishes around twenty centimetres tall in plump Himalaya Dolphin Baby yarn with a 3 mm hook and 12 mm eyes, all round cheeks and huggable belly, and the free PDF also includes the matching crocheted donut for him to hold or sit beside. The pattern is a free PDF download shared through Amigurumi Cat, complete with materials lists for both pieces. It is the biggest, squishiest make in this collection, and the one small hands will grab first. Pink frosting on the donut is not mandatory, but it is strongly encouraged.
Pattern: Crochet Hamster and Crochet Donut by lapochkatoys — Get the free pattern
10. Hugo the Superhero Hamster
Every roundup needs a hero, and ours is Hugo: a hamster in a red superhero suit with a black belt, a yellow H embroidered on the front and a flowing yellow cape. The full pattern is published free on Amigurumi Gratis, body, limbs, ears, tail, belt and cape, with assembly instructions that walk you through sewing him into his heroic final form. He is the hamster you make for the comic fan, the grandson who saves the day daily, or your own desk when deadlines loom. The cape alone is worth the price of admission — which, happily, is nothing at all. Work his suit in classic red and yellow, or invent your own hero colours and give him a new name.
Pattern: Hugo the Hamster by Amigurumi Gratis — Get the free pattern
11. The Big Hamster in a Cosy Sweater
This is the most substantial make on the list: a large, carefully shaped hamster of about twenty-four and a half centimetres in YarnArt Jeans, wearing a proper little sweater with a hood and a chain tie. The body and the sweater's body are crocheted, with joined two-piece ears, a tightened muzzle and embroidered whiskers that give him a wonderfully wise expression. Now the honest detail, because you deserve it: the sweater's sleeves and hood are knitted on double-pointed needles, so this is a treat for those of us who happily do both crafts — and the full pattern, crochet and knitting parts alike, is free on the Amigurumi Book page. If you have been waiting for a hamster with wardrobe and presence, this distinguished gentleman is yours. He looks like he owns a tiny bookshop, and I respect that.
Pattern: Amigurumi Hamster by Amigurumi Book — Get the free pattern
12. Big Cheeks and a Tiny Seed
The Free Amigurumi hamster is built around the feature we all love most: enormous, stuffing-packed cheeks, emphasised by clever half-double-crochet shaping through the head. You will work him in plush Alize Softy Plus with a chunky 5 mm hook and 10 mm eyes, sew on the little thighs and paws, and then — my favourite touch — crochet him a tiny sunflower seed with embroidered stripes to hold between his feet. The complete pattern is free on the page, assembly included, with pastel shading suggested for the cheeks and inner ears. He sits like a tiny round Buddha of happiness. In soft grey or warm tan, he is pure hamster essence.
Pattern: Amigurumi Hamster by Free Amigurumi — Get the free pattern
13. Cheeky Hamster With the Puffiest Cheeks
M-Kang Designs named this little one Cheeky, and one look tells you why: separately crocheted white cheek pieces and a muzzle are sewn onto a tan head to build the fullest hamster face in this whole collection. The finished hamster stands about 3.8 inches tall, worked mostly with a 3.5 mm hook (a 2.25 mm hook makes the cheeks), with an 11 mm safety nose and invisible decreases keeping everything neat. The designer asks only a little patience, because all those pieces mean assembly takes a touch longer — and it is worth every minute. The full pattern is shared free in the Always Free Amigurumi post linked below. This is the hamster for people who believe cheeks should be a structural feature.
Pattern: Cheeky Hamster by M-Kang Designs via Always Free Amigurumi — Get the free pattern
14. A Hamster Dressed as a Doll
Here is the most playful idea of the twenty: the Toy Doll pattern from Free Amigurumi dresses its doll in a pumpkin-orange hamster hoodie, complete with round hamster ears and an embroidered hamster face on the hood. The hoodie is crocheted with a 3.0 mm hook in smooth rounds, with straps worked in double crochet and tiny ears sewn on to finish the costume. The complete pattern is free on the page, so you get a doll and her hamster outfit in one project. It is a charming gift for a child who cannot decide between a doll and a pet. Make the hoodie in grey or cream, too, and suddenly she has a whole hamster wardrobe.
Pattern: Toy Doll Amigurumi with Hamster Hoodie by Free Amigurumi — Get the free pattern
15. The Chubby-Cheek Cutie in Tan and White
Patricia Poltera of Amigurumi Pattern Parlour designed the Chubby Cheek Hamster around the simplest of truths: the rounder the cheeks, the cuter the hamster. Worked in tan worsted yarn with big white stuffed cheeks, pink inner ears and a tiny stitched smile, he has that classic storybook look that never dates. The full written pattern is free on the page, head and body rounds included, so you can start as soon as you have found your hook. He is a comfortable make for a confident beginner and a relaxing one for everyone else. Sit him on a child's bookshelf and he will guard the picture books with great seriousness.
Pattern: Chubby Cheek Hamster by Patricia Poltera, Amigurumi Pattern Parlour — Get the free pattern
16. A Pair of Hamsters: Peachfuzz & Butter
Why make one hamster when the pattern gives you a matched pair? Brenda K. B. Anderson designed Peachfuzz and Butter for Creative Crochet Corner — two hamsters in different main colours, each built from quick individual pieces in a worsted acrylic-wool blend with a firm, stuffing-proof gauge. She uses three colours per hamster: the main shade, a contrast for belly, arms and nose, and a third for hands, feet, ears and that tiny stubby tail. The page offers the complete written pattern as a free download right beside her step-by-step video class, so you can read, watch, or do both with a cup of tea. A pair like this makes the sweetest gift for sisters, twins or best friends. And yes, a purple one would be adorable — Brenda says so herself.
Pattern: Crochet Hamsters (Peachfuzz & Butter) by Brenda K. B. Anderson at Creative Crochet Corner — Get the free pattern
17. A Hamster in UK Terms, Small and Neat
Our only UK-terms make is a charming older free pattern: a neat little hamster in DK yarn with a 3.00 mm hook, worked in continuous rounds. The instructions include a proper stitch guide explaining the magic loop and the invisible decrease in friendly detail, which makes it a gentle introduction if you have only ever worked from US patterns. The design keeps its shaping simple and its pieces few, so the whole hamster comes together without fuss. It is offered as a free pattern download on Ravelry, so a free Ravelry account is all you need to save your copy. Sometimes the quiet classics are the ones you end up making again and again.
Pattern: Hamster — Crochet Amigurumi by Beth (bethand) on Ravelry — Get the free pattern
18. The Classic Hamster in US and UK Terms
Laura of Pixie Patch did something wonderfully generous with her Hamster pattern: she wrote it twice, once in US terms and once in UK terms, so you can work from whichever dialect your hands speak. He finishes around thirteen centimetres tall — a lovely palm-and-a-half size — with a proper round body and the sweet, simple face that made this pattern a Ravelry favourite for years. It is a free download on Ravelry, and all you need is a free account to add it to your library. The construction is traditional — crochet the pieces, sew them together, stuff him well — and the result is timeless. In soft gold and cream he is the hamster equivalent of a warm hug.
Pattern: Hamster Crochet Pattern by Laura of Pixie Patch on Ravelry — Get the free pattern
19. Mini Hamster Keychain (Video Tutorial)
Short on time? Crochet Musings' Mini Hamster is a beginner-friendly keychain friend that works up in about half an hour from yarn scraps, and it is almost completely no-sew — only the little nose is stitched on; everything else is crocheted right in. This one is taught as a free video tutorial, linked from the Ravelry page below, so you can crochet along stitch by stitch, pausing whenever you like; if you prefer paper, the designer also sells a printable PDF separately, but the video itself costs nothing. You will need a key ring, 6 or 7 mm eyes and a small hook in the 2.5–3 mm range. Make two, as the designer suggests — one for your keys and one for your best friend. Tiny, quick and dangerously giftable.
Pattern: Mini Hamster (Video Tutorial) by Crochet Musings — Get the free pattern
20. Sad Hamster Meme (Video Tutorial)
We are finishing with the internet's most relatable hamster: Gabriela Krasteva's Sad Hamster Meme, a droopy-eyed little fellow in soft grey super bulky Himalaya Dolphin Baby yarn with a 5.5 mm hook and 10 mm plastic eyes. If you have seen the viral sad hamster staring out of your screen, you already know exactly the expression you are crocheting — and yes, it is even funnier in plush form. The pattern is taught as a free, step-by-step video tutorial, linked from the Ravelry page below, and it is friendly to beginners who can hold their stitches steady through the giggling. He is the perfect gift for the friend who sends you that meme weekly. Some hamsters are cute; this one is a whole mood.
Pattern: Sad Hamster Meme (Video Tutorial) by Gabriela Krasteva — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty hamsters, my friend — three-inch minis and twenty-centimetre cuddlers, no-sew quickies and one distinguished gentleman in a hooded sweater, a superhero, a meme, and a pair named Peachfuzz and Butter, every single one free. If you are new to amigurumi, start with the StringyDingDing classic, the Momina Stitch mini or Hannah; if you are feeling ambitious, the big sweatered hamster is a weekend well spent. My favourite tip for this whole collection: hamsters multiply beautifully, so make them in families — one yarn, four colourways, and suddenly you have gifts for a month of birthdays.
Now tell me — are you team tiny keychain hamster or team big cuddly hamster, and which of these twenty is going on your hook first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your makes!
