Of all the things in my crochet basket, nothing makes people smile faster than a donut. The crochet donut ideas in this collection are pure, zero-calorie joy: plump frosted rings with rainbow sprinkles, tiny charms that dangle from keys, pillows you can hug on the sofa and one gentle rattle made for the littlest hands. They are the happiest kind of project too — small yarn scraps, simple stitches, and that wonderful moment when two plain circles suddenly turn into a bakery treat.
So here are twenty of my favourite donut designs for you, every single one genuinely free: classic amigurumi donuts in every size from bite-sized to bakery-window big, flat appliqués and coasters, a corner-to-corner graph square, a tree ornament, and two glorious pillows. I have noted the yarn, the size and the honest little details for each one as we go. Pick your flavour, raid the sprinkle-coloured scraps, and let's make something sweet.
1. The Big Bakery-Style Donut With Embroidered Sprinkles
If you want one showpiece donut, this is the one I would start with. The Little World of Whimsy donut is a generous, well-stuffed ring worked in two halves in worsted yarn, growing out to a plump 88 stitches at its widest before the decreases pull it back in. Once the two halves are sewn together, you embroider short sprinkle stitches in five happy colours all over the frosting section, which is the part I find strangely meditative. The finished donut is big enough to sit proudly on a play-kitchen shelf or a craft-room cushion. It is a proper afternoon project rather than a quickie, but every round is plain single crochet, so confident beginners can absolutely manage it.
Pattern: Amigurumi Donut by Little World of Whimsy — Get the free pattern
2. A Glossy Pink-Glazed Classic
This sweet design starts the way so many good donuts do, with a ring of chains that becomes the hole in the middle. The AmiguWorld version, designed by @_tubigurumi_ and translated into English on the site, works the pink icing first and then switches to a light golden-brown for the baked underside. A round worked through the back loops only gives the glaze that lovely defined edge where it meets the dough. Little sewn sprinkles finish the top, and the whole thing is stuffed as you close it up. In pink and cream it is the full bakery-window look, but a mint or chocolate version would be just as tempting.
Pattern: Sweet Amigurumi Donut by @_tubigurumi_ at AmiguWorld — Get the free pattern
3. Plush Yarn, Just Bigger Than the Real Thing
Rose and Lily designed this donut in squishy plush chenille yarn, and she says it comes out just a bit bigger than a real donut — which, in my house, makes it exactly the right size for little hands to grab. You crochet two circles, one in a warm beige for the underside and one in your frosting colour, then join them with a round of neat stitches and stuff as you go. The sample uses Hobbii Baby Snuggle with a 4.25 mm hook, and there are embroidered sprinkles scattered over the top. Because the yarn is chunky, it works up far faster than it looks. There is a full video tutorial on her channel too if you like to crochet along.
Pattern: Crochet Donut by Rose and Lily Amigurumi — Get the free pattern
4. The Two-Halves Donut in Soft DK
Amigurumi Arts keeps things beautifully simple with this DK-weight donut in US terms. Both halves are worked in a continuous spiral — no joining at the end of rounds, just a stitch marker doing the quiet work — and the second half becomes your glaze colour. The two pieces are then sewn together with the stuffing added during assembly, and the sprinkles go on last as short embroidered stitches in your brightest scraps. A 3.5 mm hook keeps the fabric firm so no stuffing peeks through. It is a calm, tidy pattern that would suit a newer crocheter who wants one polished result. Choose a glaze colour you love, because this is the donut that shows it off.
Pattern: Donut Amigurumi by Amigurumi Arts — Get the free pattern
5. The No-Sew Mini You Can Finish Tonight
No sewing at all — that is the promise here, and Little Crochet Farm delivers it. This mini donut is worked in one continuous piece, changing colour for the topping and using a round of back-loop slip stitches to fake the frosting's wavy edge, so there is not a single seam to close at the end. At roughly three inches tall in sport-weight yarn with a 2 mm hook, it is palm-sized and completely adorable. Gauge barely matters, which makes it a relaxed evening make rather than a precision exercise. I would stitch a whole tray of these in different flavours for a child's pretend bakery. They also make the sweetest little keychain charms.
Pattern: No-Sew Mini Donut Amigurumi by Little Crochet Farm — Get the free pattern
6. A Tiny Baby Donut in Under an Hour
The tiniest treat on the list: Sweet Softies' miniature donut measures about an inch and a half across and testers finished it in under an hour. You work a top and a bottom in worsted yarn on a small 2.75 mm hook, sew the inner holes together stitch by stitch, then close the outer edge while stuffing. At this size it becomes a keychain, a necklace charm, or a snack for your favourite amigurumi doll to hold. The written pattern is free on her blog, and if you prefer printing, she also sells a tidy ad-free PDF in her shop — entirely optional. Endless flavour combinations make it dangerously collectable.
Pattern: Tiny Baby Donut by Sweet Softies — Get the free pattern
7. The Keychain Donut With Dangly Legs
This little character from All Things Heart and Home never fails to make people laugh before they even pick it up. The donut is cleverly worked as one long tube — beige dough first, a mid-round colour change to bold red frosting, then decreases that let you fold the tube shut around the stuffing. A front-loop-only round makes the frosting sit up in a realistic little ridge. Safety eyes, an embroidered smile and two tiny dangling legs finish the face, and sprinkles are sewn across the top. The designer rates it intermediate only because of the colour change and folding, and the whole thing takes about ninety minutes. Every frosting colour looks different, so expect to make the full tray.
Pattern: Crochet Donut Keychain by All Things Heart and Home — Get the free pattern
8. A No-Sew Donut Pal Holding a Happy Sign
Positive Pals — those little crochet friends holding encouraging signs — have been everywhere at craft fairs, and The Penguin Pages turned the idea into a donut. The clever bit is the arms: they are worked right into the body in round six with a bobble stitch, so there is genuinely no sewing anywhere in this pattern. It takes less than half an ounce of worsted yarn in total, plus a few short scraps in six colours for the sprinkles, which makes it a perfect stash-clearing afternoon. Safety eyes and an embroidered smile give it a face, and the blank sign is yours to letter with whatever someone needs to hear. Sweet on a desk, sweeter in a lunchbox.
Pattern: No-Sew Positive Donut Pal by The Penguin Pages — Get the free pattern
9. The Sweet Little Scared Donut
Somebody has clearly just told this donut it looks delicious, because its little face is pure adorable alarm. Penguin Hobbies works the body from a ring of thirty chains, growing it out through neat increase rounds and back in again, and the pattern reminds you to fill the outer curve firmly while keeping the inner edge softer so the hole stays crisp. The design is shown in soft lavender with mint and pastel blue variations, so you can pick your own flavour of worry. A worried treat sounds like a contradiction, but trust me, it is the one everyone reaches for first. It would make a very funny gift for a fellow baker.
Pattern: Scared Donut Amigurumi by Penguin Hobbies — Get the free pattern
10. A Mini Donut That Turned Into a Bunny
Claire Abelle Makes took a golden donut base, added a white top half, and somewhere along the way it grew bunny ears — I am so glad it did. The two halves are crocheted separately and then worked together through both layers, stuffing firmly as you close, which leaves a perfectly neat edge all the way round. Two little ears, tiny rose-pink cheek circles and an embroidered face complete the transformation. The pattern is written in US terms in continuous rounds, and the instructions are laid out step by step with stitch counts at every stage. As an Easter make or a spring gift, this little donut bunny is hard to beat.
Pattern: Mini Donut Bunny by Claire Abelle Makes — Get the free pattern
11. The Donut Pig With the Curly Tail
If you loved the plush donut at number three, meet its farmyard cousin from Rose and Lily's Donut Pals series. You start with the same basic donut in soft light pink plush yarn, holding off on the sprinkles, and place the safety eyes before the two halves are joined. Then come the details that make it a pig: two ears, an oval snout with little stitched nostrils, and a curly tail. It uses the same chunky yarns and 4.25 mm hook as the original, so if you have made one donut you are already halfway to the pig. There is a step-by-step video for the pig as well. One warning: the Frog pal in the same series is equally cute.
Pattern: Donut Pig by Rose and Lily Amigurumi — Get the free pattern
12. A Gentle Donut Rattle for Baby Hands
Here is the donut made for the very smallest hands. Ronique, a Japanese pattern house, shapes this soft ring in smooth cotton yarn and tucks a little bell inside before closing, so it jingles gently when baby shakes it. The finished rattle is about 11 by 9 centimetres — a comfortable grip size — and the pastel colour bands give it a pretty, old-fashioned sweetshop look. In the spirit of full honesty: the pattern itself is a free PDF chart on Ronique's English page, supported by step-by-step photos, and it follows the chart-based style Japanese patterns are known for. If you enjoy working from charts, it is a lovely, quick gift make.
Pattern: Donut Rattle by Ronique — Get the free pattern
13. Chocolate-Iced Appliqué for Blankets and More
Flat donuts earn their keep in a dozen ways, and this one from Maria's Blue Crayon is part of her much-loved foodie blanket series. The beige base is a simple six-round circle, and the chocolate icing gets its realistic wavy drips from a clever repeating round of single crochet, double crochet and slip stitches. You sew on sprinkles in red, yellow, blue and green, then stitch the icing to the base — done. Because it is worked in worsted yarn with a 4 mm hook, it is quick enough to make a whole batch for a blanket, a garland or a set of gift toppers. There is a video tutorial on the page as well if you want company while you stitch.
Pattern: Crochet Donut Appliqué by Maria’s Blue Crayon — Get the free pattern
14. One Donut Pattern, Two Ways to Finish It
Amelia Makes gives you a genuine two-for-one with this design: follow the pattern once for a flat appliqué with neat icing and sprinkles, or make the pieces twice and join them for a plump, stuffed 3D donut. The yardage is tiny — roughly ten yards each of icing and body colour for the flat version — so this is a true scrap-basket project. A G hook and aran yarn keep it sturdy, and the stitch pattern is nothing more exotic than half double crochet. The flat version is perfect for cards, banners and embellishing a plain tote. I love patterns that let me choose the finish on the day, depending on my mood and my stuffing supply.
Pattern: Crochet a Donut by Amelia Makes — Get the free pattern
15. Donut Coasters That String Into a Garland
Heather Corinne's donuts are flat, fast and endlessly useful. The base is a seven-round circle in a warm beige, and the frosting layer is worked separately with a slightly wider starting ring so it drapes over the base just like real icing. Make one and you have a coaster; make a set in mint, pink, black and coffee and your coffee table is suddenly a bakery counter. She also lists jute among the supplies because the same flat donuts string together into the prettiest party garland. The written pattern is free on her blog, with an optional printable PDF if you like a paper copy. Worsted scraps finally have a destiny.
Pattern: Crochet Donut Coasters by Heather Corinne — Get the free pattern
16. A C2C Donut Square for Dessert Blankets
Amber at Divine Debris designed this donut square for her Delicious Desserts corner-to-corner crochet-along, and it finishes at a generous 16 inches square in worsted yarn. Three colours of Vanna's Choice — linen, chocolate and a shocking pink — build the pixel donut, and she suggests tying tiny lengths of yarn onto the icing for sprinkles, which is such a charming low-tech trick. Now the honest part: the graph is free right there on her blog, while the fully written row-by-row instructions are in a paid ad-free PDF. Confident graph readers need nothing more than the blog post. Join twelve dessert squares and you have a blanket worth passing down.
Pattern: C2C Donut Afghan Square by Divine Debris — Get the free pattern
17. Donuts, Donut Holes and a Party Bunting
Red Heart's design team thought of everything with this one. The pattern, a free download from Yarnspirations with no sign-up needed, uses self-patterning Red Heart Amigurumi Prints yarn so the frosting colours swirl on their own — one ball makes two four-inch donuts and four tiny donut holes. And because a table of crochet donuts deserves a celebration, the same pattern includes a bunting that strings your donuts into roughly 78 inches of party garland. It is rated intermediate, mostly for the assembly, but the stitches themselves are just chains and single crochet worked in rounds. Tea parties, birthday shelves and play cafés are all covered by this single download.
Pattern: Red Heart Crochet Donut by Red Heart at Yarnspirations — Get the free pattern
18. A Dangling Donut for the Christmas Tree
Every Christmas tree in a crocheter's house deserves at least one donut, and this Red Heart ornament is the classic way to do it. The body is worked in two pieces and lightly stuffed, the sprinkles are embroidered French knots, and a slim gold ribbon forms the hanging loop. It is an easy-level pattern and another free Yarnspirations download with no sign-up required, so you can be stitching within minutes. Super Saver scraps in white, turquoise, spring green and perfect pink are the suggested palette, but a chocolate-and-red version looks wonderful too. Make a dozen and your tree becomes the neighbourhood bakery.
Pattern: Dangling Donut Ornament by Red Heart at Yarnspirations — Get the free pattern
19. The 14-Inch Donut Pillow for Movie Night
Now we are into serious cuddle territory. Pink Plumeria Maui works this pillow in Bernat Blanket yarn on a big L hook, and it finishes a full 14 inches wide and 6 inches deep — a proper sofa pillow with a hole in the middle. The top half gets seventeen little crocheted sprinkles in four candy colours, or you can swirl the frosting with surface slip stitches instead. The two halves are single-crocheted together around the stuffing, so the seam becomes part of the design. One skein does the heavy lifting, which keeps the cost friendly. It works up quickly, and in my experience it starts arguments about who gets to hug it.
Pattern: Crocheted Donut Pillow by Pink Plumeria Maui — Get the free pattern
20. A Bunny-Cop Donut Pillow for the Nursery
We are finishing with pure storybook sweetness: Kathy Leung's donut pillow inspired by Officer Judy Hopps, everyone's favourite bunny cop. It is a free download on LoveCrafts, worked in chunky chenille yarn so the whole pillow is ultra-soft and squeezable. The donut shape makes it wonderfully versatile — nursery décor, a travel cushion for the car, or a reading pillow for a small Disney fan. Because the yarn is bulky, it grows quickly and forgivingly, and the designer pitches it at beginners who are comfortable working in the round. A handmade gift with this much character will be treasured long after the nursery years. What a way to end a donut run.
Pattern: Officer Judy Donut Pillow by Kathy Leung at LoveCrafts — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty donuts, my friend — bakery-big plush rings and inch-high minis, keychains with dangly legs, a bunny, a pig, a gentle baby rattle, flat appliqués, a C2C graph square, an ornament for the tree and two pillows built for serious lounging. Every single one is free, and nearly all of them run on the yarn scraps you already have, which makes a whole tray of flavours a very realistic weekend ambition. If you are new to amigurumi, start with the no-sew mini or the two-halves DK donut; if you want a weekend showpiece, the big pillow or the C2C square are calling your name.
Now tell me — are you team classic pink glaze or team chocolate everything, and which of these twenty is going on your hook first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your makes!
