When I heard of the fires in Australia around christmas time, I had no idea that the fires had been going on for so long already; it was recently estimated that the total burned areas of Australia is slightly smaller than the size of the entire country of England. It hits differently when you look at the disaster in that measurement, imagine the entire country of England aflame and what that would do to the country’s ecosystem in our already fragile world.

Australia is home to many unique species; most recognizable being the Kangaroo, Platypus, Wombat, Dingo, and Koala. Although the Koala is not currently classified as an endangered species but instead as ‘vulnerable’, I wanted to showcase them as they are one of the animals currently suffering the most losses.

Spending most of their day sleeping(18hrs); Koalas are not an active animal, they unfortunately can not quickly escape the fast moving bushfires that are blazing through their habitats. My heart breaks every time I see a picture of a singed or burned Koala. Animal hospitals in Australia are going above and beyond to treat as many koalas and other affected animals as they can.

There are ways we can help as well! Spreading awareness of organizations such as WIRES that need our help and support. If you can not give monetary support, do not feel like you are doing less, help spread the word to those how can give monetary support, sell your crocheted koala and give the money to an animal hospital in Australia, or make items to send to Australia to help comfort and rehabilitate the animals rescued.

Originally, I planned on making this pattern a paid pattern, and donating the money to an organization, however, I decided that I would instead encourage those who come here to help in any way that they can!

Here is a list of organizations that you can support to aid Koalas:

If you are planning on sending crafted items to help, please first read THIS article.

Also, it wouldn’t be an animal pattern from me without some cool facts about the animal featured!

Koalas are not bears, but are actually marsupials. Like Kangaroos, Koalas give birth to an undeveloped fetus which they then carry in a “pouch” on their stomachs, for 6 months. Recently, Hope the Koala emerged from her mother’s pouch in a Miami zoo.
Koalas sleep for 18 hrs a day, mostly during the day time, as they are nocturnal. (Just like me and crocheting)
They require about 2.5 pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day, from this they not only get their food but also their water. Due to the “long gut” formation of their stomachs they are able to digest the poison of the eucalyptus leaves, making them an essential part of the life of a eucalyptus tree ecosystem.
Because Koalas tend to be solitary animals, aside from their young, it is hard for researchers to get an accurate appraisal of their population, THIS article gives an interesting look at this topic.
Cutest “Not” Bears

Materials

Yarn:

Paintbox Simply Aran – Granite Grey (206)
Paintbox Simply Aran – Slate Grey (205)
Paintbox Simply Aran – Paper White (200)

Tools:

3.5mm Crochet Hook (a 3.25mm or 4.00mm could be used depending on your tension)
6mm Safety Eyes
Scissors
Yarn Needle
Stitch Marker
Sewing Pins
Craft Wire
Polyfil

Stitches Used

U.S. Terminology

Right Handed Instructions

Difficulty Level: Easy

CH	Chain Stitch
ST	Stitch
SK	Skip Stitch
SL ST	Slip Stitch
SC	Single Crochet
SCINC	Single Crochet two in same stitch (Increase)
SC2TOG	Single Crochet two together (Decrease)
*	Stitches inside asterisk are repeated
,	A comma is used to indicate when to move on to the next step in the round/row.

Special Techniques Used

Do not join a round unless the pattern says to do so. Otherwise pieces worked in the round will be done in the spiral method.

Head

Yarn color: Slate Grey

Note: The Head is worked top down. Meaning the first round is the top of the head.

Round 1:	Create a Magic Circle, 6 sc, no join.	(6 stitches)
Round 2:	6 scinc.	(12 stitches)
Round 3:	scinc, sc repeat x6	(18 stitches)
Round 4-7:	18 sc.	(18 stitches)

Add 6mm Safety Eyes between Rounds 5-6 with about 4 sc between them. Stuff with Polyfil.

Round 8:	sc2tog, sc repeat x6.	(12 stitches)
Round 9:	6 sc2tog.	(6 stitches)

Fasten off and use the Amigurumi Close Method to close the opening.

Ears

Outer Ear

Make x2

Yarn Color: Slate Grey

Round 1:

Create a Magic Circle, 6 sc, no join.

(6 stitches)

Fasten off and sew to head vertically so that the top of the ear slants slightly towards the face.

Inner Ear

Make x2

Yarn Color: Paper White

Round 1:

Create a Magic Circle, 2 sc, no join.

(2 stitches)

Fasten off, leaving a short tail for sewing. Sew to the front of the outer ear.

Nose

Using Granite Grey yarn, cut about 12 inches of yarn and tie one end. Add a sewing needle to the un-tied end and insert into the head so that the sewing needle exits between the eyes in round 6.This will be the top point of the triangle, loop the yarn around rounds 6 and 7 to form a triangle nose. Weave in the end when finished.

Body

Yarn color: Slate Grey

Round 1:	Create a Magic Circle, 6 sc, no join.	(6 stitches)
Round 2:	6 scinc.	(12 stitches)
Round 3:	scinc, sc repeat x6	(18 stitches)
Round 4-6:	18 sc.	(18 stitches)
Round 7:	2 sc, sc2tog, 2 sc repeat x3	(15 stitches)
Round 8-10:	15 sc.	(15 stitches)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing to head. Stuff with polyfil. Position the head so that it is slanting looking up and forward, so that the body is positioned towards the back of the head. The body is 15 stitches, so keep that in mind when attaching to the head. Because you are slanting the head forward and upward, you will be sewing the body to 15 stitches between rounds 7-8 of the head. Use the Amigurumi Piece Join Method.

Tummy Piece

Yarn Color: Paper White

You will be Crocheting around the starting chain.

Round 1:

Ch 5,begin working in 2nd ch from hook. *scinc, 3 sc* rotate piece and repeat, no join.

(10 stitches)

Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Using the Amigurumi Piece Join Method attach to the front of the belly centered below the face.

Back Feet

Make x2

Yarn Color: Slate Grey

Round 1:	Create a Magic Circle, 6 sc, no join.	(6 stitches)
Round 2-4:	6 sc.	(6 stitches)

Fasten off, use the starting tail to stuff the feet. Next, using the Amigurumi Piece Join Method attach the feet to the front of the body to rounds 3-4.

Front Feet

Make x2

Yarn Color: Slate Grey

Round 1:	Create a Magic Circle, 6 sc, no join.	(6 stitches)
Round 2-6:	6 sc.	(6 stitches)

Fasten off, use the starting tail to stuff inside, do not add extra stuffing. Cut a piece of craft wire to be 6 inches long. At the 1 inch mark of 1 end, bend the end onto the next inch section. Insert the non bent end into the koala where the left arm is going to go between rounds 7-8 so that the unbent end exits where the right arm is going to be. On the unbent end, bend the wire at the 1 inch mark to match the other side. Place the arms on the bent wires and sew in place.

You can now pinch the arms together for it to “hug” things, like your finger.

Tail

Yarn Color: Slate Grey

Cut a 12 inch piece of yarn, tie one end and attach the other end to a sewing needle. Similar to the nose, wrap loops around round 3 on the back side of the body in a “puff stitch” formation. Weave in the end when satisfied with the “Floofiness”

Thank you for choosing my Pattern!

This pattern and all information contained in this post is the property of Tiffany Horton. You have permission to sell any finished product created using this pattern, a link back to this pattern is appreciated. The information contained in this post (the pattern, media,etc) may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, or shared in anyway. Rewriting, reselling, distributing, or copying this pattern electronically, verbally, written or otherwise, including translations, is prohibited.

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