Can I use safety eyes instead of adhesive eyes?

Yes, and the pattern notes that safety eyes should be secured through the white puff stitches before you close up the opening. Adhesive eyes go on after stuffing and need time to cure before handling.

Why does the body start from the same round as the hat?

Round 3 is worked once, then picked up in two different loop directions. Front loops only flare into the hat brim, while back loops only continue downward into the teal body.

Which bill method should I choose?

The chained bill gives a crisp little curved shape with a quick two-chain, while the gathered bill uses surface stitches pulled snug for a softer pucker. Either works, so pick based on whether you want a more defined or more subtle bill.

How do I attach the keychain ring?

You can loop yarn through the very tip of the hat before closing the foundation chain, or thread a small jump ring through the top stitches afterward. Either method keeps the ring secure at the highest point of the piece.

Does the stitch count matter if my gauge is different?

Gauge is not critical here, but working tightly enough that the stuffing does not peek through the stitches matters more. Just make sure your tension stays firm and consistent across the hat and body.

What yarn works best for this platypus keychain?

A bulky-weight plush or chenille yarn gives Perry his signature soft, velvety texture. Look for yarns labeled 'velvet' or 'chenille' in the bulky weight category. Keep in mind that plush yarns can make stitch counting harder, so work slowly and use a stitch marker on every round.

Can I make Perry larger or smaller?

Yes — simply change your hook and yarn weight. A lighter-weight yarn with a smaller hook will give you a tinier keychain, while a thicker yarn and larger hook will produce a desk-toy-sized platypus. The stitch counts stay the same; only the finished size changes.

My hat brim is curling — what went wrong?

This usually happens if the FLO increase round is worked too tightly. The brim needs a little ease to flare out naturally. Try going up half a hook size for that single round, or consciously loosen your tension as you work the front-loop increases. Blocking with a light steam can also help a plush brim relax into shape.

Crochet platypus keychain amigurumi pattern

LevelIntermediate
Time4-6 hours
Hook6 mm
YarnBulky

About This Pattern

This little platypus has a split personality and I mean that in the best way. Up top it wears a tidy brown-and-black hat shape, and below that it turns into a round teal body with wings and a duck-like bill. The mood is playful but tidy, the kind of small project that makes you grin when you flip it over.

Your hands get a real workout in contrast here. You will work the same round twice — once into front loops for the hat brim, once into back loops for the body — so you feel the fabric branch in two directions from one foundation. Then you shape a bill with either a tiny chain or a gathering stitch, which asks for patience more than strength.

When it is done, this platypus lives happily clipped to a backpack zipper or dangling from a tote handle. It is small enough to tuck in a pocket but detailed enough that people stop and ask who made it. On a shelf next to other amigurumi, its two-tone hat makes it stand out immediately.

Worked almost entirely in single crochet as one continuous piece from the hat down, this beginner-friendly keychain amigurumi is a great entry point into small-scale figure crochet, with just a few embellished rounds adding the eyes, wings, legs, and tail.

Split the final hat round into front loops only to flare out the brim shape.
Place two white puff stitches a few rounds up to mark where the eyes will sit.
Stitch the orange bill between the eyes using either the chained method or the gathered-stitch method.
Add two small chain-stitch wings anchored with a slip stitch as you keep working the body.
Stuff the piece firmly as you close the rounds so the plush yarn holds its shape.
Glue or secure the eyes into the puff stitches and attach a keychain ring through the hat top.

On the desk

Yarn

Bulky-weight plush yarn in teal (main color), brown (hat brim), orange (bill, legs, tail), white (eyes), and black (hat band)

Eyes

Adhesive craft eyes: 6 mm, 2 pieces (or safety eyes used with white puff stitch placement)

Hook

US G-6 / 4.0 mm

Stuffing

Polyfill / fiberfill
Stitch marker
Yarn needle / tapestry needle
Scissors
Craft glue (for adhesive eyes)

Stitch shorthand

ch — Chain
dec — Invisible Decrease
hdc — Half Double Crochet
inc — Increase (2 sc in same stitch)
MR — Magic Ring
puff st — Puff Stitch
sc — Single Crochet
sl st — Slip Stitch
BLO — Back Loop Only
FLO — Front Loop Only

Crochet platypus keychain amigurumi pattern

Assembly

Step 1 Once the piece is complete and stuffed, attach the 6 mm adhesive eyes into the center of each white puff stitch. Press firmly and allow the glue to cure fully before handling.
Step 2 If you used safety eyes instead, they should already be secured through the white puff stitches before the opening was closed.
Step 3 Attach a keychain ring through the top of the hat — either by looping yarn through the tip before closing the foundation chain or by threading a small jump ring through the top stitches with the yarn needle.
Step 4 Weave in all remaining yarn ends securely, burying them inside the body so they don’t work loose with daily use.

Easy to get wrong

Losing track of front loops vs back loops

Mark Round 3 with a locking stitch marker before you split directions, and check each loop before you insert your hook so the hat and body do not blend into one flat round.

Puff stitch eyes placed unevenly

Count stitches between the two eye puff stitches as you go rather than eyeballing placement, since the pattern spaces them with a specific stitch count on each side.

Losing the spiral without a marker

Drop a stitch marker at the start of every round the moment you begin it, since this body is worked in a continuous spiral with no joining rounds to signal where you are.

Overstuffing with one big chunk

Use small pinches of fiberfill rather than one large piece so you can control the shape as you stuff a keychain-sized figure — fill firmly enough to hold its shape without distorting the stitches.

Puff stitches lying flat

Pull each loop of the puff stitch (2 hdc closed together) a little higher than usual before closing it, so the eye and leg puffs sit proud of the surface instead of lying flat.

Between the songs

What makes this one satisfying is the front-loop-only and back-loop-only split worked from the exact same round. You crochet Round 3 once, then send it two directions — front loops build the flared hat brim, back loops start the rounded teal body. That single technique does double duty and gives the piece its silhouette without any extra shaping math. Add in the white puff-stitch eyes, the little chain-stitch wings anchored with a slip stitch, and a bill you build from either a two-chain curve or a gathered pucker, and you get a face and posture that reads as platypus from across the room. It is compact, it is quick, and every round earns its place.

Listener questions

Can I use safety eyes instead of adhesive eyes?
Yes, and the pattern notes that safety eyes should be secured through the white puff stitches before you close up the opening. Adhesive eyes go on after stuffing and need time to cure before handling.
Why does the body start from the same round as the hat?
Round 3 is worked once, then picked up in two different loop directions. Front loops only flare into the hat brim, while back loops only continue downward into the teal body.
Which bill method should I choose?
The chained bill gives a crisp little curved shape with a quick two-chain, while the gathered bill uses surface stitches pulled snug for a softer pucker. Either works, so pick based on whether you want a more defined or more subtle bill.
How do I attach the keychain ring?
You can loop yarn through the very tip of the hat before closing the foundation chain, or thread a small jump ring through the top stitches afterward. Either method keeps the ring secure at the highest point of the piece.
Does the stitch count matter if my gauge is different?
Gauge is not critical here, but working tightly enough that the stuffing does not peek through the stitches matters more. Just make sure your tension stays firm and consistent across the hat and body.
What yarn works best for this platypus keychain?
A bulky-weight plush or chenille yarn gives Perry his signature soft, velvety texture. Look for yarns labeled 'velvet' or 'chenille' in the bulky weight category. Keep in mind that plush yarns can make stitch counting harder, so work slowly and use a stitch marker on every round.
Can I make Perry larger or smaller?
Yes — simply change your hook and yarn weight. A lighter-weight yarn with a smaller hook will give you a tinier keychain, while a thicker yarn and larger hook will produce a desk-toy-sized platypus. The stitch counts stay the same; only the finished size changes.
My hat brim is curling — what went wrong?
This usually happens if the FLO increase round is worked too tightly. The brim needs a little ease to flare out naturally. Try going up half a hook size for that single round, or consciously loosen your tension as you work the front-loop increases. Blocking with a light steam can also help a plush brim relax into shape.

Original pattern: https://amistitch.com/crochet-platypus-keychain-mini-amigurumi-pattern/

About the Author

Marisol QuinteroWho runs Crochet Obsessed, why a stitch count sits at the end of every round, how a pattern gets written here, and the things this site will never do.

Crochet platypus keychain amigurumi pattern

About This Pattern

On the desk

Yarn

Eyes