July 10, 2019

This past June, the last day of school signified a different end than any other typical school year. It would not only be the final day of that current school year, it also served as the final day of classes before the school permanently closed its doors. It was a truth we had lived with for more than half of the school year, and it was a bittersweet day.

As I planned the end-of-year goody bags for my students that had contained an emoji amigurumi the previous couple of years, I decided to tweak the pattern a little. (You can find the original emoji pattern here.) By transforming the emoji plushies into sunshine plushies, I sought to inspire my students to keep shining brightly as they stepped out into a future that would look a little differently than they were accustomed to.

Just like the emoji pattern, these are a simple project that work up very quickly. And at just a little over 3” in diameter, they are the perfect size for small hands to hold.

I stayed a bit more basic with the faces on these, rather than the more varied emoji faces I worked up in previous years. But the fun of this project – it’s easy to personalize these in any way you can imagine!

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here or Pin It for later here.

Finished size: approximately 3 ½” in diameter

My Materials:

  • Hook G (4.00 mm)
  • Red Heart Super Saver in Bright Yellow
  • small amount of black yarn or embroidery thread
  • fiber fill
  • safety eyes (optional)
  • blunt tapestry needle

Abbreviations:

  • ch – chain
  • sl st – slip stitch
  • sc – single crochet
  • hdc – half double crochet
  • sc2tog – single crochet the next 2 stitches together
  • inc – work 2 single crochets into the next stitch
  • FLO – front loop only
  • BLO – back loop only
  • * – work directions between the 2 * on repeat, as stated for that round

The Pattern:

Round 1: working in a magic circle, sc 6 (6 sc)

Round 2: inc around (12 sc)

Round 3: *sc, inc* around (18 sc)

Round 4: *sc, sc, inc* around (24 sc)

Round 5: *sc, sc, sc, inc* around (30 sc)

Rounds 6: sc around (30 sc)

Round 7: FLO, (Ch 4, sl st in second ch, sc in next ch, hdc in last ch, sk next st, sl st in the next 2 st) repeat around (10 sunrays made)

Round 8: BLO of round 6 stitches, sc around (30 sc)

Round 9: *sc, sc, sc, sc2tog* around (24 sc)

Round 10: *sc, sc, sc2tog* around (18 sc)

Add face and stuffing.

Round 11: *sc, sc2tog* around (12 sc)

Round 12: *sc2tog* around (6 sc)

Fasten off. Close stitches and weave in end.

Yarnfully Yours,

How many stitches are in this project?

  • Sunshine with 10 sunrays = 300 stitches