Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern

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Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern_ a chick crafting through Rheumatoid Arthritis cRAfterChick.com

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern

 free character hat crochet pattern from cRAfterChick.com

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Free Crochet Pattern

This character hat was inspired by Tolee the Koala. He is the adorable koala bear friend in Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan television show. I couldn’t resist making him in to this hat for my youngest niece. I like how it turned out so much I just might have to make Kai-Lan, Rinto (tiger friend), Hoho (monkey friend) and Lulu (rhino friend) too. I most definitely need to make his stuffed panda bear, Pandy! :)

Never heard of Tolee? You can learn more about him here.

Tolee the Koala character hat crochet pattern inspiration picture

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern Notes

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern

Project requires:
Light to medium gray colored yarn for Beanie Hat main color (or desired color)
(I use a lot of Red Heart Saver yarn but any medium to normal weight yarn will do)
Lightest gray or light khaki colored yarn for contrast inner ear
Black yarn for face features
White yarn for shining light spots on features
Pink yarn for blush circles
“J” hook (6.0 mm)
Scissors or Yarn Cutter
Blunt large eye yarn / tapestry needle to weave in ends

Abbreviations used in this pattern (US crochet stitches):
ch – chain
st – stitch
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet (US)
dc – double crochet (US)
hdc – half double crochet (US) 

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (4)

Pattern Instructions:

*Note: This project is worked in the round on the base of a magic ring. If you do not know how to do this, please see tutorial here from: yarntomato on CrochetMe

The hat in this picture is made with my free Easy Peasy Toddler Sized (Age 1 – 3 Years Old) Double Crochet Beanie Pattern which you can find here as a foundation for the project. Want it in another size? No worries. Head over to Easy Peasy All Family Sizes Free Double Crochet Beanie Patterns to select the size of the free pattern you want for your project.

Hat Base: in main color light to medium gray yarn
Use Easy Peasy Crochet Beanie Size of your choice. The hat in these pictures are of the Toddler size of my Easy Peasy double crochet beanie pattern set.
Once you have completed your beanie for the base you are ready to start making your hat into Tolee the koala. :)

Ear Fronts (make 2): using lightest gray or light khaki contrast color yarn
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 2 before placing 12 dc in to the circle. Pull circle tightly closed. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round. (12 dc)
Round 2: Ch 2 before placing 2 dc in 1st st and the following 8 st around. Leave the last 3 st unworked. (18 dc)
Fasten off.
Repeat process for second Ear Front.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 2 before placing 10 hdc in to the circle. Pull circle tightly closed. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round. (10 hdc)
Round 2: Ch 2 before placing 2 hdc in 1st st and the following 6 st around. Leave the last 3 st unworked. (14 hdc)
Fasten off.
Repeat process for second Ear Front.

Ear Backs and Ear Assembly (make 2): using light to medium gray main color yarn
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 from Ear Fronts in light gray main color yarn but do not fasten off at end of Round 2.
Now place one completed Ear Front in front of the Ear Back you are working on right now for Tolee. Line up the stitches on both.
Round 3: Working through both ear pieces at once, ch 1 before making *2 sc in 1st st, 1 sc in next st* repeating * process around rim of ear until first bottom corner of ear reached , place (1 sc, ch 1, 1 sc) in corner than continue making 1 sc in 1st st and placing 1 sc in each st across for bottom edge. In second bottom corner of ear place 1 sc, ch 1 and sl st in to the top of the 1st st worked in round.
Leave a long enough yarn tail to be able to secure your ear in place when sewing it on during finishing steps before cutting yarn, pulling through last stitch and placing to side until needed in finishing off instructions.
Repeat process for second ear.

Nose: using black yarn
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 1 before placing the following st in this order in circle: 2 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 3 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, and 1 sc. Pull ovalish circle closed and sl st in the top of the 1st st in round. (12 st total)
Round 2: Ch 1 before placing 1 sc in 1st 2 st, 2 hdc in next st, 2 dc in next st, 2 hdc in next st, 1 sc in following 3 st, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next, 2 sc in next st and 1 sc in last st. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round.
Leave a long yarn tail so you can attach Tolee’s nose to the beanie hat during assembly before cutting yarn, pulling through last st and place to side for now.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 1 before placing the following st in this order inside the circle: 2 sc, 2 hdc, 4 sc. Sl st in the top of the 1st st in round. (8 st total)

Shining Light Spot on Nose: using white yarn
Ch 4. Sl st in last ch from hook.
Leave a long enough tail to be able to sew your light spot in place on the nose before cutting yarn, pulling through yarn and placing to side until assembly.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Ch 2. Sl st in last ch from hook.
Leave a long enough tail to be able to sew your light spot in place on the nose before cutting yarn, pulling through yarn and placing to side until assembly.

Eyes (Make 2): using black yarn
Round 1: In a magic circle ch 1 before placing the following st in this order in to the circle: 1 sc, 3 hdc, 2 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc. Pull magic circle closed and sl st in the top of the 1st st in the round. (10 st total)
Leave a long enough tail to be able to sew his eyes on to the beanie hat during finishing off steps before cutting your yarn. Pull yarn through last st worked and place to side until needed for hat assembly.
Repeat for second eye.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 1 before making the following into circle: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 sc. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round. (4 st total)
Leave a long enough tail to be able to sew his eyes on to the beanie hat during finishing off steps before cutting your yarn. Pull yarn through last st worked and place to side until needed for hat assembly.
Repeat for second eye.

Shining Light Spot on Eyes (Make 2): using white yarn
Ch 2. Sl st in last ch from hook.
Leave a long enough tail to be able to sew your light spot in place on the nose before cutting yarn, pulling through yarn and placing to side until assembly.
Repeat for second eye spot.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Just make a large double or triple knot to be the small round light spot for Tolee’s eyes. Repeat for second eye.

Eyebrows (Make 2): using black yarn
Make a ch of 4. Leave a short tail to be able to sew Tolee’s eyebrows in place on hat during assembly before cutting yarn, pulling though and placing to side until needed.
Repeat for second eyebrow.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Do not make a chain. Place short length of black yarn to side for both eyebrows to be freehand stitched on.

Smile: using black yarn
Make a ch of 7. Leave a short tail to be able to sew Tolee’s smile in place on hat during assembly before cutting yarn, pulling though and placing to side until needed.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Make a ch of 4. Leave a short tail to be able to sew Tolee’s smile in place on hat during assembly before cutting yarn, pulling though and placing to side until needed.

Blush Area on Cheeks (Make 2): using pink yarn
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 1 before placing the following st in the circle in this order: 1 sc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 1 sc. Pull ovalish circle closed. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round. (8 st total)
Leave a yarn tail long enough to be able to secure his blush areas on beanie hat during assembly before cutting yarn. Pull yarn tail through last st and place to side until needed in finishing steps.
Repeat process for second blush area.

The feature above works well on toddler, youth, preteen, teen and adult sized beanie hats in the Easy Peasy collection. For newborn to 12 month sized hats, do following steps instead for smaller feature:
Round 1: In a magic circle, ch 1 before placing the following st in the circle in this order: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 1hdc. Pull ovalish circle closed. Sl st in to the top of the 1st st in round. (4 st total)
Leave a yarn tail long enough to be able to secure his blush areas on beanie hat during assembly before cutting yarn. Pull yarn tail through last st and place to side until needed in finishing steps.
Repeat process for second blush area.

Now you are ready to start assembling your character hat.

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (3)

Finishing off:
Taking tail from the shining light spot for the nose and your yarn needle sew the light spot on the top right side of nose in an oval shape angling with nose curve. The top of your nose is the skinnier side of the ovalish nose shape. You can reference my pictures to see how I placed the spot on my Tolee hat’s nose. Once sewn on, pull yarn to back of the nose and fasten off.Now take the black yarn tail from your assembled nose and sew it in desired place on your beanie hat. You want to center it on the front of your beanie as you will be working symmetrically around it for the most part of the following steps. Again the top of the nose is the skinnier side of the ovalish shaped nose. Once secure, pull your yarn to the inside of your beanie hat and finish off.Next take one shining light spot for an eye and your to sew the spot in the top right side of one eye. The skinnier of the two eye ends is the top part of the eye. Once you have sewn it completely in place, pull your leftover yarn tail to the back of the eye before fastening off. Repeat process for second eye and shining light spot.
Taking the black yarn tail from one assembled eye and your yarn needle sew your eye in desired place on one side of the nose and slightly up from where nose starts on to your beanie hat. Once fully sewn in place, pull the tail inside the hat and fasten off. Repeat process above but place second eye, symmetrically on the other side of the nose from the first one.
Taking the tail from one small blush area, use your yarn needle to sew it in place below one eye and slightly offset to the side so it isn’t perfectly centered underneath attached eye. Once secure, pull yarn to inside of beanie hat and fasten off. Repeat this process with the second blush circle in same manner under the second eye.
Next up is the cute little off-center smile Tolee has in a lot of his images. You can reference his illustration picture near top of pattern or my own pictures to see how I placed mine. I just did a stretched “u” shape with one end up a round higher than the other end to get his uplifted smile. You can play around with this to find what makes you the most happy though. Once his smile is sewn in place, pull yarn to inside of beanie hat and fasten off.
Taking one of the small black chains for Tolee’s eyebrows and your yarn needle sew it in place above one eye in an upside down curve in your desired location. You can see in my pictures where I placed them on my Tolee hat. Once your eyebrow is stitched on, pull yarn to inside of beanie hat and fasten off. Repeat process with second eyebrow over second eye.
Taking the yarn tail left on one of your assembled ears, attach it by sewing it in desired place with your yarn needle. There is not right or wrong way to do this. Once I secure mine in place I pull yarn to inside and reinforce stitches with another set inside before fastening off. Repeat process with second ear on the other side of the hat. Since I’m a bit OCD about things being even I mark the start and end of where I want large features, like Tolee’s ears, before I sew them in place. That way I can stitch them without worrying above them being even once done.
Now take a few minutes to look over your work to check for any loose ends or tails you may have missed during assembly process. If you find any, go ahead and fasten them off now.
All done! I totally fell in love with this little Tolee hat I made for my niece while I was creating him. I definitely will have to make one again in the near future. I hope you liked my pattern and it was clear enough for you. If you have any questions or something doesn’t sound right, just drop me a line. I’m more than happy to answer any questions and I’m far from perfect so typos do happen. 😉 Happy crafting!

Here are some of the pictures I took to show how my Tolee the Koala Bear Character Beanie Hat looks like once completed: 

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (3)

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (4)

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (2)

Tolee the Koala Bear from Ni Hoa, Kai-Lan Character Hat Crochet Pattern (5)

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Note: All the cRAfterChick patterns shared on this site are free of charge.  Please feel free to use them to make your own items.  If you use it to make items to sell please credit cRAfterChick for the pattern and provide link to our site.  Please do not copy and paste my pattern or try to use my images as your own.  You can link to any of my patterns.  Happy crafting!

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Comments

  1. This is beautiful!!! I featured it in a round up at MNE Crafts!!
    http://www.mnecrafts.com/2014/06/photography-props-round-up-18-free.html

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