Sadness Amigurumi Crochet Doll Pattern

My kids have started collecting these figurines from Toy Story Minis mystery bags because they were on clearance at Toys R Us. But then a month or so later, they discovered these Pixar Minis mystery bags.

BB has been asking for Sadness (from Inside Out) from the Pixar Mini collection. They weren't on clearance, so this amigurumi, like my Forky amigurumi, was created out of necessity.

But in all honesty, this amigurumi crochet pattern couldn't be released on a more perfect day, because it's International Mental Health Day!

If you've seen the movie, Inside Out, you would realize how powerful this movie is in addressing the importance of all emotions, including Sadness.

As a culture, we're constantly being sold on being happy. If you aren't happy, something is wrong. On top of that, we treat Sadness like it's a bad thing.

Just like how Joy treats Sadness in the movie, Sadness is often left out, put in a corner, and ignored. Kind of like how we are often told to "think positive" and hope that the feeling of sadness will just go away.

The issue with that is that we end up "bottling" our feelings, which we know is not good for our mental health.

In this movie, we learn that Sadness has its place in life and it's important to acknowledge and talk about it. It's normal to feel sad, especially when there are big life changes where we feel a sense of loss and grief.

In the movie, when Riley was allowed to feel sad, she was able to seek help and support from her loving parents, who were able to empathize with her. And from that, she was able to move forward and grow from this experience in a healthy way.

Talking about the importance of mental health is very important to me. I've had my fair share of struggles and I can't even begin to explain how crochet has helped me keep my mental health under control.

It didn't seem that long ago when it felt like my whole world was crumbling around me. I was crying all the time. I felt withdrawn. Terrible thoughts haunted me for weeks before I finally decided I needed help. I was sick, mentally and physically.

Crochet helped me relax my mind. My mind is always counting, counting my stitches, counting my rows. My mind was occupied and keeping those bad thoughts away. It was a great distraction.

When my mom was unwell, I was constantly crocheting. I was crocheting at home, I was crocheting at her bedside. I wanted to share with her all the things I was making.

Every stitch I made was like a little prayer. A prayer for her to get better, and a prayer for me to gain the strength I needed. It was my way of coping.

I'm really glad that I decided to continue crocheting even after my mom passed away. I could not imagine my life without this creative outlet.

Crocheting allows me to continue feeling connected to her. I can sense that she would be very proud of me today if she knew what I was doing.

Anyway, enough about me, I'm sure you want to get on with the amigurumi pattern!

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What You Need / Materials

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• Worsted weight yarn in the following colors:
• Light Sky Blue (I used Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn in French Blue)
• Bright Blue (I used Loops and Threads Impeccable in Clear Blue)
• Off-white (I used Loops and Threads Impeccable in Aran)
• Eyeglasses:
• Jewelry Wire for the eyeglasses
• Wire cutters
• Something round to shape the glasses (i.e. glue sticks)
• Purple Yarn (I used Red Heart With Love in Violet)
• 3.0 mm Crochet Hook
• Safety Eyes (I used 6.0 mm)
• Poly-fil or any Polyester Stuffing of your choice
• Yarn Needle
• Stitch Markers
• Scissors

Stitches & Abbreviations

• st/sts - stitch/stitches
• ch - chain
• slst - slip stitch
• sc - single crochet (using the yarn under method)
• sc inc - single crochet increase, 2 single crochets in one stitch
• sc dec - single crochet decrease, single crochet 2 stitches together
• hdc - half double crochet
• dc - double crochet

Notes

• I made this amigurumi doll using the "Yarn Under Single Crochet" technique. This technique makes the stitches tighter and appears more aligned.
• When working on the hairpiece, I used the underside of the piece as the "outside" or the side that is showing. The curls of the strands will follow a natural curl towards the face.
• Final measurements: approximately 12 cm / 4.7 inches

Amigurumi Sadness Crochet Pattern

Head

Using a 3.0 mm crochet hook with light sky blue yarn...

Round 1: Magic Circle with a base of 6 sc (6 sts)

Round 2: Sc inc in each st around (12 sts)

Round 3: [Sc, sc inc] x 6 times (18 sts)

Round 4: [Sc, sc inc, sc] x 6 times (24 sts)

Round 5: [3 sc, sc inc] x 6 times (30 sts)

Round 6: [2 sc, sc inc, 2 sc] x 6 times (36 sts)

Round 7: [5 sc, sc inc] x 6 times (42 sts)

Round 8-14: Sc in each st around (42 sts)

Round 15: [5 sc, sc dec] x 6 times (36 sts)

Round 16: [2 sc, sc dec, 2 sc] x 6 times (30 sts)

Round 17: [3 sc, sc dec] x 6 times (24 sts)

Put in your safety eyes. I put mine between rows 10 and 11, about 7 stitches apart. Stuff the head with poly-fil before the opening gets too small.

Round 18: [Sc, sc dec, sc] x 6 times (18 sts)

Round 19: [Sc, sc dec] x 6 times (12 sts)

Hairpiece / Wig

Using a 3.0 mm crochet hook with bright blue yarn...

Round 1: Magic Circle with a base of 6 sc (6 sts)

Round 2: Sc inc each st around (12 sts)

Round 3: [Sc, sc inc] x 6 times (18 sts)

Round 4: [Sc, sc inc, sc] x 6 times (24 sts)

Strand 1: Ch 12, sc into the 2nd ch from the hook and up the ch, then slst into the next st on round 4 (11 sts)

Strands 2 and 3 are the long strands that will be swept to the side of Sadness' face.

Strand 2-3: Ch 19, sc into the 2nd ch from the hook and up the ch, then slst into the next st on round 4 (18 sts)

Strand 4-6: Ch 17, hdc into the 3rd ch from the hook and up the ch, skip 1, then slst into the next st on round 4 (15 sts)

Strand 7: Ch 16, hdc into the 3rd ch from the hook and up the ch, skip 1, then slst into the next st on round 4 (14 sts)

Strand 8: Ch 15, hdc into the 3rd ch from the hook and up the ch, skip 1, then slst into the next st on round 4 (13 sts)

Strand 9: Ch 14, hdc into the 3rd ch from the hook and up the ch, skip 1, then slst into the next st on round 4 (12 sts)

Strand 10-13: Ch 13, hdc into the 3rd ch from the hook and up the ch, skip 1, then slst into the next st on round 4 (11 sts)

Strand 14: Ch 12, sc into the 2nd ch from the hook and up the ch, then slst into the next st on round 4 (11 sts)

Cut and fasten off with a long strand to sew the hairpiece onto the head. Alternatively, you can use some heavy-duty glue to fix it to the head.

Arms

Using a 3.0 mm crochet hook with light sky blue...

Round 1: Magic Ring with a base of 6 sc (6 sts)

Round 2: Sc in each st around (6 sts)

Change to off-white yarn...

Round 3-4: Sc in each st around (6 sts)

Cut and fasten off.

Legs and Body

Using a 3.0 mm crochet hook with bright blue yarn...

Round 1: Magic Ring with a base of 6 sc (6 sts)

Round 2: [2 sc, sc inc] x 2 times (8 sts)

Round 3: Sc in each st around (8 sts)

Cut and fasten off the first leg.

Repeat rounds 1-3 to make a second leg. Do not cut or fasten off, instead, finish off with a Ch 2.

Round 4: Join the second leg with the first leg. 8 sc around the first leg, 2 sc along the ch, 8 sc around the second leg, 2 sc along the other side of the ch (20 sts)

Round 5: 3 sc, sc inc, 9 sc, sc inc, 6 sc (22 sts)

Change to off-white yarn...

Round 6-8: Sc in each st around (22 sts)

Round 9: 3 Sc, sc dec, 9 sc, sc dec, 6 sc (20 sts)

Round 10: Sc in each st around (20 sts)

Round 11: 4 Sc, 6 sc around the first arm, 10 sc, 6 sc around the second arm, 6 sc (32 sts)

Round 12: 3 Sc, 4 sc dec, 8 sc, 4 sc dec, 5 sc (24 sts)

Round 13: Sc in each st around (24 sts)

Round 14: Ch 2, dc in each st around, slst into the first st of the round (24 sts)

Fold the last round of dc over to create the turtle neck, and cut and fasten off with a long tail to sew the head onto the body.

Sweater Ribbing (Optional)

This part is optional, but I found that it made my Sadness amigurumi much more polished.

Ch 7 (make 2), cut and fasten off with a long tail to sew onto each sleeve to create the look of the ribbed sleeves for Sadness' sweater.

Ch 23, cut and fasten off with a long tail to sew onto the bottom of Sadness' sweater to create a cleaner finish.

Assembly

Pin the center of the hairpiece/wig to the crown of the head with the wrong side up. And then pin the strands of hair down. Position it the way you want it and then sew or glue down each strand to the head.

Then, attach the head to the body with the long tail you left after crocheting the sweater.

Sew the "sweater ribbing" to the sweater in the row where the color changes in each stitch. As I mentioned above, this part is optional, but it gave my Sadness amigurumi a nice finished look.

Eyeglasses

For the eyeglasses, I used some wire and a glue stick to shape the circles. Cut a long piece of purple yarn. Then, use the yarn to tie a knot onto the wireframes and start wrapping!

Wrap the purple yarn around the wire to give the eyeglasses some color starting with the first circle, then the bridge of the glasses, then the second circle. The yarn will end at the bridge again. Use the ends of the yarn to secure the doll's face.

Since creating my crochet Sadness, I've gone on to create more characters from the Inside Out gang, so don't forget to check out my free crochet patterns for Joy, Anger, Disgust, and Fear.

Did you make your own amigurumi Sadness from Pixar's Inside Out? I'd love to see it! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.

This is an original crochet pattern written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this crochet pattern as your own. If you wish to share this crochet pattern, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for personal use but please DO NOT sell or distribute the crochet pattern.

Disclaimer: We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with The Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. Sadness of Pixar's Inside Out is a trademarked character owned by Disney/Pixar. Please reserve this crochet pattern and the finished product for personal use ONLY.