Cute Crochet Hippo Pattern C2C

ByMelissa

Explore the world of crochet with my adorable Crochet Hippo Pattern, one of six c2c safari animals from my safari blanket collection.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crocheter, this delightful hippo is a fun and rewarding project to create your own safari-inspired masterpiece. The free pattern is below.

image of a cool hippo Square Crochet Pattern with the text overlay "hippo square free crochet pattern" and "lovable loops crochet designs"

Safari animals blanket & custom projects

This hippo square is one of six afghan blocks in my safari animals baby blanket. It’s the perfect size for individual projects like wall art, a pillow, or a baby blanket. 

You can also combine it with other squares from the jungle series for a larger blanket or tote bag. This great pattern is versatile and works beautifully in all kinds of projects.

Free crochet hippo pattern information

Skill level

Advanced beginners. This crochet square is made with basic stitches using the C2C crochet method and it involves color changes.  

Project materials needed

  • Crochet Hook Size: G-6 4 mm crochet hook or mm hook size needed for gauge
  • Yarn: Worsted medium weight yarn. I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn in white, black, aran, light gray, dusty gray, and baby pink.
  • Yarn needle/tapestry needle: Use this to weave in your ends.
  • Scissors: Use scissors to fasten off your yarn.
  • Stitch marker(s): Optional. Use these to help keep track of your stitches. 

Finished size

My C2C crochet square measures 22 inches by 22 inches.

Gauge

8 squares (ch 3 + 3 dc) = 4 inches

Crochet terms

  • sc = single crochet
  • dc = double crochet
  • ch/chs = chain/chains
  • st/sts = stitch/stitches
  • sl st = slip stitch
  • blo = back loop only
  • flo = front loop only

C2C crochet technique

  • The square is made in the C2C technique. You make “squares” in diagonal rows starting in the bottom right corner and ending in the top left corner.
  • Each square is made of a chain 3 + 3 double crochet.
  • Chain 6 to start a new row and chain 3 to start a new square.
  • You can follow the picture graph or the written pattern.
  • The written pattern tells you how many squares to make of each color and in what order.

C2C video tutorial

Need C2C help? I have a step by step C2C tutorial for my mini heart square on my YouTube channel.

Crochet pattern notes

  • The pattern is written in US terms. 
  • ↙ You are working on the “right side”.
  • ↗ You are working on the “wrong side”. 

Free crochet hippo pattern instructions

Make the hippo following the graph or the written instructions.

Graph

Download the crochet hippo pattern graph.

Written instructions

↙ Row 1: white x 1 (1 square)  

↗ Row 2: white x 2 (2 squares)  

↙ Row 3: white x 3 (3 squares)  

↗ Row 4: white x 4 (4 squares)  

↙ Row 5: white x 5 (5 squares)  

↗ Row 6: white x 6 (6 squares)  

↙ Row 7: white x 7 (7 squares)  

↗ Row 8: white x 8 (8 squares)  

↙ Row 9: white x 9 (9 squares)  

↗ Row 10: white x 10 (10 squares)  

↙ Row 11: white x 11 (11 squares)  

↗ Row 12: white x 12 (12 squares)  

↙ Row 13: white x 13 (13 squares)  

↗ Row 14: white x 14 (14 squares)  

↙ Row 15: white x 5, dark gray x 3, white x 7 (15 squares)  

↗ Row 16: white x 6, dark gray x 2, gray x 2, dark gray x 1, white x 5 (16 squares)  

↙ Row 17: white x 4, dark gray x 2, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, white x 2, off white x 1, white x 3 (17 squares)  

↗ Row 18: white x 3, off white x 2, white x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 6, dark gray x 1, white x 4 (18 squares)  

↙ Row 19: white x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 7, dark gray x 1, off white x 3, white x 3 (19 squares)  

↗ Row 20: white x 3, off white x 3, dark gray x 1, gray x 8, dark gray x 1, white x 4 (20 squares)  

↙ Row 21: white x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 9, dark gray x 1, off white x 2, white x 4 (21 squares)  

↗ Row 22: white x 5, off white x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 10, dark gray x 1, white x 4 (22 squares)  

↙ Row 23: white x 5, gray x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (23 squares)  

↗ Row 24: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, dark gray x 1, white x 5 (24 squares)  

↙ Row 25: white x 6, gray x 5, dark gray x 1, gray x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (25 squares)  

↗ Row 26: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, dark gray x 2, gray x 5, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (26 squares)  

↙ Row 27: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 6, dark gray x 1, white x 2, off white x 1, white x 3 (27 squares)  

↗ Row 28: white x 3, off white x 2, white x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 14, white x 7 (28 squares)  

↙ Row 29: white x 7, dark gray x 1, gray x 14, dark gray x 1, off white x 3, white x 3 (29 squares)  

↗ Row 30: white x 3, off white x 3, dark gray x 1, gray x 14, dark gray x 1, white x 8 (30 squares)  

↙ Row 31: white x 8, gray x 16, dark gray x 1, off white x 2, white x 4 (31 squares)  

↗ Row 32: white x 5, off white x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 15, dark gray x 1, gray x 1, white x 8 (32 squares)  

↙ Row 33: white x 8, gray x 2, dark gray x 1, gray x 15, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (33 squares)  

↗ Row 34: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 15, dark gray x 1, gray x 3, white x 8 (34 squares)  

↙ Row 35: white x 8, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 15, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (35 squares)  

↗ Row 36: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 15, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, white x 8 (36 squares)  

↙ Row 37: white x 8, gray x 22, dark gray x 1, white x 6 (37 squares)  

↗ Row 38: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 18, white x 8 (38 squares)  

↙ Row 39: white x 9, gray x 17, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, white x 7 (39 squares)  

↗ Row 40: white x 7, dark gray x 1, gray x 3, dark gray x 1, gray x 1, dark gray x 1, gray x 17, white x 1, gray x 2, white x 6 (40 squares)  

Corner: Start decreasing on both ends  

↙ Row 41: white x 5, gray x 8, black x 1, gray x 12, dark gray x 2, gray x 4, white x 7 (39 squares)  

↗ Row 42: white x 6, dark gray x 1, gray x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 12, black x 2, gray x 5, pink x 1, gray x 1, white x 5 (38 squares)  

↙ Row 43: white x 4, gray x 1, pink x 2, gray x 4, black x 2, gray x 18, white x 6 (37 squares)  

↗ Row 44: white x 5, dark gray x 1, gray x 18, black x 1, gray x 4, pink x 2, gray x 1, white x 4 (36 squares)  

↙ Row 45: white x 4, gray x 25, dark gray x 1, white x 5 (35 squares)  

↗ Row 46: white x 5, dark gray x 1, gray x 24, white x 4 (34 squares)  

↙ Row 47: white x 5, gray x 23, white x 5 (33 squares)  

↗ Row 48: white x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 22, white x 5 (32 squares)  

↙ Row 49: white x 4, gray x 13, dark gray x 1, gray x 8, dark gray x 1, white x 4 (31 squares)  

↗ Row 50: white x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 7, dark gray x 1, gray x 13, white x 4 (30 squares)  

↙ Row 51: white x 4, gray x 9, black x 1, gray x 3, dark gray x 1, gray x 6, dark gray x 1, white x 4 (29 squares)  

↗ Row 52: white x 4, dark gray x 1, gray x 5, dark gray x 1, gray x 3, black x 2, gray x 8, white x 4 (28 squares)  

↙ Row 53: white x 3, gray x 8, black x 2, gray x 4, dark gray x 2, gray x 1, dark gray x 3, white x 4 (27 squares)  

↗ Row 54: white x 6, dark gray x 2, gray x 6, black x 1, gray x 8, white x 3 (26 squares)  

↙ Row 55: white x 3, gray x 14, white x 8 (25 squares)  

↗ Row 56: white x 8, gray x 13, white x 3 (24 squares)  

↙ Row 57: white x 3, gray x 12, white x 8 (23 squares)  

↗ Row 58: white x 8, gray x 11, white x 3 (22 squares)  

↙ Row 59: white x 3, gray x 10, white x 8 (21 squares)  

↗ Row 60: white x 8, gray x 9, white x 3 (20 squares)  

↙ Row 61: white x 4, gray x 7, white x 8 (19 squares)  

↗ Row 62: white x 9, gray x 5, white x 4 (18 squares)  

↙ Row 63: white x 5, gray x 1, pink x 1, gray x 1, white x 9 (17 squares)  

↗ Row 64: white x 8, gray x 1, pink x 1, gray x 1, white x 5 (16 squares)  

↙ Row 65: white x 4, gray x 1, pink x 2, gray x 1, white x 7 (15 squares)  

↗ Row 66: white x 7, gray x 1, pink x 1, gray x 1, white x 4 (14 squares)  

↙ Row 67: white x 4, gray x 3, white x 6 (13 squares)  

↗ Row 68: white x 6, gray x 2, white x 4 (12 squares)  

↙ Row 69: white x 11 (11 squares)  

↗ Row 70: white x 10 (10 squares)  

↙ Row 71: white x 9 (9 squares)  

↗ Row 72: white x 8 (8 squares)  

↙ Row 73: white x 7 (7 squares)  

↗ Row 74: white x 6 (6 squares)  

↙ Row 75: white x 5 (5 squares)  

↗ Row 76: white x 4 (4 squares)  

↙ Row 77: white x 3 (3 squares)  

↗ Row 78: white x 2 (2 squares)  

↙ Row 79: white x 1 (1 square)  

Border

In each corner you will make (sc-ch 2-sc) and in the side of each square you will make 2 sc.

Finishing

Weave in all of the yarn tails. Block if desired.

image of a cool hippo Square Crochet Pattern

What are alpha crochet patterns?

Alpha patterns are pixel drawing designs used primarily in tapestry crochet and C2C (corner to corner) crochet techniques to create letters, numbers, or easy pixel art ideas.

These patterns allow crafters to spell out names, messages, or create detailed images and motifs using a pixel grid approach. Each square on the grid corresponds to a stitch in crochet. These patterns are also commonly referred to as “pixel crochet charts”, “grid crochet patterns”, or “crochet graph patterns”.

Exploring pixel art in crochet

When I design my corner to corner (C2C) crochet designs, I create pixel charts. These charts are super helpful and are also known as “graphs”, “alpha patterns”, and “grids”.

What’s cool is that you can use these pixel crochet pdf pattern free downloads not just for crochet but also for knitting, cross-stitch, needlepoint, weaving, tapestry, beadwork, and even pixel art.

They make creating beautiful crafts easier, especially if you’re using easy pixel art templates or looking for pixel drawing grid art ideas. Whether you want a big project or something smaller, my small pixel art grid easy and pix art pixel grid crochet pattern are perfect for all craft lovers!

Looking for more free crochet patterns?

You may also like my basic beanie, basic bucket hat, sea creatures blanket, and my woodland animals baby blanket patterns. 

Let’s connect!

I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on social media- Instagram, Facebook page, Pinterest, and my YouTube channel. Until then, happy crocheting!

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