The Tigger Mouse Ears pattern has been a long time coming! You may remember that last summer/fall, I wrote up the patterns for Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore ears. I promised to complete the set, and so I shall, beginning this spring with TIGGER! The loveable, bouncy, joyful Tigger!

I typically try to stick with one yarn brand for a pattern, but I looked at many many different shades of orange, and found that Big Twists, Pumpkin, was the perfect shade for Tigger! From there, I used yarn I had on hand. Red Heart’s Cornmeal is also the perfect shade for his face. It is a soft yellow, not too dark or too bright or too mustard. 

Materials:
Big Twist Value: Pumpkin
Red Heart Super Saver: Black
Red Heart Super Saver: Cornmeal
​Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice: Pink
Crochet Hook Size E-3.50mm
Tapestry needle
Scissors
​3 pipecleaners
​3-dimentional Puffy Paint in Black
Craft Plastic Headbands, 1-inch tapered
Terms and abbreviations to know:
Magic ring
ch, chs – chain, chains
st, sts – stitch, stitches
rnd, rnds – rnd, rounds
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc worked into the same st
dec – decrease, work 2 sts together to make 1 sts
Notes: I used a LOT of Puffy Paint for this project, but I felt it made things easier. You can always sew the black stripes on instead, if you’d prefer, but being a novelty item that won’t be too heavily worn or need washing, the puffy paint was perfect! Note that the images used for the description of sewing together the headband portion are a different color. I used the process pictures from the Winnie the Pooh headband, but the assembly is the same! 
Headband, in Pumpkin, Make 2
**Special Note: Because keeping track of sts and rnds at the same time can be a struggle, I have included the total number of sts for each section where there are no increases, so all you need to do is count the sts, and not the rnds! Also, before each inc rnd, be sure to test out the fit on the headband. It will be tight, and it should be, but if you don’t stretch it out a bit, as you go, it will be very difficult to fit on when finished. Lastly, trying it on as you go will let you know if you need more or less rnds toward the end, depending on how tightly you crochet and the yarn you use the final number of rnds may vary. You should come close to center with each piece, so there’s room to sew them together.
Begin with magic ring.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnds 2-8: sc in each st around; 6 sts  (42 sts)
Rnd 9: inc, sc in next 5 sts; 7 sts 
Rnds 10-16: sc in each st around; 7 sts (49 sts)
Rnd 17: inc, sc in next 6 sts; 8 sts
Rnds 18-24: sc in each st around; 8 sts (56 sts)
Rnd 25: inc, sc in next 7 sts; 9 sts
Rnds 26-35: sc in each st around; 9 sts (108 sts) – This final number may vary, depending on the yarn used, how much it stretches, or your gauge. Just keep trying the pieces on until they meet about halfway. You don’t want any slack, so they should be sewn together, taut. 
Put them on the opposite ends of the headband, pulling them to meet in the middle. Seamless sew them together (pictures below). But to seamlessly sew, you will be sewing into each st twice. Line them up so that the final sts of the rnds align with the first sts on the opposite side. Insert your hook into the first open st across from where the tail begins. Insert hook into same st on bottom, new st on top. Then new st on bottom, same st on top; same st on bottom, new st on top. Do this, always going through the same piece first, so that you’re not going back and forth, but always start by going through the piece on the side where your tail began. Knot and weave in ends on the bottom side of the headband. 

1. The two pieces shouldn’t touch at first. They should be close, but have to stretch to sew, so that they are snug against the plastic headband.

2.

3. Sewing goes like this: needle through new st on bottom, same st (you’ve already been through) on top, then same st on bottom, new st on top.

4.

5.
Ears, in Pumpkin, Make 4, stitching 2 to each other
Begin with a magic ring. 
Rnd 1: 8 hdc in magic ring, join with sl st to first st; 8 sts
Rnd 2: ch 1, 2 hdc in each st around, join with sl st to first st; 16 sts
Rnd 3: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next sts)8x, join with sl st to first st; 24 sts
Rnd 4: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts)8x, join with sl st to first st; 32 sts
Rnd 5: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 3 sts)8x, join with sl st to first st; 40 sts
Rnd 6: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts)8x, join with sl st to first st; 48 sts
After the second piece, do not fasten off, but instead begin to sl st around your two pieces, to connect them, making a thicker ear. Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. 
Face, in Cornmeal
Ch 7
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from the hook, and each ch across; 6 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc in each st across; 12 sts
Rows 3-4: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 12 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, sc in next 5 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 5 sts; 14 sts
​Row 6: ch 1 and turn, sc in next 6 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 6 sts; 16 sts
Do NOT turn. Sc around the whole piece. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the top of one of the ears. 
Nose, in Pink
Ch 2
Row 1: turn and inc into 2nd ch from the hook; 2 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc in each st across; 4 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 2 sts, inc; 6 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, sc in next 2 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 2 sts; 8 sts
Do NOT turn. Sc around the whole piece, 2 times. Then fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew to the bottom of the ear, centered below the eyes. 
After sewing on the face, use the puffy paint to place the eyes and eyebows as pictured, and the stripes on the side of the face. Allow to dry completely before sewing ear to headband, or you can do all the sewing and assembly first, BEFORE painting anything. 

Stripes, in Black, Make 4, for second ear
*Note: These are the only stripes that are crocheted. This is so that the tail can be sewn onto the ear over top of them without doing any damage. 
With black
Ch 10
Row 1: turn and sl st into 2nd ch from hook, sl st in next ch, sc in next 3 chs, hdc in next 3 chs, dc in last ch; 9 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew them onto the other ear, as pictured, so the points alternate. 

6. My tail already looks a little bent here because I tried to manipulate it without the pipe cleaners first. 😉
Tail, in Pumpkin
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: (inc, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnds 3-20: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. I trimmed 3 pipe cleaners to fit inside the tail, so that I could get the bends to stay as I sewed. Then sew the tail closed with the pipe cleaners inside, and sew the tail down to the center of the striped ear. Stripes on the tail should be added AFTER sewing onto the ear, so that the puffy paint does not get smeared. After sewing the tail to the ear, use the black puffy paint to create little traingles as pictured, pointing toward the center of the tail. This part can be done with yarn if you’d prefer to sew the lines on. Since this is not a heavily used or washed items, the puffy paint just makes it easier! It may need to dry up to 24 hours though, before use! 
After the paint has dried, you can now attach the ears to the headband, but sewing them down securely. For a final added touch, use some puffy paint to strip the top of the headband! 

7.

8.

9. Once the pipe cleaners are secured inside the tail, place it over the center of the striped ear, and sew into place.

10. Then use the puffy paint to add stripes to the tail.
I sewed my ears to the headband, each about 4.5 inches from the bottom. Then I used the puffy paint to add the stripes to the face, and to the top of the headband, avoiding the parts of the headband that will touch hair. Once completely dry, I don’t believe the paint will rub off on hair, but it has a sticky texture that wouldn’t slide over the hair so smoothly. 

11. PRO TIP: Allow puffy paint to dry about 24 hours before any sewing or wearing!
When sewing your ears onto the headband, it is important to sew through sts in the front of the ear, AND through sts in the back of the ear, to the back top of the headband. This spreads the bottom out just a bit, giving the ears a better balance for staying upright. 

12. Once the ears are sewn on securely, paint on the triangular stripes to the top of the headband.

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0 comments on Tigger Mouse Ears

  1. Have you ever made just plain Mouse ears or Minnie Mouse ears? I would love a pattern for either of those.

  2. Please tell me there is a Piglet headband coming soon! I can’t wait to make the whole set!

    • I am working on it this week! I have been delayed with Easter and my kids on spring break, but I will have it done soon!

  3. How did you sew on the ears so they stood up straight and didn’t flop over? Can you share a picture of how you attached the ears?

    • Ignore me :p I just saw the last few pictures. So did you sew first the “front” panel of the ears, then separately sewed the “back” panel? Instead of sewing both panels together to the headband?

      • Hi Denise! Sorry about the delay!
        I sewed the ears on by sewing the front sl sts of the ear along the bottom, to the headband, and then sewing the back down to the back of the headband. I don’t know if that makes much sense, but if you sew them down in such a way so as to make the base of the ear about a half inch wide on the top of the headband, it helps to keep them in place better!