Ryoko the Little Red Dragon – Free Crochet Pattern

Handmade Lunar New Year Gift Inspiration

Are you contemplating the perfect gift for the upcoming Lunar New Year festivities? Look no further—how about crocheting a charming baby dragon? It’s not just a cute and special present; it serves as a delightful decoration and a heartfelt gift. Immerse yourself in the joy of crochet and add a personal touch to your celebrations with this handmade gem.

Ryoko the Baby Dragon: A Free Crochet Pattern

Supplies Checklist

Size & Gauge

The finished dragon measures approximately 4.7 inches (12 cm). While gauge isn’t crucial, tight stitches enhance the sturdiness of your toy and ensure the filling stays in place.

Crochet Abbreviations

• Inc: Increase
•  Dec: Invisible Decrease
•  Sc: Single Crochet
•  Sl st: Slip Stitch
•  Ch: Chain
•  (…) * n: Repeat the pattern in the brackets n times
•  Blo: Back Loop Only
•  [n sts]: There should be n stitches at the end of this row

Crochet Techniques

Invisible Decrease:

Crochet as you would for a normal decrease, but insert your hook only into the loops closer to you, omitting the loops further away from you.

Back Loop Only:

Instead of inserting your hook under both loops, focus on the loop further away from you.

General Indications

Some parts in this pattern are worked in one continuous spiral, while others are in rows. Detailed instructions will be provided for each section. For spiral parts, use a stitch marker in the last stitch of the round to keep track of each round’s beginning and end.

Recommended Crochet Sequence

Follow this order to bring your dragon to life:

Free Crochet Dragon Pattern

Tail

Crochet the tail with red yarn in continuous spiral rounds. The markers in the last round indicate where you will crochet when making the body.

• Round 1: Magic ring of 6. [6 sts]
• R2: Sc 6. [6 sts]
• R3: (Inc, sc 2)* 2. [8 sts]
• R4: Inc, sc 4, inc, sc 2. [10 sts]
• R5: Inc, sc 6, inc, sc 2. [12 sts]
• R6 – R7: Sc 12. [12 sts]
• R8: Sc, inc (marker 1 on the first stitch), sc 6, inc (marker 2 on the second stitch), sc 3. [14 sts]

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail.

Legs

Crochet the legs with red yarn in continuous spiral rounds.

Leg 1

• Round 1: Magic ring of 6. [6 sts]
• R2: Inc 6. [12 sts]
• R3 – R4: Sc 12. [12 sts]
• R5: Dec (marker 3), sc 2, dec, sc 2, dec, sc 2. [9 sts] 

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail.

Leg 2

IMPORTANT: Keep the working stitch. You will use it to start the body.

• Round 1: Magic ring of 6. [6 sts]
• R2: Inc 6. [12 sts]
• R3 – R4: Sc 12. [12 sts]
• R5: Dec, sc, sc (marker 4), (dec, sc 2)* 2. [9 sts]

Keep the working stitch.

Body

In the first round of the dragon’s body, you need to join both legs and the tail. It will look like this:

Round 1: sc 8 (tail), sc 7 (leg 1), sc 4 (tail), sc 7 (leg 2). [26 sts]

Follow these steps for round 1:

• Tail Section (Sc 8): 
  • Begin with leg 2 and the tail.
  •  Insert your crochet hook into the working stitch of leg 2.
  •  Single crochet in the working stitch where marker 1 is located (you left it on the tail, next to the beginning of a new round).
  •  Continue with 7 more single crochet stitches in the tail.
•  Leg 1 (Sc 7):
  • Take leg 1 and use the working stitch left from the tail.
  • Single crochet in the stitch marked by marker 3.
  • Crochet 6 additional single crochet stitches on this leg.
• Tail Section on the other side (Sc 4):
  • Using the working stitch left from leg 1, single crochet in the tail where marker 2 is.
  • Crochet 3 more single crochets.
•  Leg 2 (Sc 7):
  • Keep the crochet hook in the working stitch from the tail.
  • Single crochet into the stitch with marker 4 (located in leg 2, where you started).
  • Complete the round with 6 more single crochets.

Prepare for Crocheting the Rest of the Body

Use the tails left from leg 1 and the tail to sew together the gaps between the legs and tail.

Fully stuff the legs and the tail at this point.

Continue Crocheting the Body

From round 2 crochet in a spiral, using the stitches you just made in both legs and tail. Use yellow yarn when crocheting stitches inside these brackets y( … ).

• Round 2: Sc 13, y(sc 8), sc 5. [26 sts]
• R3: Dec, sc 5, dec, sc, inc, sc, y( (inc, sc)* 2, sc 2, (sc, inc)* 2 ), sc, inc, sc 2. [30 sts]
• R4: Sc 10, y( dec, inc, sc 4, dec, sc 4, inc, dec ), sc 4. [29 sts]
• R5 – R6: Sc 10, y( sc 15 ), sc 4. [29 sts] 
• R7: Sc 2, dec, sc 6, y( sc 7, dec, sc 6 ), sc, dec, sc. [26 sts]
• R8: (Sc 3, dec)* 2, y( (sc 3, dec)* 2, sc 2 ), dec, sc 2. [21 sts]
• R9: (Dec, sc 2)* 2, blo sc 3, y( dec, sc, dec ), blo sc 3, dec. [16 sts]
  • IMPORTANT: In this round when crocheting stitches with yellow yarn make the tops of the stitches red. 
• R10: Sc, (dec, sc)* 5. [11 sts]
• R11: Sc 5. [5 sts + 6 empty sts]The last round is not a full row – there will be 5 empty stitches.

Tighten the last stitch and cut the yarn off, leaving a 16-inch tail. Fully stuff the body now.

Head

Use red yarn and crochet the head in continuous spiral rounds.

• Round 1: Magic ring of 6. [6 sts]
• R2: Inc 6. [12 sts]
• R3: (Sc, inc)* 6. [18 sts]
• R4: (Sc 2, inc)* 6. [24 sts]
• R5: Sc, inc, sc 11, inc, sc 10 [26 sts]
• R6 – R8: Sc 26. [26 sts]
• R9: Sc, dec, sc 11, dec, sc 10. [24 sts]
• R10: Sc 3, EYE, sc, dec, sc 4, EYE, dec, (sc 4, dec)* 2. [20 sts]
• R11: Sc 20. [20 sts]
• R12: (Dec, sc 3)* 4. [16 sts]
• R13 – R16: Sc 16. [16 sts]

Tighten the last stitch and cut the yarn off, leaving an 8-inch tail. Fully stuff the head now.

Use the tail to sew the final row together by threading the needle back and forth through the front loops of the stitches. Then pull on the tail to close off the gap left.

Hide the remaining tail inside the dragon.

Hands

Find the 3 front loops on each side of the body. Use red yarn and crochet clockwise in continuous spiral rounds. Repeat the pattern below for each of the hands.

Left Hand

Hold the dragon so that its legs are closer to you. Start in the rightmost front loop to you.

Right Hand

Hold the dragon so that its legs are away from you. Start in the rightmost front loop to you.

Pattern

• Round 1: 
  • Slip stitch and single crochet into the first front loop.
  • Single crochet into the second and third front loops.
  • Turn the body around
  • Using the same three front loops crochet sc 3.
  • You should have 6 single crochets and a slip stitch. 
• R2: Skip the slip stitch, then: sc 3, inc, sc 2. [7 sts]
• R3 – R4: Sc 7. [7 sts]
• R5: Sc 2. [2 sts + 5 empty stitches]

Tighten the last stitch and cut the yarn off, leaving an 8-inch tail.

Use the tail to sew the final row together by threading the needle back and forth through the front loops of the stitches. Then pull on the tail to close off the gap left.

Hide the remaining tail inside the dragon.

Tip of the Tail

Use yellow yarn and crochet in continuous spiral rounds.

• Round 1: Magic ring of 4. [4 sts]
• R2: (inc, sc)* 2. [6 sts]
• R3: Inc, sc, inc 2, sc 2. [9 sts]
• R4: Sc. [1 st + 8 empty stitches]

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail. Pinch the final round together and sew to close. Use the remaining yarn tail to attach the tip to the end of the tail.

Ears (make 2)

Using red yarn crochet in rows.

• Row 1: 
  • Chain 4. [4 sts]
• Row 2: 
  • Skip 1
  • Sc 2, inc
  • Turn your work around and single crochet into the same stitch where you’ve crocheted an increase
  • Single crochet 2 more stitches into the other side of the chain.
  • There should be 7 stitches in total

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail. Using the tails attach the ears to the side of the head.

Horns (make 2)

Using yellow yarn crochet in rows.

• Row 1: Chain 4. [4 sts]
• R2: Skip 1, sl st 3. [3 sts] 

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail. Using the tails attach the horns at the top of the head.

Scales

All scales are crocheted together as a single piece. For the dragon in the picture, I added 13 scales, but adjust it to your dragon by placing it close to the back. You might need more or less scales.

Take yellow yarn and crochet as indicated below:

• Begin:
  • Make a slip knot.
• Crochet a scale:
  • Chain two.
  • Single crochet into the first chain
  • Crochet 1 very tight chain to finish the scale.
• Repeat:
  • Crochet scales as described in “Crochet a scale” until you have enough. They should reach from the dragon’s tail to the top of the head.

Attaching the Scales

Stitch a helping sewing stitch across the dragon’s back to indicate where the scales will go. Then use the yarn’s tail from the scales to attach one end to the head. Take another yarn’s tail and attach it to the tail. Use pins to keep the scales in place and sew them onto the back. Once you’re done remove the helping stitch.

Wings (make 2)

The wings are crocheted with yellow yarn in rows. Once you finish one row, turn your work around and continue crocheting on top of the previous row.

Don’t crochet a slip stitch to transition between rows unless indicated. Instead, make a larger working stitch before the first single crochet of each row.

• Row 1: Chain 5. [5 sts]
• R2: Skip 1, sc 4, chain 3. [7 sts]
• R3: Skip 1, sc 6. [6 sts]
• R4: Sc 6, chain 2. [8 sts]
• R5: Skip 1, sc 7. [7 sts]
• R6: Sc 7, chain 3. [10 sts]
• R7: Skip 1, sc 7, sl st. [8 sts + 1 empty stitch]

Fasten off, leaving an 8-inch tail. Using the tails attach the wings in the middle of the back on each side of the scales.