This is Bakeneko, a stuffed bear toy that belongs to Louise Belcher from the show Bob’s Burgers. Bakeneko is most prominently featured in the episode Flu-ouise (season 7, episode 1). He is also often seen in her room.
Bakeneko is an adorable blue bear with a beautiful singing voice. In the episode, he built a beautiful sundeck up in the trees. He enjoyed bringing a good book there and feeling the gentle breeze. He’s one of my favourite toys from that episode and if you have not seen that episode yet, please do! It’s adorable and heart warming.
The name Bakeneko comes from a Japanese cat-like mythological monster that is able to shapeshift into a human. Random, I know.
I used Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran to make all of the stuffed toys in the Flu-ouise Collection. The yarn itself tends to split slightly, but the colour choices and the stitch definition is great. You can also use any cotton yarn as long as you correspond your hook to the weight of your yarn.
For this pattern, I used roughly 230g of Kingfisher Blue (a little less than 5 skeins of yarn), 15g of Red Wine (< 1 skein), 10g of Pale Lilac (< 1 skein), 10g of Champagne White (< 1 skein), 5g of Vintage Pink (< 1 skein), 5 g of Pure Black.
Bakeneko (Bob’s Burgers) Amigurumi Crochet Pattern Notes
The difficulty level of this pattern is Intermediate to Hard. This is a big project and could take a lot of time to complete depending on your skill level. It also takes a lot of Polyfil stuffing to properly stuff this toy. If you under-stuff Bakeneko, his body will look lumpy and weird. If you over-stuff him, the yarn will get stretched out and you will be able to see the stuffing through the body. Below are some photos of the stuffing process.
The photo on the left is before stuffing, and the photo on the right is mid-stuffing. I ended up having to take out a little bit of the stuffing because the crotch area was getting over-stuffed. So keep that in mind as you are creating this toy to control the amount of stuffing you are using.
There is also quite a bit of sewing involved, but because of the weight of the yarn, it’s not as daunting as it seems. And because the yarn is thicker, it allows you to create a slightly bigger toy. The finished stuffed animal measures to be 16 inches (40cm) tall if you use Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran.
Bakeneko is SUPER cuddly and I hope that he brings you joy when you create him!
You can purchase the 9-page Pattern here! ($7 CAD)
Terminology used in this pattern:
st(s): stitch(es)
ch: chain
sl st: slip stitch
sc: single crochet
hdc: half double crochet
dc: double crochet
inc: two single crochet in one stitch
dec: invisible decrease, single crochet two stitches together through the front loops only
BLO: crochet only in the back loops (loop away from you) of each stitch
(…) x #: repeat anything in the parenthesis however many times the number indicates
[#]: total number of stitches for that row
#sc/sl st: one sc/sl st in the following # stitches
sc#: sc # of times in the next st
Things You Need
- Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran in Kingfisher Blue, Pale Lilac, Red Wine, Vintage Pink, Champagne White, and Pure Black
- 5mm Crochet Hook
- Scissors
- Darning Needle
- Locking Stitch Markers
- Pins
- Polyfil Stuffing or Scrap Yarn
I love the Bakeneko I was wondering if there’s a softer yarn that you would be able to recommend that could work just as well as the one you used?
Thank you so much for the info!!
Hi Genessis!
A worsted acrylic yarn would definitely be softer. Something like Bernat Super Value would work and it comes in a bunch of different colours too. Just make sure to adjust your hook slightly, as most worsted weight yarns are thicker than the Paintbox Yarns Cotton (Aran weight) that I use. So in this case, I would size up the hook to 3.5mm if you are working the x-stitch.
Hope this helps!
Abby