Chinese New Year is coming up, and to celebrate, I decided to make a bunch of Jin Yuan Bao amigurumi crochet ornaments to hang on my all-year tree in my office. Jin yuan bao, an ancient Chinese form of currency, is often used as decoration during the Chinese Lunar New Year. When translated into English, “jin” means gold and “yuan bao” means treasure. Yuan bao represent wealth, prosperity, and luck. Hang these ornaments around your house to invite in good fortune!

New to Amigurumi? Find video tutorials on my YouTube Channel!

**Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional costs to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. You can read a little more about that here!

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Yarn I Used

I used Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran for this crochet amigurumi ornament; however, you can use any soft cotton yarn as long as you correspond your hook to the weight of your yarn.

I used about 7 g of Buttercup Yellow yarn for each Yuan Bao ornament. Each skein is about 50g. This pattern is a great stash buster!

Gauge

5 Round Circle = 1.5” with a 3.5mm (E) hook

Note: I am working with the x-stitch (yarn under single crochet). If you are working a standard sc, go down a hook size (I recommend 3.25mm). 

Gauge isn’t super important for amigurumi, but I included it just in case you want to check your gauge. Being a little off should not affect the final product too much. You can learn more about how to measure gauge for amigurumi here! 

Free Jin Yuan Bao Chinese Lunar New Year Amigurumi Crochet Pattern

The difficulty level of this pattern is Easy and this pattern is written in US crochet terminology.

The finished ornament measures to be about 1.4 in (3.75 cm) tall.

Note: To protect my work, I have disabled right click and printing on my site because I have experienced theft in the past. Please do not copy my patterns in any way. By copying or distributing my patterns without permission, you are making it difficult for designers like me to continue doing what I love. Doing so also discourages me and will prompt me to stop sharing my patterns freely. If you wish to utilize the free patterns, you may do so on my site. Thank you so much for your understanding and for being respectful!

If you have an issue with how I choose to share my free patterns on my site, read this.

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If you wish to print out the pattern, you can purchase the ad-free, printable PDF from the shop.

You can find the standalone pattern here ($2 CAD), or as part of the Year of the Ox Bundle here (Ox, Cow, and Yuan Bao patterns for $6 CAD). 

By purchasing the printable version, you are also supporting me directly. Your support allows me to continue to create new patterns and maintain the site! 🙂

Please do not reprint, sell or claim the pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to the free pattern on the blog. Please do not copy and post the pattern onto your site. 

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TERMINOLOGY

st(s): stitch(es)
ch: chain
sl st: slip stitch
sc: single 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
FLO: crochet only in the front loops (loop closest to you) of each stitch
(…) x #: repeat anything in the parenthesis however many times the number indicates
[#]: total number of stitches for that row
#sc/inc: one sc/inc in the following # stitches
sc#: sc # times in the next stitch

Seamless Join in the Round: Cut your yarn tail, fasten off, and thread your yarn tail onto a darning needle. Locate the 2^nd st of the round, insert your needle under that stitch and pull through. Insert your needle into the centre of the final st of the round and out the back. Weave the tail in. 

THINGS YOU NEED

• Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran in Buttercup Yellow
• 3.5mm Crochet Hook (3.25mm if you are working the regular single crochet stitch)
• Scissors
• Darning Needle
• Locking Stitch Markers
• Pins
• Polyfil Stuffing or Scrap Yarn

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Notes

• This pattern is worked in continuous rounds unless otherwise stated.
• Jogless transition to BLO/FLO – Before transitioning into a BLO/FLO round, you can choose to fasten off, seamless join in the round and weave tails in. To pick up a stitch, start with a slip knot on your hook, insert your hook into the FLO/BLO of the false stitch created with the seamless join, and make a single crochet stitch like you normally would. This step is not necessary for this particular project, but doing so reduces the “step” you get when transitioning into a BLO/FLO round and will give you better results.
• Stuffing – When stuffing your ornament, use just enough stuffing to help shape the bottom. Do not over-stuff. If the top of your yuan bao is poking up, it means you used too much stuffing.
• Working into a chain – start by work along the back bumps of the chain, then continue working on the other side by inserting your hook underneath the two front legs of the chain.

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Yuan Bao Top

1 6sc in magic circle [6]
2 (inc) x 6 [12]
3 sc in all sts [12]
4 FLO, (sc, inc) x 6 [18]
5 (3inc, 6sc) x 2 [24]
6 sc, 4inc, 8sc, 4inc, 7sc [32] Mark the 3rd stitch of this round with a stitch marker. This is the stitch you will work into when joining the bottom piece to the top.

Fasten off, seamless join in the round, and weave tail in.

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Yuan Bao Bottom

1 Ch 6, working into the back bumps of the ch: sc in 2^nd ch from hook, 3sc, sc3, continuing in the front of the chains: 3sc, inc [12]

2 (sc, inc) x 6 [18]
3 BLO, sc in all sts [18] *Make sure to pick up the first sc in the back loop of your false stitch (see notes above)
4 inc, 6sc, 3inc, 6sc, 2inc [24]
5 sc in all sts [24]
6 inc, 8sc, 4inc, 8sc, 3inc [32]
7 sc in all sts [32]

Line the first st to the 3^rd stitch of the top piece and work the next round through both pieces. Make sure to stuff your yuan bao lightly before completely slip stitching the opening shut.

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8 sl st in all sts [32]

Fasten off, seamless join in the round, and leave a long tail to help with shaping.

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Shaping

1. Thread your tail through so that it is exiting from between rounds 3 & 4 of the top. (Picture 1)
2. Insert your needle into the next space and out the bottom to create a short line on the top. (Picture 2 & 3)
3. Pull on the tail until the line you just created starts to indent the top. (Picture 4)
4. Insert your needle into the next space beside where the tail is coming out of and out the top on the other side of the oval to set up for the next indent. (Picture 5 & 6)
5. Repeat steps 1-3 for the second line then cut the tail as close to your yuan bao as possible and squish to hide the tail. See photo above for the positioning of your indent lines.

To make this into an ornament, thread a short piece of yarn through the top and tie off to create a loop.

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Please leave me a comment down below (or contact me) if you have any questions about this pattern. I would also love to see your creation so don’t forget to tag me (@olliehollycrochet) on Instagram or use the #olliehollycrochet! Follow me on Instagram to get updates on new patterns and to see what I’m up to on a daily. 

Please let me know in the comments what you would like to see next!

If you find any mistakes in the pattern, please contact me and let me know! I do my best to catch my mistakes when I edit my patterns but I sometimes miss the little things.

You may sell products made from this pattern in small quantities but please clearly credit the design to me, Abby Sy of Ollie + Holly and provide a link to my blog www.OllieHolly.com.  Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind.  Thank you for being respectful and for your understanding!