Make a charming Mimic treasure chest amigurumi with a hinged lid, teeth, tongue, and a flip-up eyeball. This pattern walks you through crocheting each panel, trim, and accessory with clear step-by-step rounds and assembly notes. Perfect as a unique gift, tabletop dice holder, or decorative piece to show off your crochet skills. Youll enjoy shaping, sewing canvas inserts, and adding playful details.
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— Short Side x2 :
Round r1 :
Ch10 sc across (9)
Round r2-8 :
Ch1, turn sc across (9)
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Finish off, turn, reattach at corner with Trim. (BLO)
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Insert hook, pull up loop, ch1 to start. (ch1 counts as the first slst of r9a)
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Ch2 at the corners count as one space. (Increases land in these)
Round r9a :
BLO: slst around, ch2 at corners (38)
Round r9b :
BLO: sc around, inc in ch2 spaces (42)
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Finish off, leave a Trim tail for sewing.
— Tips for clean borders :
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The border takes two rounds: Prep round A (slst around, ch2 at corners), Border round B (sc around, inc in the ch2 spaces)
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Keep your slst's loose! If they are too tight, it will drawstring the shape and warp your rectangles.
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When working the A round: Catch a single loop to slst in. Don't work too "deeply" into the fabric. The number of slst's along the unfinished side will match the number of rows in the shape. Ch2 at each corner.
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When working the B round: Work in the BLO of Trim, plus the single loop of Chest. (The inc's go into the ch2 space, so BLO doesn't apply to them.) Finish off with an invisible finish for best results.
— Long Side x2 :
Round r1 :
Ch13 sc across (12)
Round r2-8 :
Ch1, turn sc across (12)
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Finish off, turn, reattach at corner with Trim. (BLO)
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Insert hook, pull up loop, ch1 to start. (ch1 counts as the first slst of r9a)
Round r9a :
BLO: slst around, ch2 at corners (44)
Round r9b :
BLO: sc around, inc in ch2 spaces (48)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
— Bottom x1 :
Round r1 :
Ch13 sc across (12)
Round r2-9 :
Ch1, turn sc across (12)
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Finish off, turn, reattach at corner with Trim. (BLO)
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Insert hook, pull up loop, ch1 to start. (ch1 counts as the first slst of r10a)
Round r10a :
BLO: slst around, ch2 at corners (46)
Round r10b :
BLO: sc around, inc in ch2 spaces (50)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
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Mark this piece so you remember it's the bottom. (it's very similar to the long sides)
— Top x1 :
Round r1 :
Ch13 sc across (12)
Round r2-16 :
Ch1, turn sc across (12)
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Finish off, reattach at corner with Trim. (BLO)
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Insert hook, pull up loop, ch1 to start. (ch1 counts as the first slst of r17a)
Round r17a :
BLO: slst around, ch2 at corners (60)
Round r17b :
BLO: sc around, inc in ch2 spaces (64)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
— Top Side x2 :
Round r1 :
3sc in magic ring (3)
Round r4 :
*2sc, inc* (12)
Round r5 :
*3sc, inc* (15)
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Turn, reattach with Trim. Use a long starter tail to do r6a. Then, use the master strand to do r6b without turning.
Round r6a :
BLO slst across (15)
Round r6b :
BLO *4sc, inc* (18)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
— Handles x2 :
Round r1 :
Ch 8 Start in second ch from hook: 2sc, inc, inc, inc, 2sc (10)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
— Mouth Top :
Round r1 :
Ch14 sc across (13)
Round r2-15 :
sc across (13)
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Reattach and work along raw edge. (There's no row of slst's, and you don't have to keep it clean because it's the same color.)
— Mouth Top - Sides :
Round r1 :
Sc across (15) ch1, turn
Round r2 :
Dec, dec, dec, 3sc, dec, dec, dec (9)
Round r3 :
Dec, dec, 1sc, dec, dec (5)
Round r4 :
Dec, 1sc, dec (3)
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Repeat Sides r1-4 on the other raw edge.
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The shape will curl like a boat, to fit inside the top.
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Leave one tail for sewing.
— Long Brace :
Round r1 :
Ch32 Start in second ch from hook: 30sc, {1sc, ch1, 1sc, ch1, 1sc} in last ch Continue along other side of chain: 30sc
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
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Optional: If you want to use wire to flip the eye up (instead of a button), cut a short piece of wire and bend it to fit the shape.
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On r1, start sc'ing around wire at about 18 sc in. Continue sc'ing around the wire to the same spot on the other side. Bend two short prongs out at 90° to plug into the top. Trim excess.
— Mouth Bottom :
Round r1 :
Ch5 Start in third chain from hook: 2sc, {3sc} in last ch continue around other side of ch 2sc, {3sc} in ch2 space (10)
Round r2 :
2sc, inc, inc, inc, 2sc, inc, inc, inc (16)
Round r3 :
3sc, inc, inc, 1sc, inc, inc, 3sc, inc, inc, inc, 1sc, inc, inc (24)
Round r4 :
4sc, inc, inc, 3sc, inc, inc, 5sc, inc, inc, inc, 3sc, inc, inc, 1sc (32)
Round r5 :
5sc, inc, inc, 5sc, inc, inc, 7sc, inc, inc, 5sc, inc, inc, 2sc (40)
Round r6-9 :
sc around (40)
Round r10 :
6sc, inc, inc, 7sc, inc, inc, inc, 9sc, inc, inc, inc, 7sc, inc, inc, inc, 3sc (48)
Round r11-15 :
sc around (48)
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If you find your mouth bucket is too short / tall to fit in the chest, feel free to add / remove a round of sc's.
Round r16 :
BLO: 11hdc, {1hdc, ch1, 1hdc}, 9hdc, {1hdc, ch1, 1hdc}, 13hdc, {1hdc, ch1, 1hdc}, 9hdc, {1hdc, ch1, 1hdc}, 2hdc
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The ch1's of r16 are the corners.
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
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This piece is wrong-side-out, so when you look inside you see the right side.
— Keyhole :
Round r1 :
6sc in magic ring (6)
Round r3 :
*1sc, inc* (18)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
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Optional: If you want a button to flip the eye up (instead of wire), make a small secure loop (the size of your button) when weaving tails.
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With black, embroider a keyhole. (It's okay if it's messy on the back. We're going to cover it up with the eyeball.)
— Eyeball :
Round r1 :
5sc in magic ring (5)
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Cut yarn, pull tail through. Do an invisible finish
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Change to white, leave a starting tail to embroider shine.
Round r3a :
BLO slst around (10)
Round r3b :
*1sc, inc*- work through BLO of both colors (15)
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Finish off, leave a tail to sew to keyhole.
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With a strand of black, embroider a slit pupil, 3 passes. Use white tail to embroider a shine over it, 1 pass. Knot and trim tails.
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Sew to back of Keyhole. Sew through BLO of White, into the back bars of Trim. Stuff before closing. (This is the only piece with stuffing.)
— Invisible Finish :
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Skip first stitch. Insert hook under both loops from the back. Pull tail through. Insert hook under BLO of last stitch of the round, from the back. Pull tail through. Adjust tension as needed. Seamless!
— Teeth :
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Ch22 Start in second ch from hook. Stitches [in brackets] are worked back down that chain.
Round r1 :
slst, *[ch3, slst, 1sc], slst in next, slst in next*
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Finish off. Change to Tongue. Work r2 across other side as shown.
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Pull up a loop here to start.
Round r2 :
*BLO slst, slst, sc*, slst, slst, slst (22)
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The sc's here are worked around the entire piece, going between the teeth. (They do not occupy a loop of the starting chain. Do not skip or miss a ch for the next slst.)
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Finish off, leave a tail for sewing.
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Pin and sew the tongue to the back of the mouth. (I only sewed along the short edge of the tongue. So it is poseable, and you can tuck it in or pull it out.)
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Pin and sew teeth strip along the mouth/head seam. Sew through BLO of the gums.
— Tongue :
Round r1 :
Ch32 Start in second ch from hook: 30sc, {1sc, ch2, 1sc} in last ch Continue along other side of chain: 30sc
Round r2 :
31sc, {4sc} in ch2 space Continue along other side of chain: 31sc
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Finish off, leave a Tongue tail for sewing.
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With Mouth, reattach in center at bottom. Slst going through the tongue. Work up to the tip.
— Bottom Assembly :
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For a strong structure, I used 7count plastic canvas on the back of every chest piece. You can still make it without it, it will just be a bit squishy. It comes in a stiff version, and a more flexible version. Flexible is better for the curved top.
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For a perfect custom fit, trace on the canvas over your pieces. Keep it within the back bars of all stitches for a seam allowance. (You will need access to the back bars of the outermost stitches)
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Here are my measurements (counting the holes, length x height), but yours could be slightly bigger or smaller: Short sides x2: 20 x 16. Long sides x2: 25 x 16. Bottom x1: 25 x 18.
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Sewing thread is easier to attach the canvas. The color doesn't matter because you won't see any of it.
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Lay the pieces out in formation. (Note the direction of the rows.) Use safety pins or stitch markers to hold them together while you sew. Sew BLO to BLO with a whip stitch.
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Sew up the sides, going through BLO to BLO.
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Sit the mouth inside the box. Mush and flatten the bottom, pressing it into the box.
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You can sew this two different ways: BLO to back bars or BLO to plastic canvas.
— Top Assembly :
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Continue with the plastic canvas sewing.
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Here are my measurements (counting the holes), but yours could be a little bigger or smaller: Top sides x2: a semi circle 17 wide and 8 tall. Top x1: 25 x 26.
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The top is made differently, because we want it to curve. This plastic piece will appear too short for it when laid flat.
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Start by sewing down one of the short edges. Then, use a hair tie or a piece of yarn to hold the shape in a bend while you sew the rest. When bent like this, the plastic piece should now be the perfect size.
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Safety pin the sides to the top. Sew BLO to BLO with a whip stitch.
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Pin the mouth boat into the top of the chest.
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Sew together. You can sew this two different ways: BLO to back bars or BLO to plastic canvas.
— Mouth Assembly :
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Center the teeth and pin them in place.
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Sew them to the mouth bucket. Sew through the BLO of the gums, to the BLO of the mouth.
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Mark the back center of the mouth, then pull it out to sew the tongue in. Push back inside.
— Chest Assembly :
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Use safety pins or round markers to line the top up with a long side.
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Sew BLO to BLO on the one hinged side. Finish off.
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Pin the long Brace over the chest. There will be a little overhang. Sew through the back bars onto the chest.
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If you are using wire in your Brace: Plug the bent ends into the chest. Try to insert them between the fabric and the plastic, and internally bend them. Bend it over the chest and continue sewing.
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Sew the Keyhole/Eyeball to the end of the Brace. Sew it so the Keyhole is out, and flips up to reveal the Eyeball.
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If you are using buttons: Flip the Eyeball up, and mark where the loop lands. Sew a button here. Sew 4-6 more buttons along the brace for a decorative and camouflaged look.
This Mimic treasure chest is a playful crochet project that combines structured panels with whimsical amigurumi features for a fun finished piece. Add a flip-up eyeball and a poseable tongue to make each Mimic uniquely expressive and full of character. Use plastic canvas and optional wire for a sturdy, display-ready chest that also makes a charming dice holder or decorative gift. 🧶🗝️
