Amigurumi Intermediate 4-6 hours Worsted yarn

Worked on the glider, counted out loud —

Crochet cat bookmark pattern for book lovers

A small crocheted cat bookmark for readers, worked in cotton over a few quiet hours. Great gift for fellow book lovers.

Jump to the rounds

What this one is

You know the reader in your life who always has a book on the go and never quite has a proper bookmark handy. This little cat is made for them, and honestly, for you too. It sits in the pages like a small companion, ears up, tail trailing out along the spine, ready every time the book gets picked back up.

Your hands will mostly be working single crochet in the round, building up the head and body from magic rings, then shaping two neat ears and a chained tail that becomes the working bookmark itself. Between the head, body, tail, and the little collar and fish extras, expect somewhere around four to six hours from ring to finished sewing.

Try it another way

Once you've made one of these, there's a lot of room to play. Try working the head and body in two different colors of cotton for a patchwork cat, or keep the whole piece in one shade and add the collar in a contrasting color as the only pop. The chain 45 tail length is written as a guide, so lengthen or shorten it to suit the size of book you're marking; a slimmer paperback wants less tail than a hardcover. Skip the optional fish accessory entirely for a simpler cat-only bookmark, or make two or three fish in leftover scraps to give the cat something to guard. If you want a slightly larger finished piece, working the same shaping in a heavier cotton with your hook adjusted up will bulk out the head and body without changing any of the stitch counts. And if you're making several as gifts, varying just the collar color from cat to cat is an easy way to personalize each one while keeping the pattern identical throughout.

There's something quietly satisfying about watching a magic ring turn into a round cat head in just a few increase rounds. You get to shape both ears in one continuous pass right off the head, no separate pieces to fuss over, just a dc-chain-3-slip-stitch combination worked twice around the same round. The tail is the clever bit: it starts as a simple chain, then turns back into single crochet, so the same length of work that shapes your cat also becomes the functional part that slides between pages. Add the optional collar and tiny fish charm, and you've got a project that teaches ring starts, stitch markers for tracking rounds, and simple embellishment, all in a piece small enough to finish in an evening or two.

The rounds, in full

Written out, round by round

Intermediate4-6 hours2 mmWorsted

Bring to the porch

Everything this one takes, in the order you will reach for it.

  • 100% cotton yarn
  • 2 mm crochet hook
  • Stitch marker
  • Tapestry needle
  • Scissors

Main Pattern

  1. Round 18 single crochet (sc) in the ring.
  2. Round 21 sc to close the ring. Place the stitch marker in this stitch. 1 sc in the same stitch. 2 sc in each stitch around (16 stitches total).
  3. Round 32 sc in the first stitch, 1 sc in the next repeat around (24 stitches total).
  4. Round 42 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc around (16 stitches total). Chain 45 (or as needed). This forms the bookmark’s tail that will stick out from the book.

Bookmark Tail

1 sc in each chain starting from the second chain from the hook. Continue with 16 stitches around using the pattern 2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc.

Slip stitch (sl st), chain 1, cut the yarn, and pull through.

Cat's Head: Start with a magic ring and chain 1.

  1. Round 16 sc in the ring.
  2. Round 21 sc to close the ring. 1 sc in the same stitch. 2 sc in each stitch around (12 stitches total).(12)
  3. Round 31 double crochet (dc), chain 3, sl st in the same stitch to create the first ear. 1 sc in the next 2 stitches. For the second ear: 1 dc, chain 3, sl st in the same stitch. 1 sl st in the next 6 stitches.Pull the yarn through and cut, leaving a long tail for sewing the parts together.

Collar

Chain 10 or more as needed to fit around the neck.

Secure the collar around the neck with a sl st and cut the yarn.

Fish (optional accessory): Start with a magic ring and chain 2 (counts as 1 half double crochet [hdc]).

4 hdc, 1 double crochet (dc), 1 triple crochet (tr), 1 dc, 5 hdc in the ring.

Sl st to join and create a fish shape.

Chain 8, sl st in the same stitch for the tail, and repeat once.

Cut the yarn, pull through, and weave in the ends.

Sew or glue the fish to the bookmark tail.

Putting it together

Step 1

Sew the head to the body using the tail from the head.

Step 2

Weave in all yarn ends securely.

Marlene's notes

Note 01

Keep your 2 mm hook and cotton yarn snug together; a smaller hook than usual for this yarn weight helps keep stitches closed and tidy on such a small piece.

Note 02

Move your stitch marker every time you close a round, especially through the increase rounds in the Main Pattern, so you don't lose count between 8, 16, and 24 stitches.

Note 03

There's no stuffing listed in the materials, so keep your tension even and firm throughout so the head and body hold their shape from the stitches alone.

Porch photos

Crochet cat bookmark pattern for book lovers — photo 2
Crochet cat bookmark pattern for book lovers — photo 3

Before you sit down

  • Check you have enough 100% cotton yarn on hand for the head, body, tail, and any optional collar and fish, since cotton doesn't stretch to cover a shortfall the way wool might.
  • Have your stitch marker ready before Round 2 of the Main Pattern, since that's where you close the ring and need to mark the spot to track your rounds accurately.
  • Work a quick swatch with your 2 mm hook to confirm your single crochet tension is tight enough to keep the stuffing from showing through gaps.

How the hours go

Cat's Head and Body (Main Pattern)
about 1.5 to 2 hours because it moves through several increase rounds up to 24 stitches and needs careful shaping for the ears
Collar, fish accessory, and assembly
about 1.5 to 2 hours because the fish shape's mixed stitches (hdc, dc, tr) and the sewing and weaving in of ends are fiddly work

Looking after it

  • Hand wash your finished cotton bookmark in cool water if it needs freshening up, then reshape the head and ears gently while damp and lay it flat to dry.
  • Store it tucked inside a book or in a small drawer away from damp, since cotton holds its shape well on its own and doesn't need blocking or special wrapping between uses.
FAQs

Asked on the glider

the ones that come up on the glider

Can I use a different weight of cotton yarn than what's listed?

Yes, though the 2 mm hook is sized for a finer cotton, so if you go heavier you'll want to size the hook up to match. Just know your finished cat will come out larger than the version this pattern was written for.

Do I need to stuff the head and body?

The materials list doesn't include stuffing, so this pattern relies on firm single crochet tension to hold its shape. If you'd like a plumper look you can add a small amount, just keep it light so the tail still lies flat in a book.

How long should I make the chain for the tail?

The pattern chains 45 as a guide, but you can adjust that to fit the book you're using it for. Thicker books do well with a longer tail so it's easy to grab from outside the pages.

What's the stitch marker actually tracking?

It marks the spot where you close each round, which matters most during the increase rounds in the Main Pattern where stitch counts jump from 8 up to 24. Without it, it's easy to lose your place and miscount.

Is the fish accessory necessary to finish the bookmark?

No, the fish is listed as optional in the Collar part. You can leave it off entirely and still have a complete cat bookmark with head, body, and tail.

How do I attach the head to the body?

The assembly step has you sew the head to the body using the long tail left from the head itself, so there's no need to cut fresh yarn for that step. Once it's sewn on, just weave in any remaining ends securely.