Candy Corn Dinosaurs – Free Pattern Modifications

My kids’ Halloween obsession with candy corn inspired these fun modifications for three of my mini dinosaur designs. This free modification walks you through the color changes and candy corn horns to turn your favorite dinosaur plushies into spooky season favorites.

Below you’ll find the complete color guides and adjusted horn instructions to adapt my triceratops, stygimoloch, and tarbosaurus patterns, all available for free on the blog, into your own candy corn crochet dinosaurs.

At A Glance: Candy Corn Dinosaurs

An adorable Halloween modification guide for three mini plush candy corn dinosaurs, featuring custom candy corn color placements and updated horn pattern steps. Perfect for spooky season decor, quick market prep, and Halloween gifts, this guide works alongside three free base dinosaur patterns to transform your plushies into festive candy corn creations.

• Required Skills: Magic ring, single crochet (SC), increasing, and decreasing (SC2tog) with the invisible decrease method.
• Base Patterns Needed (Free): Mini Tanner the Triceratops, Mini Stevie the Stygimoloch, and Mini Toby the Tarbosaurus.
• Yarn: Plush chenille yarn like Parfait Chunky, or any other yarn that you choose, in the colors yellow, orange, and white.
• Hook Size: 5.0mm (H) crochet hook, or hook size appropriate for your chosen yarn.
• Format & Resources: Free modification tutorial with step-by-step yarn color placement breakdown and modified horn/spike instructions.

The below are free modifications to my Mini Tanner the Triceratops, Mini Stevie the Stygimoloch, and Mini Toby the Tarbosaurus patterns. You can find the original patterns here on my blog for free! An ad-free, formatted PDF version of the original patterns are also available for purchase here:

If you love dinosaurs as much as I do, check out my full list of free amigurumi dinosaur patterns!

I would classify these patterns as “advanced beginner”. It would be helpful to have had some experience with amigurumi before creating this project.

Pin this candy corn dinosaur crochet pattern mod to your favorite board on Pinterest for later.

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Free Crochet Pattern for Candy Corn Dinosaurs

Stitch Abbreviations

st = stitch
sl st = slip stitch
SC = single crochet
SC2tog = single crochet 2 stitches together (invisible decrease is recommended)
ch = chain

Special Stitches

SC2tog (using invisible decrease method): Insert hook into front loop of the first stitch. Insert hook into front loop of second stitch. Yarn over. Draw through the first two loops on hook. Yarn over. Draw through both loops on hook.

Notes

• Checking your gauge is not required for this pattern. Use a hook that is smaller than the size recommended for your yarn weight. This will ensure that your stuffing will not show through the stitches.
• All pieces are worked in the round. Use a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of each round.
• Invisible decreases are recommended. Please see “Special Stitches”.
• Safety eyes and noses pose a choking risk for babies; therefore, if making this toy for a baby, I recommend using yarn, felt, or embroidered details.
• Body, head, legs, arms, tail, and candy corn horns (on Mini Stevie and Mini Tanner) require stuffing. Stuff as you work it to ensure each piece is completely filled. Do not add stuffing to candy corn spikes on Mini Toby.
• See tutorial photos.

Please review the above notes section for required materials for the candy corn dinosaurs, as they differ from the original pattern.

Using the original Mini Tanner the Triceratops, Mini Stevie the Stygimoloch, or Mini Toby the Tarbosaurus patterns, follow all pieces (except for spikes/horns) as written using tangerine as the main color and yellow as the accent color, as pictured. Substitute recommended size safety eyes to 12mm safety eyes.

Mini Tanner the Triceratops

Measurements: Approx. 8” tall while sitting and 11” tall while standing
Yardage: color A (tangerine): 118 yds, color B (yellow): 16 yds, color C (white): 6 yds

Small Horn

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Large Horns (make 2)

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R4-5: 1 SC in each st around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Mini Stevie the Stygimoloch

Measurements: Approx. 8” tall while sitting and 11” tall while standing
Yardage: color A (tangerine): 98 yds, color B (yellow): 24 yds, color C (white): 11 yds

Front Horn

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Crown Horn – Small (make 2)

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Crown Horn – Medium (make 2)

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R4-5: 1 SC in each st around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Crown Horn – Large (make 2)

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

R4: 1 SC in each st around. (6 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R5-7: 1 SC in each st around. (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Mini Toby the Tarbosaurus

Measurements: Approx. 8” tall while sitting and 11” tall while standing
Yardage: color A (tangerine): 113 yds, color B (yellow): 27 yds, color C (white): 8 yds

Spikes (make 7)

Using color A (shown as white):

R1: Begin with 4 SC in a magic ring. (4 sts)

Using color B (shown as tangerine):

R2: 1 SC in each st around. (4 sts)

R3: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (6 sts)

Using color C (shown as yellow):

R4: 1 SC in each st around. (6 sts)

R5: *2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat from * around. (9 sts)

R6: Fold the spike in half. Working through both sides, 1 SC in each st across, leaving 1 unworked st at the beginning of the first fold. (4 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving long strand for sewing. Fasten off.

Assembly & Finishing

Using the original Mini Tanner the Triceratops, Mini Stevie the Stygimoloch, or Mini Toby the Tarbosaurus patterns, assemble as written.

Tips & Tricks for Candy Corn Dinosaur Modifications

• Seamless Color Changes: To get clean color transitions on the candy corn horns without jagged steps, use my favorite invisible color change method.
• Track Continuous Rounds: When working in continuous rounds, place a stitch marker in the first stitch of every round to avoid losing your place.
• Pin Before Sewing: Securing horns and spikes with pins prior to sewing ensures symmetrical placement.
• Prevent Head Wobble: Firmly stuff the neck area during assembly to provide proper support for the plush head. You can read more on preventing amigurumi head wobble in my full tutorial post.
• More Amigurumi Help: For comprehensive techniques, check out my full guide on my favorite amigurumi tips.

More Free Halloween Amigurumi Crochet Patterns

Looking for more Halloween crochet projects? Explore my growing collection of spooky season amigurumi, including my ghost plush crochet pattern, witch cat crochet pattern, and zombie bear crochet pattern. You can also browse my complete list of Halloween crochet patterns for even more ideas.

More Free Dinosaur Crochet Patterns

If you love crocheting dinosaurs, be sure to check out my full collection of free dinosaur crochet patterns. You can also try other themed dinosaur variations like the Strawberry Triceratops crochet pattern and Strawberry Lemonade Stygimoloch crochet pattern!

First published September 2022.