Rafa the Giraffe and the Reach for Dreams
Once upon a time, there was a little crochet giraffe named Rafa, who lived in a soft, fluffy corner — her very own cloud rug.
Rafa was different from other giraffes: she didn’t live in the savanna or eat leaves from tall trees. Instead, she had a big dream — she wanted to touch the sky!
Every day, Rafa stretched her neck as far as she could, trying to reach the clouds that looked like they were made from the same yarn as her.
The other little creatures in the studio laughed and said:
— “Rafa, you’re so tiny! You’ll never reach the sky!”
But Rafa believed that dreams have no size. So, she started stacking yarn balls — one, two, three… until she built a colorful tower! She climbed carefully, and just as she reached the top — plim! — she found a tiny pot filled with sparkly jungle beans!
Curious and brave, Rafa took a gentle nibble… and suddenly jingle-jangle! Her tummy began to make the sweetest little sound! The studio filled with giggles as Rafa danced on her yarn tower, her rattle echoing like tiny stars.
From that day on, every time she moved, her tummy sang with joy — a reminder that even the smallest dreamers can make the world jingle.
Rafa didn’t just touch the sky that day — she made it sing.
MATERIALS
- Yarn of your choice (I am using cotton – 4-ply). Colors: light yellow (approx. 100 gr), light brown, beige and black.
- Fiber fill
- Tapestry needle
- Safety eyes (12 mm)
- Pins
- Hot glue gun and hot glue
- Pot of beads to make a rattle noise (optional)
ABBREVIATIONS
- R: row
- MR: magic ring
- sc: single crochet
- hdc: half double crochet
- inc: increase
- dec: decrease
- ch: chain
- [ ]: number of stitches at each round
- rep: repeat
SIZE: 20 cm
LEVEL: Experienced
TUTORIAL
HEAD
With light yellow:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4: 2 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [24]
R5: 3 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [30]
R6: 4 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [36]
R7: 5 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [42]
R8: 6 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [48]
R9 – R16: 48 sc
Insert the eyes between rows 12 and 13, with 8 stitches between them.
R17: 6 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [42]
R18: 5 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [36]
R19: 4 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [30]
R20: 3 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [24]
R21: 2 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [18]
Tailpiece and hide the yarn.
Add filler.

MUZZLE
With beige yarn:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4: 9 sc, 1 inc – rep 2x [20]
R5: 20 sc
Tailpiece and leave a long tail for sewing.
Sew the snout between rows 12 and 17. Embroider the nostrils.
EARS (Make 2)
With light yellow:
R1: MR with 5 sc
R2: 5 inc [10]
R3: 4 sc, 1 inc – rep 2x [12]
R4: 3 sc, 1 inc – rep 3x [15]
R5 – R7: 15 sc
R8: 3 sc, 1 dec – rep 3x [12]
R9: 12 sc
Fold and close the piece with 6 sc.
Optional: Apply a little pink blush to give a rosy tone to the inside of the ears.
Fold the ends and use a tapestry needle to sew a few stitches to shape the ear.
Sew the ears between rows 7 and 9.
HORNS (Make 2)
With light brown:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4: 18 sc
R5: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [12]
R6: 2 sc, 1 dec – rep 3x [9]
Add filling as you work the rows.
Change to light yellow:
R7 – R10: 9 sc
Tailpiece and leave a long tail for sewing.
Sew the horns between rows 2 and 5.




BODY
With light yellow:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4: 2 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [24]
R5: 3 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [30]
R6: 4 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [36]
R7: 5 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [42]
R8: 6 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [48]
R9 – R14: 48 sc
R15: 6 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [42]
R16: 42 sc
R17: 5 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [36]
R18: 4 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [30]
R19: 3 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [24]
R20: 2 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [18]
R21 – R30 – 18 sc
Add filler.
Optional: I added a bottle with small beads so that Rafa the Giraffe makes a little rattling sound in children’s hands.


SPOTS
With light brown:
Small (Make 7)
MR with 6 sc.
Medium (Make 7)
R1: MR with 6 sc.
R2: 6 inc [12]
Glue or sew the spots randomly around Rafa the Giraffe’s body.

ARMS (Make 2)
With light brown:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4 – R5: 18 sc
R6: 1 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [12]
Change to light yellow:
R7 – R8: 12 sc
R9: 2 sc, 1 dec – rep 3x [9]
R10 – R14: 9 sc
Add filling only to the base of the paw.
Fold and close the piece with 4 sc. Cut the yarn and leave a long thread for sewing.
Sew the arms between rows 19 and 20, on the sides of the body.
LEGS (Make 2)
With light brown:
R1: MR with 6 sc
R2: 6 inc [12]
R3: 1 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [18]
R4: 2 sc, 1 inc – rep 6x [24]
R5 – R6: 24 sc
R7: 2 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [18]
Change to light yellow:
R8 – R9: 18 sc
R10: 1 sc, 1 dec – rep 6x [12]
R11 – R18: 12 sc
Add filling only to the base of the paw. Fold and close the piece with 5 sc.
Sew the legs to the sides of the body, between rows 7 and 13.
MANE
Cut 30 strands of brown yarn to make the mane.
Fix one by one on the back of the head and neck.
After attaching everything, trim a little shorter.
TAIL
With light yellow:
Make 23 chains. From the third chain, make 20 hdc. Tailpiece and sew on the back of Rafa the Giraffe.
Cut 4 strands of light brown yarn to make the fur on the tip of the tail. Attach the strands to the other end of the tail.






