Patriotic Donkey Crochet Pattern

Design By: Maggie Weldon

Skill Level: Easy

Size: 22" long x 17" tall

Materials: Bulky Weight Yarn:
Taupe (MC): 590 yds., 21 oz. (512m, 440 g)
Med Brown (CC): 20 yds., .75 oz. (18m, 15.5g)
White: 60 yds., 2.25 oz. (55m, 47g)
Red: 30 yds., 1.125 oz. (27.5m, 24g)
Blue: 40 yds., 1.5 oz. (36.5m, 31.5g)
Fiberfill 12 ounce bag  - Yarn needle 
2 Black Eyes – 18 mm

Crochet Hook: Size K (5.00 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 5 sc and 5 rows of sc = 2"

Patriotic Donkey Crochet Pattern

The donkey was first used to represent the Democratic Party when Andrew Jackson was running for President. His opponents during the election of 1828 tried to label him a "jackass" for his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson was entertained by their opinion and ended up using it to his advantage on his campaign posters. While the rooster represented the party for a brief period, the donkey icon resurfaced when Thomas Nast's "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" was published in Harper's Weekly on January 15, 1870. This donkey wants to move America forward and hopes to win your vote with his adorable mane and patriotic saddle blanket that are much easier to stitch up then solving the nation's problems.

This adorable Donkey is easy to crochet using Mary Maxim's Bulky weight 100% ultra soft acrylic Titan yarn.  The colors are absolutely perfect for the Donkey and the Elephant.  The two shades of brown for body and the contrasting fringed man, tail and feet blend so well together.
It was a lot of fun designing with a whole new technique that I just developed using a graph as a guide. It always amazes me that after all the years I have been crocheting and designing crochet patterns, I still learn some pretty major designing techniques.  You will see what I mean in the pattern.  The graph makes it a lot easier to follow what you are doing while crocheting the Donkey legs and body parts.  There are still line by line easy to follow instructions.  The graph is just an added feature.  
The body parts are made with all single crochet stitches.  The pattern starts with one leg, moves up to the body and then the head.  The other leg, mouth and underbelly parts are then crocheted.  After all the parts are made the Donkey is sewn together and stuffed.  This is a great project for beginners.  It's a good idea to crochet on the tight side.  A tighter gauge will create a stiffer crochet fabric. When you stuff the legs they will stand up better if the crochet stitches are worked tightly together instead of loose stitches.  
All of the bulky yarn used in both the Donkey and the Elephant are available here at MaggiesCrochet.com
This pattern would also work using smaller yarns like a crochet cotton thread or a sport or worsted weight yarn.  I would love to see your finished pictures on FaceBook.  Just look up Maggie's Crochet page when you get there.

Fun crochet for the election time especially!