Year Of The Ox Granny Square

Important notice: This written pattern has been reviewed and updated on June 9th, 2021. A chart has also been added.

Hi everyone! It's an every year contribution I've been doing, to come up with a granny square that has the face of the current year's Chinese zodiac animal. So far I've made the chicken, the dog, the rat, and now the ox. And I've also enjoyed making other animal granny squares, such as the cat and the frog, and have a few in the making (a rabbit and other animals) that I'm going to post in the future.
The only hard part for me when designing these granny squares is to show as many face traits as possible, while keeping the square easy to make. I think I've nailed it this time. So enjoy making this cute ox as a granny square unit for a baby blanket perhaps, plus, you can totally change the colors to make it look like a cow.
Stay safe and healthy, and happy (belated) Chinese new year!

Skill Level: Intermediate

GET printable PDF for this pattern here.

Check out the entire Animal Granny Square collection: 

Puppy | Frog | Koala | Chick | Kitty | Chicken | Mouse | Bunny | Tiger | Duckling

Materials: 

• Yarn: any fine cotton yarn, one skein of the following colors: dark brown, light brown, yellow, and a yard (meter) of black and white. Suggested yarn: D.M.C Happy Cotton, 0.7 oz (20 g), 47 yards (43 m).
• Crochet hook, size US D (3 mm).
• Tapestry needle.

Measurements of the square: 6" x 6" (15 cm x 15 cm), approx.

Yardage: 40-42 yards (36-38 m).

Gauge: 22 sts and 12 round = 4"x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) in double crochet.

Crochet terms (US):

• ch: chain.
• st: stitch.
• sts: stitches.
• sl st: slip stitch.
• sc: single crochet.
• hdc: half double crochet.
• dc: double crochet.
• tr: treble crochet. 
• hdc2tog: half double crochet 2 together.
• dc2tog: double crochet 2 together.
• tr2tog: treble crochet 2 together.
• tr3tog: treble crochet 3 together.

Instructions:

Granny square base:

Note: ch 1 and ch 3 at the beginning of rounds count as sc and dc respectively.

With the dark brown yarn, make a magic circle, work as follows:

Round 1: ch 1 into the magic circle, sc 7, sl st into the first ch. (8 sts).

Round 2: ch 1 and sc in first st, sc 2 in each st, sl st into the first ch. (16 sts).

Round 3: ch 3 and dc in the first st, dc in st, *dc 2 in st, dc in st, repeat from * to end, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (24 sts).

Round 4: repeat row 3. (36 sts).

Round 5: ch 3 and dc in the first st, dc in st twice, *dc 2 in st, dc in st twice, repeat from * to end, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (48 sts).

Round 6: ch 3 and dc in the first st, dc in st three times, *dc 2 in st, dc in st three times, repeat from * to end, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (60 sts). 

Cut off the dark brown yarn and weave in loose ends. With the yellow yarn make a knot and at the eighth st after the end of last round, work as follows:

Round 7: (ch 4, tr, ch 2, tr 2) in first st, *tr in st, dc in st twice, hdc in st 3 times, sc in st twice, hdc in st 3 times, dc in st twice, tr in st, (tr 2, ch 2, tr 2) in st, repeat from * 3 times, tr in st, dc in st twice, hdc in st 3 times, sc in st twice, hdc in st 3 times, dc in st twice, tr in st, sl st into the fourth ch of first ch4.

Round 8: ch 3 in first st, dc in st, *(dc, tr, ch 2, tr, dc) in ch 2 space, dc in each st to next ch 2 space, repeat from * 3 times, (dc, tr, ch 2, tr, dc) in ch 2 space, dc in each st to last st, sl st into third ch of first ch 3.

Rounds 9 and 10:  ch 3 in first st, dc in each st to first ch 2 space, *(dc 2, ch 2, dc 2) in ch 2 space, dc in each st to next ch 2 space, repeat from * 3 times, (dc 2, ch 2, dc 2) in ch 2 space, dc in each st to last st, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3.

 
Cut off the yellow yarn and weave in loose ends.

 

The nostrils:

With light brown make 7 ch, work as follows:

Round 1: sc 5 in second ch from hook, sc in each ch to last ch, sc 5 in last ch, sc into other side of each ch to end, sl st to first ch.

Round 2: ch 3 and dc in first st, dc 2 in st 4 times, dc in st, hdc in st 3 times, dc in st, dc 2 in st 5 times, tr in st 5 times, sl st to the third ch of the first ch 3. Cut yarn leaving 8"/ 20 cm for sewing the nostril in place.

Right ear:

With dark brown ch 12, hdc in third ch from the hook, dc2tog, tr3tog, dc2tog, hdc2tog. Cut yarn leaving 4"/10 cm for sewing the ear in place.

Left ear: 

With dark brown ch 7, hdc in the third ch from the hook, dc 2 in st, tr 3 in st, dc 2 in st, hdc 2 in st. Cut yarn leaving 4"/10 cm for sewing the ear in place.

Right horn:

With light brown ch 15, hdc2tog in the second ch and third ch from the hook, dc2tog 3 times, tr2tog three times. Cut yarn leaving 4"/10 cm for sewing the horn in place.

Left horn: 

With dark brown ch 7, hdc 2 in the second ch from hook, dc 2 in st 3 times, tr 2 in st twice. Cut yarn leaving 4"/10 cm for sewing the horn in place.

Eye (make 2):

With black yarn make a magic circle, work as follows:

Round 1: sc 7, sl st to first sc. Cut yarn leaving 4"/10 cm for sewing the eye in place.

Round 2: with white yarn and at any st, ch 1, sc 2 in st three times, sl st in next st, cut yarn, weave in loose ends.

Nose Ring:

with yellow yarn make a simple I cord 5" (13 cm) long, cut yarn leaving  4"/10 cm for sewing the two ends together to make the ring.

Sew the nostril, the two ears and the two horns in place as shown in photo. Sew the two eyes in place, pull the I cord through the nose openings and make it a ring. Weave in loose ends. 

Lastly, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or find something confusing in the pattern.

Happy crocheting/knitting! follow me on Instagram @wiams_crafts and Twitter @wiamscrafts to see my upcoming projects.