[Free Pattern] Chinese New Year: Jade Cabbage Dumpling Amigurumi Crochet Pattern・农历新年: 钩针编织翡翠白菜饺子

新年快乐！祝大家恭喜发财，万事如意，龙马精神！Happy Chinese New Year! I wish you all happiness and prosperity, the fulfilment of your wishes, and may you be full of vitality in the year ahead.

The Year of the Dragon is here, and to celebrate this Lunar New Year, here's a serving of jade cabbage dumplings (fěicuì báicài jiǎozi翡翠白菜饺子). Or as they're also called, jade dumplings (fěicuì jiǎo翡翠饺; fěicuì báiyù jiǎo翡翠白玉饺). Feel free to read on for more, or to jump to the pattern.

Let's have some jade cabbage dumplings to celebrate the Year of the Dragon! (IG)

These would be the 3rd type of crochet jiaozi饺子 that I've made, after the crochet shui jiao水饺 and crochet gyoza in 2022. In essence, jade dumplings are like shui jiao, made with a juicy stuffing of pork mince and Chinese cabbage wrapped in green and white coloured wrappers, then boiled or steamed. The green part of the wrapper is usually coloured with the juice of spinach (bōcài菠菜) or Chinese spinach (aka xiàncài苋菜 or amaranth). They are so-named because they are coloured and shaped to resemble the jade cabbage, an ornament much loved in Chinese culture for its auspicious symbolism and beauty.

This jade dumpling amigurumi was inspired by the dumpling amigurumi by Ohana Craft and various jade dumpling recipes I found online. For e.g. the jade dumping recipes by Souped Up Recipes and Yum's Family Table, Qiong Cooking (video), Lychee Girl (video), Xiao Gao Jie's Magic Ingredients (video), Handmade Story, Sina News, as well as these vegetarian versions by Red House Spice and Bean Panda. I also wanted to incorporate something that referenced the various shapes and meanings that we give to the dumplings that we enjoy eating.

Jade cabbage dumpling amigurumi for the Year of the Dragon (IG). They are so-named because they are shaped to resemble jade cabbage ornaments which symbolise wealth and prosperity. So apt for Chinese New Year!

I made these jade dumpling amigurumi some time in 2023, but this Chinese New Year seems like a good time to feature them. Jade dumplings are eaten by some households during Dongzhi and Lunar New Year for its auspicious symbolism. Moreover, 2 days from now, it will be the 5th day of the new year, aka Pòwǔ破五. Breaking fifth and, in a way, breaking bad; bad luck and taboos, that is. Powu is the birthday of the god of wealth, and it is traditional in some parts of China to eat jiaozi and set off firecrackers. Although Powu is not traditionally celebrated here in except in the most traditional of families (and also because it usually falls on a work day), I would like to give a nod to this northern Chinese tradition. And it's been raining a lot, being the northeast monsoon season. And a dish of delicious, steaming hot dumplings always hits the spot during wet weather.

Jade cabbage dumplings are seen as auspicious food, symbolising wealth and prosperity, because Chinese cabbage is an auspicious symbol of wealth and prosperity. Its Chinese name bái cài白菜 sounds similar to bǎi cái百财 which means "hundred treasures" or "hundred riches". For this reason, they are also sometimes called fortune dumplings (fú jiǎo福饺).

In terms of aesthetics, the Chinese cabbage (both napa and bokchoy) is a popular motif to highlight jade's beauty as artisans incorporate the variations of white and green shades naturally found in jade. I have in mind here the Jadeite Cabbage in the Taiwan National Palace Museum's collection, a beautiful Qing dynasty curio of a bokchoy cabbage and 2 insects carved out of imperfect, cracked jadeite. Jade itself has been considered an auspicious precious stone since ancient times, believed to bring good luck and protection from misfortune, and to symbolise the qualities of jūnzǐ君子, i.e. the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, purity, nobility, wisdom, integrity, among others. I doubt I need to say more about the artistic and cultural significance of jade to Chinese people in general.

Without further long-winded exposition on my part, here is the crochet pattern!

JADE DUMPLING AMIGURUMI CROCHET PATTERN

Materials & Tools:
• Yarn in soft white and green
• 2.5mm and 3mm crochet hooks
• Stuffing
• Stitch markers
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Safety eyes and/or embroidery thread (optional)

For this amigurumi, I used Scheepjes Catona No.105 Bridal White and DMC Natura Just Cotton N13 Pistache.

Abbreviations (US terms):
R : round
MR : magic ring
ch : chain
st(s) : stitch(es)
sl st : slip stitch
sc : single crochet

hdc : half double crochet

hdc2tog : half double crochet 2 stitches together

dc : double crochet

inc : increase

dec : decrease / invisible decrease

YO : yarn over

(...) : a set of pattern instructions

[...] : total number of stitches in the round

Finished Size:
Approx. 5cm long × 3cm wide × 4.3cm tall
(Finished sizes will vary depending on yarn weight, hook size and tension.)

Pattern Notes:
• This pattern is mostly finalised, but I am still making minor tweaks to it. That said, the concept and main shape are finalised, and I'm just playing around with the last 2 rounds of the pattern.

• This amigurumi is worked in rounds. It can be worked in a continuous spiral or closed rounds. My personal preference is to work in closed rounds. The closing seam will be along the side of the completed amigurumi.

• Rounds 8 and 9 are designed to create a slightly wavy appearance between the white and green coloured rounds, to try and give the amigurumi a more natural appearance where the white transitions to green.

• Feel free to include safety eyes or stitch cute expressions on the amigurumi according to your own preference. I have done so for mine but sewing on amigurumi faces is something I need to practise more.

JADE DUMPLING

Using soft white yarn and a 3mm hook, work in rounds,
R1. Ch 6, starting in 2nd ch from hook, 4 sc, 3 sc in last ch, on the other side of the ch, 3 sc, inc. [12]
R2. (1 inc, 1 sc) 6 times. [18]
R3. (1 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc) 6 times. [24]
R4. (1 sc, 1 inc, 8 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc) 2 times. [28]
R5-7 (3 rounds). 28 sc. [28]
R8. Dec, hdc, dc, hdc, 2 sc, hdc, dc, hdc, 2 sc, hdc, dc, hdc2tog, 3 sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc. [26]
Change to green yarn,
R9. Dc, hdc, sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, 2 sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc, hdc, hdc. [26]
R10. 4 sc, next make a pleat: *insert hook into the next st (5th st of R9), skip the next st (6th st), insert hook into the next st (7th st) from the back and then into the next st (8th st) from the front, ...

YO and pull up a loop through all 3 sts, YO and complete the sc, ...
insert hook into the post of the skipped st (6th st) and into the next st (9th st), ...

YO and pull up a loop through both sts, YO and complete the sc* to make the 1st pleat, ...
then 8 sc, repeat *…* to make a 2nd pleat, 4 sc. [20]

Stuff the work. If using safety eyes, insert before proceeding.
Fold the work in half. If working in closed rounds, the closing seam will be along the side of the work.
Using a 2.5mm hook, work the next round (R11) through both sides of each half.

R11. Make 1 hdc and 2 dc in the 1st st and the corresponding st in the back half (the last st of R10), make 3 dc in each of the next 8 sts and their corresponding sts in the back half, make 2 dc and 1 hdc in the last st (10th st) and its corresponding st in the back half (11th st). [30]

For R11, the 1st st corresponds with the 20th st, the 2nd st with the 19th st, the 3rd st with the 18th st, the 5th st with the 17th st, and so on.

Fasten off and hide all ends inside the work.

And now one jade dumpling is done!

Make as many as jade dumplings as desired. How about making an auspicious number of them, like 6, 8 or 9!

Jade cabbage dumpling amigurumi for the Year of the Dragon, dished up with some crochet wontons and crochet jiaozi dumplings. I have them all neatly served on some Edo period ko-Imari and ko-sometsuke dishes I found in Tokyo recently.

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Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have fun making this crochet dumpling. As with all my other patterns, I would love to see how your finished items turned out, so please tag me with my Instagram @yotsuba_blythes.

All Rights Reserved. Unless otherwise stated, the contents and images are mine. Please do not sell, copy or distribute them without my express consent. Sharing the pattern is welcomed and appreciated. To share the crochet pattern, please link to this post and my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes with proper attribution. You are welcome to sell limited quantities of the finished items you have produced from the pattern and including my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes as attribution for the pattern will be much appreciated.