Welcome to Part 1 of the Elf Amigurumi Crochet Along! I’m so glad that you are here joining in on this fun and festive CAL!
You can choose to make Trixie or Twinkle, or both! This pattern includes instructions for both of the elves. Most of the instructions are the same, except for the skirt/tunic and hair will have two separate explanations depending on which elf you are making.
Remember to share your photos and progress in the Loops and Love Crochet Group on Facebook! We’d love to see them! Also, feel free to message me or post in the group if you need any help along the way!
If this is your first time hearing about this CAL, all of the details are in the post HERE. This pattern (all 3 parts) will always be here free on my blog, so you can access them whenever you’d like.
PART 1 (Monday, Dec. 10) – Body and Legs (this post)
PART 2 (Wednesday, Dec. 12) – Arms, Head, and Hair
PART 3 ( Friday, Dec. 14) – Hat and Assembly
If you prefer to work from an ad-free, printable PDF version, or maybe you don’t want to wait for each part to be released, you may purchase the complete pattern from my Etsy or Ravelry Shops. Thank you so much for supporting Loops & Love Crochet!
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Today, we will be making the body and legs. The legs will be sewn on separately (in Part 3) so your elf will be able to sit or even stand if leaned against something. Below, I will go over the materials, stitches, and important information before starting the pattern. If you are ready to get started now, you can scroll right down to the start of the pattern. Have fun!
Materials:
- Worsted-weight yarn – You can use any worsted-weight yarn for this project. You will need red, green, and white yarn plus a skin color and a hair color. Specifically, I used Bernat Satin in Crimson, Caron Simply Soft in Bone, and Red Heart Soft in Guacamole, White, and Toast.
- 4 mm crochet hook – I crochet pretty tightly. If you crochet loosely, you may want to go down a hook size.
- Safety eyes – 9mm size
- If you prefer to crochet the eyes as an alternative to the plastic ones, check out this awesome tutorial by Grace and Yarn HERE!
- Black embroidery thread for the eyelashes (or you can separate a piece of black yarn into 1 or 2 strands).
- Stuffing
- Yarn needle for sewing pieces together and weaving in ends. Bent needles are my favorite for amigurumi!
Stitches Used:
- Ch – chain
- Sl St – slip stitch
- SC – single crochet
- HDC – half double crochet
- DC – double crochet
- INV DEC – invisible single crochet decrease – insert hook into front loop of next stitch, then insert your hook into the front loop of the following stitch (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook),yarn over and pull through 2 remaining loops on hook. There are many tutorials on this on YouTube.Check one out if you’d like to see the invisible decrease in action.
Important Notes:
- Magic Circle – Make a circle with your yarn, insert crochet hook into circle and draw up a loop. Chain one and then start making the stitches of round 1 into the ring.
- Continuous Rounds – Most of this pattern is worked up in continuous rounds, which means that you will not be joining the last stitch of the round with the first one. Instead you need to keep track of where each round started and how many stitches you have made because after each round you move right into the next one (with no join). It is useful to use a stitch marker (or apiece of yarn) to mark the start or end of each round to help you keep track.
- Joining Rounds – Some parts of this pattern are worked in joining rounds, which means that you will be joining the last stitch of the round to the first one with a slip stitch and than chaining 1 before continuing with the next round. Make the first stitch of the next round in the same stitch as the chain 1.
- Color Changes (when working in continuous rounds) – When working in continuous rounds (without joining), color changes might be more obvious on the arms. To make it less noticeable, I try to line up the color change towards the back or body so it’s in a less visible place. As an alternative, when working in the round, this is how I make my color changes less noticeable: Work the last stitch of the first color right up to when you do your last yarn over. Yarn over in the new color and pull through the loop. Next, when you make your first stitch of the next round, instead of making the first stitch a single crochet, you make it a slip stitch (counts as first stitch), then continue the rest of the stitches of that round as written. If this is confusing, you can look up many tutorials on YouTube to help show this in action.
- Color Changes (when working in joining rounds) – When making your color changes on the legs, work the last stitch of the round all the way to the last yarn over. Yarn over in the new color and then slip stitch to the top of the first stitch of the round. Pull the tail tight and crochet a few stitches over it to keep it in place.
Alright, let’s get started! Here is the pattern!
PART 1: Body and Legs
Body
Add stuffing to the body as you go. Stuff it generously, however not so much that you can see the stuffing through the stitches.
Round 1: In body color (red or green), magic circle, chain 1, make 6 SC into ring (6)
Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)
Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)
Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)
Round 5: 2 SC in first, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)
Round 6: 2 SC in first, SC in next 4, repeat around (36)
Rounds 7-11: SC in each stitch around (36)
Round 12: INV DEC, SC in next 4, repeat around (30)
Round 13: SC each stitch around (30)
Round 14: Work this round in back loops only. SC in each stitch around. (30)
Rounds 15-17: SC in each stitch around (30)
Round 18: INV DEC, SC in next 3, repeat around (24)
Rounds 19-20: SC in each stitch around (24)
Round 21: INV DEC, SC in next 2, repeat around (18)
Rounds 22-23: SC in each stitch around (18)
Round 24: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (12)
Make sure you have added enough stuffing to the body. Then fasten off, leave a long tail to sew head onto body later. Do not sew body closed.
Girl Elf Skirt/Boy Elf Tunic
The skirt/tunic is worked in joining rounds, not continuous rounds. This means you will join the last stitch to the first with a slip stitch, chain 1 and then continue with the next round. If you are making Trixie follow the girl’s skirt instructions below. If you are making Twinkle, scroll down to the boy’s tunic instructions.
Skirt Instructions (Girl)
Round 1:Make a slip knot with red yarn. With the base of the body facing towards you, attach the slip knot with a slip stitch to one of the front loop stitches of round 14 (I joined to the first back loop stitch of the round). You will be able to see the front loops because they are where you made the round of back loop stitches. Chain 1, DC in same stitch and in each stitch around. Join to top of first DC with a Sl St. Chain 2. (30)
Round 2: 2 DC in first stitch, DC in next stitch. Repeat around. Join, ch 2. (45)
Rounds 3-6: DC in each stitch around. Join, ch. 2 (45)
After round 6, join to first DC and fasten off. Use yarn needle to weave in ends.
Tunic Instructions (Boy)
Round 1: In the same way as pictured above for the skirt instructions, make a slip knot with green yarn. With the base of the body facing towards you, attach the slip knot with a slip stitch to one of the front loop stitches of round 14 (I joined to the first back loop stitch of the round). You will be able to see the front loops because they are where you made the round of back loop stitches. Chain 1, SC in same stitch and in each stitch around. Join to top of first SC with a Sl St. Chain 1. (30)
Round 2: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 4 stitches. Repeat around. Join, ch 1. (36)
Rounds 3-10: SC in each stitch around. Join, ch. 1 (36)
After round 10, join to first SC with a slip stitch and fasten off. Use your yarn needle to weave in ends.
Legs (make 2)
The legs are worked in joining rounds. This helps keep the color changes neater and less noticeable for the stripes. Work the last stitch of the first color until the last yarn over. Yarn over with the new color and then join to the first stitch of the round with a slip stitch. If you are making the boy elf, start with green for the boot, and then alternate white and red for the legs. For the girl, start with red for the boot and then alternate white and green for the legs.
Stuff the legs as you go. I mostly stuffed the boot/foot area and then very gently stuffed the rest of the leg. If you add too much stuffing, it will affect how your elf sits.
Round 1: In boot color, magic circle, chain 1, 6 SC into ring. Join to first SC with a Sl St, chain 1. (6)
Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around, join, ch 1. (12)
Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around. Join, ch 1. (18)
Rounds 4-5: SC in each stitch around. Join, ch 1. (18)
Round 6: SC in first 5 stitches, INV DEC 4 times, SC in last 5. Join, ch 1 (14)
Round 7: SC in first 5 stitches, INV DEC 2 times, SC in last 5. Join, ch 1 (12)
Rounds 8-10: SC in each stitch around. Join, ch 1 (12) Change to white yarn at the end of round 10 (before joining).
Round 11: Work this round in back loops only. SC in each stitch around. Join, ch 1 (12)
Round 12: SC in each stitch around. Change to red (boy) or green (girl) yarn. Join, ch 1. (12)
Rounds 13-28: SC in each stitch around. Join, ch 1. (12) Alternate white and red/green every 2 rounds. 2 rounds white, 2 rounds red/green. You will end with 2 white rounds. When you are finished you will have 5 white sections and 4 red/green sections.
Fasten off, sew top of leg closed. Make sure that you sew the top closed with the front of the boot/foot facing you. Continue to the boot cuff instructions below.
Boot Cuffs
Next, make the boot cuffs at the top of each boot. Make a slip knot and join in one of the front loop stitches at the back of the boot. You will be able to see the front loop stitches because they are where you worked the round of white back loop only stitches in making the legs. Chain 1, HDC in same stitch and in each stitch around. Join with a Sl St into top of first HDC. Fasten off. Use your yarn needle to hide the ends of the yarn inside the legs/boot.
You are all done Part 1! I hope you are enjoying this CAL so far! If you’d like, you can post a photo of your progress in the Loops & Love Crochet Group!
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