A round gingerbread man with white icing trim and a bow tie, sitting on top of a wide caramel coil decorated with piped icing zigzags and peppermint sweets, with beads running down the middle and two little white sugar balls at the bottom.
The coil on this one is wider than most of my spirals, which is deliberate. A wide flat band gives you a surface to decorate, and the embroidered icing is what makes the whole thing read as gingerbread rather than as a brown ribbon.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in caramel or light brown, white, red and green. About 40 g of caramel and small amounts of the rest.
A 2.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, 5 mm black safety eyes, red and green beads around 6 mm, a wooden bead for the top, jute or natural cord for hanging, about 80 cm of 0.8 mm florist wire, and a tapestry needle.
Finished length is about 38 cm.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, inc is two stitches in one, dec is an invisible decrease, MR is magic ring.
Part 1. Head
In caramel.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6) Round 2. Inc six times (12) Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18) Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24) Rounds 5 to 10. Sc around (24)
Eyes between rounds 7 and 8, five stitches apart.
Round 11. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18) Round 12. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12). Stuff firmly. Round 13. Dec six times (6). Close.
Nose. In red, 4 sc in MR, sc around once, close. Sew between the eyes.
Cheeks. Two red French knots, one either side, level with the nose.
Mouth. A long curved line of black backstitch running from cheek to cheek.
Icing. Along the top of the head, embroider a white zigzag in chain stitch, running from one side round to the other about two rounds down from the top.
Part 2. Body
In caramel.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6) Round 2. Inc six times (12) Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18) Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24) Rounds 5 to 9. Sc around (24) Round 10. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18) Round 11. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12). Stuff. Round 12. Dec six times (6). Close.
Arms, make two. In caramel, 6 sc in MR (6), sc for six rounds (6), flatten and fasten off. Sew to the sides of the body pointing outwards and slightly down.
Icing on the arms. A white zigzag in chain stitch across each wrist, and one across the shoulder line.
Buttons. Sew one white bead with a red centre and one white with a green centre down the front. If you cannot find those, work two small white bobbles from 4 sc in a magic ring and add a French knot in the middle of each.
Bow tie. In red, ch 12, sc back along the chain. Pinch the middle, wrap tightly with green and knot at the back. Sew under the chin.
Sew the head to the body, passing the needle through several times, because this joint carries the coil.
Part 3. The wide spiral
In caramel, ch 90. Keep the chain relaxed.
Row 1. Ch 2, which does not count as a stitch. Work 2 dc into the third chain from the hook and 2 dc into every chain across. Do not fasten off.
Row 2. Turn and work sc into every stitch across (the work will be coiling by now, so follow the curve rather than fighting it).
Row 3. Turn and work sc into every stitch across again. Fasten off.
Three rows gives you a band about 2 cm wide, which is what you want for the decoration.
Thread florist wire through the base of the stitches along the inner edge of the coil, folding both ends over and tucking them back inside. Set the coil so the turns are evenly spaced and about 3 cm apart.
Part 4. Decorating the coil
Embroider a white zigzag in chain stitch running along the middle of the band for its whole length. Work in sections and let the stitch follow the curve.
Peppermint sweets, make four. In white, 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sl st around and fasten off. Embroider four red spokes on two of them and four green spokes on the other two, radiating out from the centre. Sew them flat onto the band, spaced out along its length.
Sew red and green beads along both edges of the band, alternating colours and spacing them roughly every 4 cm.
Part 5. Sugar balls
Make two in white. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc for two rounds (12), dec six times (6), stuff and close.
Putting it together
Sew the top of the spiral to the bottom of the gingerbread man’s body, going through the same spot four or five times.
Run a length of caramel cord down through the centre of the coil from the body to below the bottom of the spiral, threading two or three red and green beads onto it on the way. Attach it at the top only so it hangs free through the middle without touching the coils.
Sew the two white sugar balls to the bottom of that centre cord, side by side, with a red and a green bead just above them.
Make the hanger from jute cord, about 20 cm doubled, thread a wooden bead onto it and stitch it into the top of the head.
Hang it up before you weave in the last ends and adjust the coil spacing, which always needs one final tweak once it is bearing its own weight.
Notes and variations
A gingerbread woman version with a green bow in her hair and a scalloped skirt at the bottom of the body works from the same instructions.
Make a pair and hang them either side of a doorway.
For a scented version, tuck a clove and a pinch of dried orange peel into the head stuffing.
Questions I get asked
Why does the icing embroidery look messy? Chain stitch on a curve needs shorter stitches than you think. Work them small and take the time to keep them even.
Can I use acrylic? Yes. The wire does the structural work, so it holds fine.
Is it safe for a child? Not with safety eyes and loose beads. Embroider everything and skip the beads for a nursery version.