A little elf in a green tunic and pointed hat, sitting on top of a green and cream coil with embroidered snowflakes, a beaded cord running down the middle, and two shiny baubles swinging at the bottom.
The elf is a proper small doll with legs, which makes him the most involved thing on this list, but he is worth it because sitting him on the coil rather than hanging him from it changes the whole feel of the piece. He looks like he chose to be there.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in grass green, cream, red, dark brown, a skin tone of your choice and a little mustard for the buckle.
A 2.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, 5 mm black safety eyes, two small glass baubles or large beads for the bottom, small green and red beads for the centre cord, about a metre of 0.8 mm florist wire, and a tapestry needle.
Finished length is about 42 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, BLO is back loops only.
Part 1. Head
In your skin tone.
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 11. Sc around (24)
Eyes between rounds 8 and 9, five stitches apart, which sits them low and makes him look cheerful.
Round 12. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18) Round 13. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12). Stuff firmly. Round 14. Dec six times (6). Close.
Nose. 4 sc in MR, sc around once, close. Sew between the eyes.
Ears, make two. Ch 5, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc, hdc, then 3 hdc in the last ch, and work back along the other side with hdc, sc, sl st. Fasten off. These give you the pointed elf ear shape. Sew one to each side of the head at round 8, angled slightly upwards.
Face. Pink French knot cheeks, a small curved black smile, and a few short brown straight stitches across the forehead for a fringe.
Part 2. Hat
In green, from the tip down. 4 sc in MR (4), sc for three rounds, then increase two stitches every round until you reach 24, working a plain round in between whenever it starts to pull. Change to cream for two final rounds. Fasten off.
Pom pom. In cream, 6 sc in MR, inc six times (12), sc around, dec six times, stuff and close. Sew to the tip.
Sew the hat on with the tip flopping backwards and to one side. Add a small red bobble and a cream flower to the brim, worked as five ch 2 picots in a ring.
Part 3. Body
In green. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18), then sc for six rounds (18).
Change to dark brown for the belt. Sc for two rounds (18).
Change back to green. Sc for two rounds, then sc and dec repeated six times (12), stuff firmly, dec six times and close.
Buckle. In mustard, ch 6 and join into a ring, work 10 sc around the ring. Sew flat to the centre front of the brown belt.
Collar. In cream, ch 20 and join into a ring. Work into the ring: 3 dc in the next stitch, sl st in the next, repeated around, which gives a pointed petal collar. Slide it over the neck before you attach the head.
Part 4. Arms and legs
Arms, make two. In green, 5 sc in MR (5), sc for six rounds. Change to cream for two rounds. Fasten off, lightly stuffed. Sew to the sides at the top of the body.
Legs, make two. In dark brown for the shoe, 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc for two rounds (12), then dec six times (6). Stuff. Change to red and cream stripes, working two rounds of each alternately over 6 stitches for five bands, which gives the candy cane stocking. Fasten off.
Sew the legs to the front underside of the body so they dangle forward. He is sitting, so they should hang rather than stick out.
Sew the head to the body through the collar.
Part 5. The spiral
In green, ch 90.
Row 1. Ch 2, then work 2 dc into the third chain from the hook and 2 dc into every chain across.
Row 2. Turn and work sc into every stitch across.
Change to cream.
Row 3. Sc into every stitch across. Fasten off.
The green shows on the inner face of the coil and the cream on the outer face, which is what gives the two tone effect when it hangs.
Thread florist wire through the base of the stitches along the green inner edge, fold the ends over and tuck them in, then set the coil spacing.
Embroider small red and green snowflakes onto the cream side, spaced along the band. Six short straight stitches radiating from a centre point is enough at this size.
Putting it together
Sit the elf on the top turn of the coil and stitch him down through his bottom and the backs of his thighs, four or five stitches in total, so he cannot tip. Check from the side that he is sitting level before you pull them tight.
Run a cord down through the centre of the coil, threading green and red beads onto it as you go. Attach it at the top only so it hangs free through the middle.
At the bottom, attach the two baubles side by side to the end of that cord.
Make the hanger from cream cord and stitch it firmly into the top of the hat.
Notes and variations
Make a girl elf with a scalloped skirt instead of the tunic and two small braids.
A red and white colourway makes him read as one of Santa’s workshop elves rather than a woodland one.
For a nursery version, embroider the eyes, skip the glass baubles and use crocheted bobbles instead.
Questions I get asked
Why does my elf tip forward? His legs are heavier than his back. Stitch him down at four points rather than two and push a little extra stuffing into his back.
Can I use acrylic? Yes, and it is a good choice for the doll parts, which come out softer.