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A small crocheted elf amigurumi in five colors

1.75-2 mm hook, fingering-weight yarn: a 10-12 cm elf amigurumi in five colors.

A small crocheted elf amigurumi in five colors
IntermediateLevel
4-6 hoursTime
2 mmHook
FingeringYarn
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About this pattern

A small amigurumi elf from six crocheted pieces: Arms, Ears, Legs (two each), one Hat, one Hair piece, and a single 27-round Body and Head. Made with a 1.75-2 mm hook, 6-7 mm safety eyes, and five yarn colors in 5-8 g amounts each. Finished height is 10-12 cm, with color changes landing mid-piece at specific BLO rounds rather than round starts.

This elf amigurumi builds from six separate pieces—Arms, Ears, Legs, Hat, Hair, and one continuous Body and Head worked over 27 rounds—joined after each is stuffed and shaped. Color changes happen mid-piece rather than at round starts, with BLO rounds on both Arms and Legs marking where new shades (denim, red, skin tone) take over. The count that matters most is the finished height: 10-12 cm, achieved on a 1.75-2 mm hook with 6-7 mm safety eyes, so stitch tension has to stay tight enough to hold that scale without the stuffing showing through.

The pattern

Written out round by round

Materials

  • YarnArt Jeans yarn (approx. 5-8g each color)
  • Colors: №01-white, №68-denim, №85-ginger, №51-red, №07-skin tone
  • Crochet hook size 1.75-2 mm
  • 6-7 mm safety eyes
  • Toy stuffing
  • Stitch markers
  • Pins
  • Dry pastels for tinting
  • Sewing needle for joining parts
  • Scissors

Abbreviations

  • MR = magic ring
  • ch = chain
  • sl st = slip stitch
  • sc = single crochet
  • inc = increase
  • dec = decrease
  • BLO = back loop only
  • FLO = front loop only
  • (…) x n = repeat n times

Arms

Make 2

Begin with skin tone yarn.

Change to red yarn before Round 3 (worked in BLO).

Change to white yarn before Round 5.

Change to red yarn before Round 7.

Change to white yarn before Round 8.

Switch back to red yarn before the closing round (Round 10).

Cut the yarn; no need to stuff the arms. Secure the yarn, leaving a tail if you plan to sew the arms on later.

Round 16 sc in MR. (6)
Round 26 sc.
Round 3In BLO: 6 sc.
Round 46 sc.
Rounds 5–66 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 76 sc.
Rounds 8–96 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 10Fold the arm in half and crochet 3 sc across.

Ears

Make 2

Begin with skin tone yarn.

Fasten off and cut the yarn after Round 9.

Round 14 sc in MR. (4)
Round 24 sc.
Round 3(inc, 1 sc) x 2. (6)
Round 4(inc, 2 sc) x 2. (8)
Round 5(inc, 3 sc) x 2. (10)
Round 610 sc.
Round 7(inc, 4 sc) x 2. (12)
Round 8Fold the ear in half and crochet 6 sc.
Round 9Fold in half again and crochet 3 sc.

Legs

Make 2

Begin with white yarn.

Change to red yarn before Round 3 (worked in BLO).

Change to white yarn before Round 4.

Change to red yarn before Round 6.

Change to white yarn before Round 7.

Change to denim yarn before Round 9 (worked in BLO).

Round 16 sc in MR. (6)
Round 26 inc. (12)
Round 3In BLO: 12 sc.
Round 412 sc.
Round 5(1 sc, dec) x 4. (8)
Round 68 sc.
Rounds 7–88 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 9In BLO: 8 sc.
Rounds 10–118 sc.
Round 12For the first leg, crochet a few stitches for alignment, fold in half and crochet 4 sc; for the second leg, do not add extra stitches, just fold in half and crochet 4 sc.

Hat

Worked with denim yarn.

Round 15 sc in MR.
Round 25 sc.
Round 3inc, 4 sc. (6)
Round 4(inc, 2 sc) x 2. (8)
Round 5(inc, 3 sc) x 2. (10)
Round 6(inc, 4 sc) x 2. (12)
Round 7(inc, 5 sc) x 2. (14)
Round 8(inc, 6 sc) x 2. (16)
Round 9(inc, 7 sc) x 2. (18)
Round 10(inc, 8 sc) x 2. (20)
Round 11(inc, 4 sc) x 4. (24)
Round 12(inc, 5 sc) x 4. (28)
Round 13(inc, 6 sc) x 4. (32)
Round 14(inc, 3 sc) x 8. (40)
Round 15(inc, 9 sc) x 4. (44)
Round 16(inc, 10 sc) x 4. (48)
Round 17(inc, 7 sc) x 6. (54)
Round 1854 sc.

Body and Head

Begin with denim yarn.

Legs are joined to the body during Round 6 by working 4 sc into each leg.

Change to white yarn before Round 9 (worked in BLO).

Change to red yarn before Round 11.

Change to white yarn before Round 12.

Arms are joined to the body during Round 14 by working 3 sc into each arm.

Change to red yarn before Round 14.

Change to white yarn before Round 15.

Change to skin tone yarn before Round 16 (worked in FLO).

Round 18 shapes the cheeks (three increases on each side).

Ears are joined to the head during Round 24 by working 3 sc into each ear.

Insert the safety eyes between Round 21 and Round 22, after the 6th stitch, then secure them with 4 sc.

Change to ginger yarn before Round 28.

Round 16 sc in MR. (6)
Round 26 inc. (12)
Round 3(1 sc, inc) x 6. (18)
Round 4(2 sc, inc) x 6. (24)
Round 524 sc.
Round 6(4 sc with leg, 8 sc) x 2. (24)
Rounds 7–824 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 9In BLO: 24 sc.
Round 10(2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)
Round 1118 sc.
Round 1218 sc.
Round 13(1 sc, dec) x 6. (12)
Round 143 sc with arm, 4 sc, 3 sc with arm, 2 sc. (12)
Round 1512 sc.
Round 16In FLO: 12 inc. (24)
Round 17(3 sc, inc) x 6. (30)
Round 186 sc, 3 inc, 7 sc, 3 inc, 11 sc. (36)
Rounds 19–2036 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 216 sc, 3 dec, 7 sc, 3 dec, 11 sc. (30)
Rounds 22–2330 sc. (2 rounds)
Round 243 sc, 3 sc with ear, 14 sc, 3 sc with ear, 7 sc. (30)
Rounds 25–2730 sc. (3 rounds)
Round 2830 sc.
Round 29In BLO: (3 sc, dec) x 6. (24)
Round 30(2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)
Round 31(1 sc, dec) x 6. (12)
Round 326 dec, close and weave in the yarn. (6)

Hair

Worked directly onto the head in FLO using ginger yarn.

Round 1Long strands Attach ginger yarn to Round 28 in FLO; 9 ch, 8 sc from the second chain, 2 sc – repeat 6-7 times.
Round 2Short strands 3 ch, 2 sc from the second chain, 2 sc – repeat 9 times.

Assembly

Step 1Finish decorating the toy and embroider the eyebrows, nose, and mouth to complete the face.

Tester's notes

1.75-2 mm hook keeps the stitch count tight enough to stuff the 5-8 g pieces without gaps showing; stay inside that range rather than sizing up for speed.

6-7 mm safety eyes need placement before the Body and Head's final rounds close—mark the planned eye row early so there's no re-counting through 27 rounds after stuffing starts.

Stitch markers belong on Round 1 of every piece (Arms and Legs start at 6 sc in MR, Ears at 4 sc in MR) and should move up each round; losing the round start is easy at this scale.

Stuff Arms, Ears, and Legs lightly before joining—pieces finishing at 8-10 rounds hold shape with firm-but-not-packed fill, and overstuffing a BLO round pushes the front-loop ridge out of line.

Finished elf will be around 10-12 cm tall.

The ears and cheeks can be tinted with pastels or blush.

The toy can also be made into a keychain.

Difficulty level: Medium.

At a glance

Rounds74
Parts6
LevelIntermediate
Time4-6 hours
Hook2 mm
YarnFingering

Gauge check

If stitches gap enough to show stuffing through the fabric at this hook range (1.75-2 mm), drop to the smaller end of the range; if the hook won't slide through easily, move up within the same range rather than skipping sizes.

Stitch-count checkpoints

  • Arms · Round 1: 6 sts
  • Ears · Round 1: 4 sts
  • Ears · Round 3: 6 sts
  • Ears · Round 4: 8 sts
  • Ears · Round 7: 12 sts
  • Legs · Round 1: 6 sts

If something looks wrong

The Ears lie flat instead of cupping into shape.
One of the increase rounds (3, 4, or 5—reaching 6, then 8, then 10 stitches) was skipped or miscounted. Check each round hits its target count before continuing into the straight sc rounds that follow.
Safety eyes sit crooked after stuffing the Body and Head.
Eyes were pushed in before checking spacing from the front, or stuffing shifted them after insertion. Pin the 6-7 mm eyes first, view from the front, then stuff the lower rounds of the 27-round piece firmly before finishing the head so the eyes stay set.

Yarn substitutions

Fingering-weight acrylic-blend yarnMatches the 5-8 g skein amounts and keeps the finished elf close to 10-12 cm, but shows less stitch definition on the BLO ridge rounds, so pastel tinting on the ears and cheeks reads softer.
Sport-weight cotton yarnProduces a piece larger than the stated 10-12 cm height; drop below the 1.75-2 mm hook range to compensate, and expect a stiffer drape through the Body and Head than the original fiber gives.
Lace-weight wool-blend yarn, held singleFinished elf comes out smaller than 10-12 cm and needs a hook below the 1.75-2 mm range; stuffing has to go in in smaller pinches to avoid stretching the thinner fabric at increase rounds like the Ears' Rounds 3-5.
FAQs

Questions

Why tint the ears and cheeks with pastels instead of using a second skin-tone yarn?

Pastels shade just the ear tips and cheek area after the Ears and the Body and Head are already finished and stuffed, without piecing a second color mid-round. It is applied after assembly, not during crocheting.

Can the 27-round Body and Head be split into two pieces and seamed instead of worked continuously?

The pattern works it as one piece, so splitting it disrupts the BLO/FLO placement and the stitch counts later rounds depend on. Keep it continuous and only separate the parts the pattern lists on their own—Arms, Ears, Legs, Hat, and Hair.

Does the 1.75-2 mm hook need to be an exact size, or is the range flexible?

It is given as a range, not a single size, to account for tension differences between makers. Staying inside 1.75-2 mm keeps the 10-12 cm finished height and the tight stitch gauge needed to hide stuffing.

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