pattern

When my husband got his first teaching job, in an amazing little Wyoming town, he asked me to crochet some dolls for all his students. I think he was scared the kids wouldn't like him so he wanted something to bribe them with. But they LOVED him, so he decided the kids would earn the dolls by hitting their reading goals.  And what started out as a one time thing for my husband to make friends with third graders, has continued for 10 years, He still teaches in the same school and everyone still loves him.  Here is a look at the things I have made throughout the years.  

1st year (2015-16)

This was a jungle theme. I made a bunch of different dolls, the patterns were all from this book.

2nd year (2016-17)

Cowboy theme.  I made horses, the pattern I used can be found here.

3rd year (2017-18)

Ocean theme.  I made up the octopus and jelly fish patterns. The rays came from here. And the turtles and whales both came from the same shop.

4th year (2018-19)

Bugs theme.  My least favorite.  Luckily there weren't many kids in the class and not many of them hit their goals.  I also made butterflies. The slugs were from this pattern.  I made up the others. 

5th year (2019-20)

6th year (2020-21)

This was the start of my husband picking the theme, before that, the librarian picked a theme for the whole school and we went along with that.  Then she retired so he started picking. This was baby yoda, my own made up pattern.

7th year (2021-22)

He picked dragons for this year. I think it was because I made up this pattern and he loved it. 

8th year (2022-23)

These sharks are all my own patterns, I will have to put them in my shop soon! 

9th year (2023-24)

This Mario theme has been my favorite! I made all the patterns, but the only ones I wrote down were the Mario, Luigi, and them in cat costumes. This year I tried out making some smaller dolls as keychains, and they were a bust.  They were the last two picked. 

10th year (2024-25)

Star Wars theme this year. I did baby Yoda before, but did all new characters this time. They were all my own patterns, based off this Porg pattern and this Ewok pattern.

I'll get pics soon!

These little dolls might be my most favorite creations of all time. Especially the moose.  It makes me want to have a baby and make a bigger version of the costume for my baby!

The best part about these patterns is the hair.  I made different options available in the patterns.  You can either make your dolls bald or with a buzz cut look and then make the wig version of the costumes so the hair can change with the costumes.  Or you can connect the hair right on to the dolls head so it is permanent.  Both ways are included in the patterns! 

The patterns range from beginner to intermediate and use a bunch of different stitches.  The fox, bee. dino, and moose are easy.  The peacock, flamingo, and hippo are a bit more complicated.  The lion, owl and sheep all use special stitches and might take some trial and error if you aren't familiar with those stitches.  But they all come out so amazing and adorable! 

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn for all my dolls, but you should be able to get away with any other size 3 or size 4 brand, but the size of the dolls might change, so make sure you are consistent in using the same brand for both the dolls and the costumes.  If you make any of the patterns, please tag me or email a picture so I can see how they turned out! 

Do you have a craft fair coming up and need so super quick and easy things to sell for cheap?? I GOT YOU! These are gorgeous, super quick, and so useful.  

You will need t-shirt style yarn or the easy peasy yarn that's available on Amazon.  I use this kind, because you can get a variety of colors.  You will also need a bead to pull the yarn strands through.  

There are 5 different styles that I use.  Some are quicker to make than others, but all take less than 20 minutes! I sell them for $4 each or 3 for $10. 

Without further adieu, here they are! 

Hook: 3.5 mm

Yarn: t-shirt or easy peasy- I use two strands held together as one.

Bead

Leaving a tail that is 12 inches long, working in the magic ring. 

Rnd 1:ch3, 2tr, 3dc, ch1, tr, ch1, 3dc, 2tr, ch3, slst inside the magic ring. (11)

Cut a tail 15 inches long.

Weave the shorter strands through the yarn until they come out at the bottom of the heart.  Weave in the other small ends. Add the bead and tie knots at the end of the strands. Make sure the strands of yarn in the bead are big enough that the bead can be pulled tight and stay. 

Start with pink yarn.

Leave a tail that is 12 inches long, working in the magic ring. 

R1: ch1, sc4 in magic ring, turn (4)

R2: ch1, incx4, turn (8)

R3: ch1, (sc, inc)x4, turn (12)

Fasten off. Connect green

R4: ch1, (2sc, inc)x4, (16)

Fasten off leaving a tail 15 inches long.

Weave the pink tail to the opposite end of the watermelon like you see in the picture. Weave in the other small ends. Add the bead and tie knots at the end of the strands. Make sure the strands of yarn in the bead are big enough that the bead can be pulled tight and stay. Use a marker to make the seeds.

Start with yellow yarn

Leave a tail that is 12 inches long, working in the magic ring. 

Rnd1: ch1, sc6 in magic ring, slst to join (6)

Fasten off yellow and switch to flower color yarn.

Rnd2: ch3, now you will make a puff stitch (pf), (yo, insert into the same stitch, yo, pull up a loop as high as the ch3 like you see in the pic)x3, yo, pull through all the loops on the hook, ch3 slst into the next stitch.  Repeat R2 5 more times

Fasten off. Connect green

R4: ch1, (2sc, inc)x4, (16)

Fasten off leaving a tail 15 inches long.

Weave the yellow tail to the opposite end of the flower like you see in the picture.  Add the bead and tie knots at the end of the strands. Weave in the other small ends. Make sure the strands of yarn in the bead are big enough that the bead can be pulled tight and stay. Use a marker to make the seeds.

Start with first color, DON'T use 2 strands held together, only use 1 strand of yarn for this one. 

Leave a tail that is 12 inches long, working in the magic ring. 

Rnd1: ch2, dc16 in magic ring, slst to join (16)

Fasten off leaving 12 inches for the tail

Connect your second color, leaving a tail 16 inches long. 

R2: ch1, (dc5 in next stitch, slst in next, dc5 in next, slst in next)x3, 

Fasten off leaving a 16 inch tail.

You should have something that looks like this. Fold it in half and wrap two strands from the second color around the middle to create the butterfly. Pull the two strands up through the middle. Add the bead and tie knots at the end of the strands. Make sure the strands of yarn in the bead are big enough that the bead can be pulled tight and stay. Use a marker to make the seeds.

Start with red

Leave a tail that is 12 inches long, working in the magic ring. 

Rnd1: ch1, 7sc, slst to join (7)

Rnd2: ch2, dcinc, 2sc, (hdc, dc, hdc) in next, , 2sc, dcinc, ch2, slst to join (11)

Fasten off red and connect ONE strand of green like you see in the picture.

R1: ch1, sc across the top of the strawberry.  Do it as many times as you need to cover the red, only go to the middle, like the picture, ch3, sc into second from hook, sc in next chain space, sc across the second half of the strawberry, like the picture.  

Fasten off leaving a tail 15 inches long.

Weave the red strands to the bottom of the strawberry, and weave the green strand to the top of the stem, like you see in the picture. Add the bead and tie knots at the end of the strands. Weave in the other small ends. Make sure the strands of yarn in the bead are big enough that the bead can be pulled tight and stay. Use a marker to make the seeds.

 I hope you love them! 

It's almost Fall! Which means pumpkins, and I have the cutest little pumpkin crochet pattern for you. It is perfect for beginners and is super easy to alter to make different sizes. Check it out!

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Get this super cute turtle crochet pattern with a removable shell! And find out how to change the size without having to change the pattern.