Penguin and snowman christmas tree decoration

Since its almost Christmas I thought it would be nice to publish a pattern for this little Christmas tree decoration I made.



Difficulty: 

Medium - Difficult (Very fiddly)

You will need:

• regular sewing thread in black, white, orange, red, and brown
• A 0.6mm crochet hook
• A small amount of black and white felting wool (You can use regular stuffing if you wish but I find that for the penguin it tends to show through the stitches and interfere with your crocheting)
• A regular sewing needle
• A 2.5mm hook
• White chunky yarn 
• Some 0.5mm craft wire
• A small amount of PVA glue and a fine paintbrush
• A darning needle with a large eye

Note:

• To make my patterns easier to read, in most cases instead f writing'sc in the next ... sts' I have just written 'sc...' Eg. 'sc12' means 'sc in the next 12 sts'
• 'fasten off neatly' refers to a special way of fastening off which is neater and makes it easier to see where you should be crocheting on the next round (also known as invisible fastening off). This involves pulling up your yarn through your stitch, threading the yarn underneath the second stitch from where you pulled your yarn up, then threading your yarn back through the top of this stitch and down through the back of the work. There is a very helpful site that explains it clearly found here. Just make sure when you do this that you thread your needle through the SECOND stitch after the last stitch you made, otherwise you will end up with an extra stitch which may mean that all of the following rounds are out of line with each other.

For the bauble:

With a 2.5mm hook and white chunky yarn make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round 3: (Sc2, 2sc in the next st) 5 times, sc3 (23sc)
Round 4: Sc, (2sc in the first st, sc3) 5 times, sc2 (28sc)
Round 5: (2sc in the first st, sc8) 3 times, Sc (31sc)
Round 6: Sc5, (2sc in the first st, sc9) twice, 2sc in the next st, sc5 (34sc)
Round 7: Sc17, 2sc in the next st, sc16 (35sc)
Round 8: 2sc in the first st, sc34 (36sc)
Rounds 9 - 10: (2 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 11: Sc26, sc2tog, sc8 (35sc)
Round 12: Sc12, sc2tog, sc21 (34sc)
Round 13: Sc, (sc2tog, sc9) 3 times (31sc)

Fasten off neatly

For the base:
With chunky yarn make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round 3: sc in the first 2sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Round 4: sc in the first 3sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (30sc)
Fasten off

For the penguin:

Use a 0.6mm hook throughout

For the body:

With black sewing thread make a magic loop with 6sc

Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: 18
Round 3: 24
Rounds 4 - 13: (10 rounds) sc in each st
Round 14: sc6, sc2tog, rep to end (21sc)
Round 15: sc5, sc2tog, rep to end (18sc)
Round 16: sc4, sc2tog, rep to end (15sc)
Round 17: sc3, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)

Stuff with black needle felting wool
Round 18: sc2, sc2tog, rep to end (6sc)
Fasten off

For the head:

With black sewing thread ch6
Round 1: Sc in the 2nd chain st from hook, sc in each of the next 3 chain sts, 3sc in the last chain st (the first one you made), sc in the back loop of each of the previous 3 chain sts you crocheted into in turn, then make 2sc in the back loop of the first chain st you crocheted into (12sc)
Round 2: 2sc in the first st, sc3, 2sc in each of the next 3sts, sc3, 2sc in each of the following 2 chain sts (18sc)
Round 3: sc, 2sc in the next st, sc4, (2sc in the first st, sc) 3 times, sc3, 2sc in the next st, sc, 2sc in the last st (24sc)
Round 4: sc2, 2sc in the next st, sc5, (2sc in the first st, sc2) 3 times, sc3, 2sc in the next st, sc2, 2sc in the last st (30sc)
Rounds 5 - 8: (4 Rounds) sc in each st
Round 9: (Note: this is slightly more than 1 round) Sc3, sc2tog, sc3, (sc2, sc2tog) 3times, sc3, sc2, sc2tog twice (24sc)
Round 10: Sc, sc2tog, sc3, (sc, sc2tog) 3 times, sc3, (sc, sc2tog) twice (18sc)
Round 11: sc in each st
Round 12: (Note: this is slightly less than 1 round) sc17 

Round 13: sc2tog, Sc7, sc2tog, sc7 (16sc)

Round 14: sc2tog, sc7, sc2tog, sc5 (14sc)

Suff with black needle felting wool

Round 15: sc, sc2tog, sc3, sc2tog 4 times (9sc)

Round 16: sc2tog 3 times (6sc)
Fasten off

Sew this to the body of your penguin

For the flippers (make 2):
With black sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: (sc, 2sc in the next st) twice (6sc)
Round 2: (sc2, 2sc in the next st) twice (8sc)

Round 3: (sc3, 2sc in the next st) twice (10sc)

Round 4: (sc4, 2sc in the next st) twice (12sc)
Rounds 5 - 10: (6 rounds) sc in each st
Round 11: (sc2, sc2tog) 3 times (9sc)
Fasten off

Sew these to the sides of the body

For the face patch:

With white sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (8sc)

Round 2: sc in each st
Round 3: Sc3, 2sc in each of the next 2sts, sc3 (10sc)
Fasten off

With white sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (8sc)

Round 2: sc in each st

Round 3: 2sc in the first st, sc6, 2sc in the last st (10sc)
Round 4: Sc5, ch1, sc in the st after the 'new' st of the previous section (the one that tightens if you pull the loose end), sc10 around this section, ch1, sc 5 around the first section (22sc)
Rounds 5 - 6: (2 rounds) sc in each of these 22 sts
Round 7: Sc2tog, sc7, sc2tog twice, sc7, sc2tog (18sc)
Round 8: Sc2tog twice, sc, sc2tog 4 times, sc, sc2tog twice (10sc)
Round 9: Sc2tog, sc, sc2tog twice, sc, sc2tog (6sc)
Fasten off

Sew this to the face of your penguin

For the belly patch:

With white sewing thread ch6
Round 1: Sc in the 2nd chain st from hook, sc in each of the next 2 chain sts, 3sc in the last chain st (the first one you made), sc in the back loop of each of the previous 2 chain sts you crocheted into in turn, then make 2sc in the back loop of the first chain st you crocheted into (10sc)
Round 2: 2sc in the first st, sc3, 2sc in each of the next 2sts sc3, 2sc in the last st (14sc)
Round 3: 2sc in the first st, sc5, 2sc in each of the next 2sts, sc5, 2sc in the last st (18sc)
Rounds 4 - 9: (6 rounds) sc in each st
Round 10: Sc2tog, sc5, sc2tog twice, sc5, sc2tog (14sc)
Round 11: Sc2tog, sc3, sc2tog twice, sc3, sc2tog (10sc)

Fasten off
Sew this to the front of your penguin


For the feet (make 2):
With orange sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: (sc, 2sc in the next st) twice (6sc)
Round 2: (sc2, 2sc in the next st) twice (8sc)
Rounds 3 - 4: (2 rounds) sc in each st
Round 5: (sc3, 2sc in the next st) twice (10sc)
Round 6: Ch1, skip6, slip1
Fasten off
Rejoin yarn to the next st of round 5, sc in this st, ch1, skip4, sc, slip1 in the stitch you made before last (the one you crocheted into the same st as you fastened on)
Fasten off
Rejoin yarn to the next st of round 5, sc in this st, sc3, slip1 in the first st of this little section (the one you crocheted into the same st as you fastened on)
Fasten off

Sew these to the base of the body

For the beak:
With orange sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: (sc, 2sc in the next st) twice (6sc)
Round 2: Sc in each st
Round 3: (sc2, 2sc in the next st) twice (8sc)
Fasten off

Use black or orange sewing thread to sew the penguin to the base of the bauble

For the snowman:
Use a 0.6mm hook throughout

For the head and body:
Make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round 3: sc in the first 2sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Round 4: sc in the first 3sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (30sc)
Rounds 5 - 18: (14 rounds) sc in each st
Round 19: sc3, sc2tog, rep to end (24sc)
Round 20: sc2, sc2tog, rep to end (18sc)
Round 21: sc, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)
Round 22: sc2tog 6 times to end (6sc)
Round 23: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 24: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round 25: sc in the first 2sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Rounds 26 - 33: (8 rounds) sc in each st
Round 34: sc2, sc2tog, rep to end (18sc)
Round 35: sc, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)
Round 36: sc2tog 6 times to end (6sc)

For the nose:
With orange sewing thread make a magic loop with 4sc
Round 1: sc in each st
Round 2: (sc, 2sc in the next st) twice (6sc)
Round 3: sc in each st
Round 4: (sc2, 2sc in each next st) twice (8sc)
Round 5: sc in each st
Fasten off
Sew this to the face

For the scarf:
With red sewing thread ch5
Row 1: sc in the second chain st from hook, sc in every following chain st to end. ch1, turn (4sc)
Rows 2 - 49: (48 rows) sc in each st. ch1, turn
Row 50: sc in each st
Fasten off
Tie this around the snowman's neck and sew in place

For the hat:
With black sewing thread make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 2: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 3: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Rounds 4 - 9: (6 rounds) sc in each st
Round 10: sc in the first 2sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Round 11: sc in the first 3sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (30sc)
Fasten off
Stuff and sew to the head of the snowman

For the eyes and buttons:
With black sewing thread sew dots onto the face and chest of the snowman to act as eyes and buttons

For the arms:
Cut a length of wire 4cm long and thread it through the body of the snowman.
Cut two 2cm lengths of wire and leave them to the side for the minute (these will form the cross section of the amrs)

Attach a length of brown thread to the body of the snowman next to where one side of the wire comes out using a needle and thread. Wind this length of thread around the wire, covering it as much as possible, until you have covered around 1cm of this arm section.


After you have done this you need to attach the centre of one of the 2cm long pieces of wire to this arm 1cm out from the centre (i.e. the position where your thread should now be. This is done by winding the yarn around the join between them multiple times in as many different ways as possible to try to secure it. After it is reasonably secure add a dab of PVA glue to the join and leave to dry.

Once this is dry you will need to cover all of the 3 remaining sections of wire on this arm with the brown thread. Wind it round so it reaches as close as possible to the end. You may want to add PVA glue to the ends of the arms to keep the thread in place. After you add this glue leave the snowman to dry before continuing. If you struggle to get the thread right to the ends of the arms, wind it round as far as possible, glue it in place, leave it to dry, then trim the bare ends of the wire.

Repeat this process with the other arm.


Use white thread to sew the base of the snowman to the base of the bauble.

Sew the base of the bauble (with the penguin and snowman on) to the bottom of the inside of the bauble. You may want to turn the bauble inside out as you do this to make it easier to sew the back edge in place.


Sew a length of yarn approx. 20m long to the top of the bauble and tie the ends in a bow to allow you to hand your decoration.


I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. Please feel free to contact me either below or via my 
Instagram or Ravelry pages if you have any queries or suggestions for future patterns. You are very welcome to sell finished products but I do ask that you don't re-post this pattern or claim it as your own. Thank you!

Little reindeer

This little reindeer is designed to be the same size as all of my other little animals, a full list of which can be found here.

Difficulty:

Easy - medium

You will need:

• Dk yarn in dark brown, light brown, black and red
• A scrap of white 4ply yarn
• Toy stuffing
• A darning needle

For the body :
With grey make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep  to end (18sc)
Round 3: sc in the first 2 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end(24sc)

Rounds 4 - 9: (6 rounds) sc in each st (24sc)

Round 10: sc in the first 2 sts, sc2tog, rep to end (18sc)
Round 11: sc in the first st, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)

Round 12: sc in the first st, sc2tog, rep to end (8sc)
Round 13 - 15: (3 rounds) sc in each st 
Fasten off
Stuff

For the arms (make 2):
With black make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (9sc)
Rounds 2 - 3: (2 rounds) sc in each st (9sc)
Round 4: sc in the first st, sc2tog, rep to end (6sc)
Round 5: sc in each st
Fasten off black yarn and fasten on grey yarn.
Rounds 6 - 9: (4 rounds) sc in each st (6sc)
Fasten off

Lightly stuff these arms and sew them to the sides of the body

For the legs (make 2):
With black make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)

Round 2: sc in the first 3 sts, 2cs in the next st, rep to end (15sc)
Rounds 3- 4: (2 rounds) sc in each st (15sc)
Round 5: sc2tog 3 times, sc in the last 9 sts (12sc)
Round 6: sc in the first 2 sts, sc2tog, rep to end (9sc)
Fasten off. Fasten on in grey yarn
Rounds 7 - 10: (4 rounds) sc in each st (9sc)

Fasten off

Stuff the legs and sew them to the underside of the body

For the head:

Make a magic loop with 6sc

Round 1: 2sc in each st (12sc)

Round 2: (sc, 2sc in the next st) to end (18sc)

Round 3: (sc2, 2sc in the next st) to end (24sc)

Rounds 4 - 7: (4 Rounds) sc in each st

Round 8: (sc4, sc2tog) to end (20sc)

Round 9: (Sc2, sc2tog) 4 times, sc4 (16sc)

Round 10: sc in each st

Round 11: (Sc, sc2tog) 4 times, sc4 (12sc)

Round 12: sc in each st

Round 13: Sc2tog 4 times, sc4 (8sc)

Fasten off

Stuff and sew this to the body (the fasten off edge is at the front of the head)

For the antlers (make 2):

With light brown yarn make a magic loop with 4sc

Rounds 1 - 3: (3 rounds) sc in each st 

Fasten off

With the same yarn make a magic loop with 6sc

Rounds 1 - 3: (3 rounds) sc in each st

Rounds 4 - 6: (3 rounds) sc3, slip3

Rounds 7 - 9: (3 rounds) sc in each st

Fasten off
Sew the smaller section to the centre of the larger section then sew the antlers to the head

For the muzzle:

With light brown dk yarn ch3

Round 1: sc in the 2nd loop from hook, 3sc in the next chain st (the first one you made), 2sc in the back of the first chain st you crocheted into (6sc)

Round 2: 2sc in each st (12sc)

Round 3: Sc2tog 6times to end (6sc)

Fasten off
Stuff this slightly and sew it to the head.

For the nose:

With red dk yarn make a magic loop with 6sc

sc2tog 3 times

Fasten off 

For the ears (make 2):
With dark brown make a magic loop with 3sc. Don't join. ch1, turn
Row 1: sc in each st. ch1, turn
Row 2: sc3tog
Fasten off

For the eyes:
Use black dk yarn to embroider eyes onto the face of the reindeer. Use white 4ply yarn to add highlights to the eyes.



I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. If you have any questions about this or any of my other patterns, please let me know either below or via my Instagram or Ravelry pages. You are very welcome to sell finished products but I do ask that you don't re-post this pattern or claim it as your own. Thank you!

Hedgehog Christmas tree decoration

Difficulty:

Easy - medium

You will need:

• 4ply yarn in cream, light brown, black, red and fluffy white
• A 2mm crochet hook
• A brown sharpie or other permanent marker
• Toy stuffing
• A darning needle for sewing up
• A small length of white ribbon
• A sewing needle and white sewing cotton
• A rectangle of cardboard 6cm wide

Note:
'fasten off neatly' refers to a special way of fastening off which is neater and makes it easier to see where you should be crocheting on the next round (also known as invisible fastening off). This involves pulling up your yarn through your stitch, threading the yarn underneath the second stitch from where you pulled your yarn up, then threading your yarn back through the top of this stitch and down through the back of the work. There is a very helpful site that explains it clearly found here. Just make sure when you do this that you thread your needle through the SECOND stitch after the last stitch you made, otherwise you will end up with an extra stitch which may mean that all of the following rounds are out of line with each other.




For the body:
With cream yarn ch5
Round 1: sc in the next st from hook, sc in each of the next 2sts, 3sc in the last st (the first chain st you made), sc in the back of each of the previous 2 chain sts you crocheted into in turn, then make 2sc in the back of the first chain st you crocheted into. (10sc)
Round 2: 2sc in the first st, sc2, 2sc in each of the next 3sts, sc2, 2sc in each of the last 2sts (16sc)
Round 3: sc in the first st, 2sc in the next st, sc3, (2sc in the first st, sc) 3 times, sc2, 2sc in the next st, sc, 2sc in the last st (22sc)
Rounds 4 - 12: (9 rounds) sc in each st
Round 13: Sc, sc2tog, sc3, (sc2tog, sc) 3 times, sc2, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog (16sc)
Round 14: sc in each st
Round 15: Sc2tog 4 times, sc6, sc2tog (11sc)
Fasten off neatly

Stuff firmly

With light brown yarn fasten on to the 3rd st before the 'new' st you made when fastening off neatly. (this is the stitch that will get tighter when you pull the loose end of the yarn)
Round 16: Sc2tog with this st and the next st, sc in the next 9sts (10sc)
Round 17: Sc2tog 5 times (5sc)
Round 18: Sc2tog
Fasten off

For the spines:
Wind the cream 4ply yarn around the cardboard many times.

Take the sharpie and colour over the central 2cm or so of all of the strands using the permanent marker, making sure you colour around all of the edges of each strand of time. Do this on both sides of the cardboard.


Cut the yarn at both sides of the cardboard so you have lots of 6cm strands of yarn with the central 2cm or so coloured in.
Attach these to the back of the hedgehog by folding each strand in half and pulling the folded end through a stitch in the head using your crochet hook, before threading the ends of the strand through the loop you created and tightening it. If you're unsure as to what to do there is a video here that shows you how to do it.

After you have attached the spines you may then want to trim them if they are too long.


For the ears (Make 2):
With light brown yarn make a magic loop with 3sc. Don't join.
Fasten off
Sew these to the hedgehog just in front of where the spines stop.

For the facial features:
Using the back yarn embroider eyes and a nose onto the face of your hedgehog.

For the feet (Make 4):
With light brown yarn make a magic loop with 4sc. Don't join.
Fasten off
Sew these to the base of the hedgehog


For the hat:
With red yarn ch14
Round 1: sc in the first chain st you made, then sc in every following chain st (14sc)
Round 2: sc in each st
Round 3: (Sc5, 2sc in the next st) twice (12sc)
Round 4: (Sc4, 2sc in the next st) twice (10sc)
Round 5: (Sc3, 2sc in the next st) twice (8sc)
Round 6: (Sc2, 2sc in the next st) twice (6sc)
Round 7: (Sc, 2sc in the next st) twice (4sc)
Rounds 8 - 9: (2 rounds) Slip2, sc2
Fasten off

Attach the white fluffy yarn to the base of the hat and crochet around the edge of it.
Fasten off
Sew this to the head of the hedgehog

For the pom-pom:
Make a magic loop with 6sc
Round 1: sc in each st
Fasten off

Sew this to the top of the hat


Cut the ribbon to the correct length (mine was around 13cm), sew the ends together, and then sew the ribbon to the back of the hedgehog using the needle and thread. If you are worried about it fraying you can use some fray-check glue to keep the ends neat.

I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. If you have any queries please feel free to contact me either below or via my Instagram or Ravelry pages.

You are very welcome to sell finished products but I do ask that you don't re-post this pattern or claim it as your own. Thank you!