I’m very excited to share this new free pattern for Halloween Stuffies! I was fixing up my old pattern for the knitted Halloween Plant Sweaters and I just craved more Halloween. I know it’s the first week of September, I’m a monster.
I’m starting to develop a bit of a style for toys when I design (like my farm animal and jungle animal finger puppets), and it was fun to watch that “style” evolve further with this cat and witch! I have plans for a few more, so keep your eye on this space!
Materials
Size G crochet hook
About 1/2 skein of worsted yarn in each of the following colors:
- Black
- Orange
- Green
Scraps of embroidery thread or yarn in the following colors:
- black (witch mouth)
- orange (witch accents)
- pink (cat nose)
- white (cat whiskers)
If you want to use stuffing pellets to give the stuffies more weight:
- Stuffing pellets (optional, I used these)
- Scraps of stretch fabric to hold stuffing pellets (old clothing that’s stretchy would be perfect)
- Sewing needle and thread
Sharp Yarn needle (to embroider features and hide yarn ends)
8 mm safety eyes, 2 per stuffy (alternatively, you can embroider eyes in black)
Pattern Notes
These notes apply to all my instructions below:
When I note “inc” I mean to make two stitches in the same stitch of the previous round/row.
When I note “dec” you can use any decrease method you prefer. I like a good invisible decrease.
When instructions appear in parentheses like “(sc, inc)” that means you repeat the instructions inside the parentheses the number of times it says after them. For example, “(sc, inc) 4 times” means you would work a sc, then an increase, and repeat 4 times.
At the end of each line is a stitch count in brackets, for example [6 st] which means the round you just finished ended with 6 stitches. Remember to include increases or decreases if you’re counting along!
How to make a tiny bean bag
I wanted my stuffies to sit nicely on a shelf, so I added some tiny bean bags to help weigh down the bottoms. The process is pretty simple if you have generic sewing supplies. You could also added the stuffing pellets directly to the body before you add the base, but I didn’t want to deal with the mess.
Bean bag step 1
Lay out two pieces of stretchy fabric on a table, one on top of the other. Draw a circle with about a 2 inch diameter on the top piece. Cut around it, leaving about 1/4″ to 1/2″ around the edges for seaming. I traced a 2″ washer that I use for pattern weights.
Bean bag step 2
Using a needle and thread, sew a backstitch around the circle, leaving a gap. I would leave a gap you can stick your thumb in. You can use a sewing machine if you have one. I found I could just sew it by hand faster than setting up and using my machine.
Bean bag step 3
Fill the bag through the gap. You want to fill it to the point where the pellets lightly stretch the fabric, so that it forms more of a bag and less of a circle. I rolled up some scrap paper and made a little funnel. I held mine up next to the plushy-in-progress to see when I thought the size would fill the body.
Bean bag step 4
Sew that last gap closed and trim down the extra fabric around the edges. Gently push the bean bag into the body of the plushy before you add the base.
Cat
Cat Ears (make 2)
Ch 4 in black (the starting chain is the bottom of the ear)
Row 1: Sc in 2nd Ch from hook, 2 sc, ch 1, turn [3 st]
Row 2: 2 sc over 3 sc, ch 1, turn [2 st]
Row 3: sc2tog, ch1, cut yarn
Shape the ears: starting back at the end of row 1, work 4 sl st along the edge of the ear up toward row 3, ch 1 at the top of the ear, turn and work 4 sl st down the other side of the ear, fasten off. I forgot to take a picture while in progress, but the arrows in the image below show where you place the sl st.
Make the second ear before you move on to the head.
Cat Head
Start with a Magic Circle (MC) in black
Round 1: sc 6 in the MC [6 st]
Round 2: Inc in each st [12 st]
Round 3: (sc in next st, inc) 6 times [18 st]
Round 4: (inc, sc in next 2 st) 6 times [24 st]
Round 5- 10: sc in each st around [24 st]
Your safety eyes will go in (approximately) stitches 9 and 14 of round 7. The nose will be embroidered around rows 8-9. I like to mark these stitches with stitch markers or scrap yarn so I can find them later.
Round 11: (dec, sc in next 2 st) 6 times [18 st]
Round 12: (sc in next st, dec) 6 times [12 st]
At this point, attach those safety eyes and embroider the nose and whiskers. Add the ears before closing up the head any more.
Finish Cat Head
Stuff the head.
Round 13: (sc, dec) 4 times [8st]
Do NOT bind off before the next round of the body!
Cat Body
Round 14: (sc, inc) 4 times [12 st]
Round 15: (sc in next 3 st, inc) 3 times [15 st]
Round 16: (sc in next 4 st, inc) 3 times [18 st]
Round 17: (sc in next 5 st, inc) 3 times [21 st]
Round 18 -21: sc in each st [21 st]
Round 22: (sc in next 3 st, dec, sc in next 2 st) 3 times [18 st]
Round 23: (dec, sc) 6 times [12 st]
End off.
Stuff or insert a tiny bean bag in the body using the instructions at the beginning.
Cat Base
Start with a Magic Circle
Round 1: sc 6 in the MC [6 st]
Round 2: Inc in each sc [12 st]
End off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the base to the body. I like to sew it in the back loops of the last body round and the base round.
Cat Tail
Start with a magic circle
round 1: sc 4 in the MC
round 2: sc in the BLO of each st of round 1
rounds 3-11: sc around
Cat Finishing
Sew the tail to the body at the base. You want to play with the angle you sew it on, so that it sticks out to the side and you can see it from the front.
Witch
Witch Head
Using green (or a skin color if you want a less “Wizard of Oz” vibe)
Start with a Magic Circle
Round 1: 6 sc in the MC [6 st]
Round 2: Inc in each sc [12 st]
Round 3: (sc, inc) 6 times [18 st]
Round 4: (inc, sc in next 2 st) 6 times [24 st]
Round 5- 10: sc in each st around [24 st]
Your safety eyes will go in (approximately) stitches 9 and 14 of round 7. The mouth will be embroidered around row 10. I like to mark these stitches with stitch markers so I can find them later.
Round 11: (dec, sc in next 2 st) 6 times [18 st]
Round 12: (sc, dec) 6 times [12 st]
At this point, secure the safety eyes and embroider the mouth.
Add Witch Hair
Cut 24, 8 inch pieces of yarn in desired witch hair color (I used black)
Fold each piece in half, and secure to head by attaching in round 4 and 5 of the stitching. I like to do it this way:
Hair step 1: Insert a small crochet hook bottom to top under a stitch
Hair step 2: pull the folded piece of yarn through using the fold, forming a loop below the stitch, and two strands above the stitch
Hair step 3: Pull the strands through the loop using your hook
Make Witch Hat and Attach
Start with a MC
round 1: sc 4 in the MC
Round 2: sc in each st [4 st]
Round 3: (sc, inc) 2 times [6 st]
Round 4: (sc, inc, sc) 2 times [8 st]
Round 5: sc in each st [8 st]
Round 6: (inc, sc in next 3 st) 2 times [10 st]
Round 7: (sc in next 2 st, inc, sc in next 2 st) 2 times [12 st]
Round 8: (sc, inc, sc in next 2 st ) 3 times [15 st]
Using this clean, sharp color change method, switch to orange
Round 9: (inc, sc in next 4 st) 3 times [18 st]
Using the same method, switch back to black.
Round 10: working in the BLO of the previous round, (sc, inc) 9 times [27 st]
Note: the color changing method I linked already works in the back loops, but in case you use another method, please follow the instructions to work in the BLO for Round 10. This starts to make the brim of the hat.
Round 11: (sc, inc, sc) 9 times [36 st]
Round 12: sl st loosely in the BLO of each stitch around. Use a clean finishing method to end off the hat
Tack or sew the hat to the witch’s head. I just tacked it on, as my witch will sit on a shelf and it doesn’t need to be very secure.
Finish Witch Head
Stuff the head.
Round 13: (sc, dec) 4 times [8st]
Use the clean sharp color change method, switch to black
Make Witch Body and Base
Work same as cat body and base.
Make Witch Cape
Ch 13 in black
Row 1: Sc in second ch from hook and each ch across, ch1, turn [12 st]
Row 2: sc, inc, sc in next 2 st, inc, sc in next 2 st, inc, sc in next 2 st, inc, sc, ch1, turn [16 st]
Row 3: sc in next 2 st, inc, sc in next 3 st, inc, sc in next 2 st, inc, sc in next 3 st, inc, sc in next 2 st, ch1, turn [20 st]
Row 4: sc, inc, sc in next 4 st, inc, sc in next 6 st, inc, sc in next 4 st, inc, sc, ch1, turn [24 st]
Row 5: sc in next 3 st, inc, sc in next 5 st, inc, sc in next 4 st, inc, sc in next 5 st, inc, sc in next 3 st, turn [28 st]
Switch to orange
Row 6: sc, inc, 7sc in next 7 st, inc, sc in next 8 st, inc, sc in next 7 st, inc, sc [32 st]
Tie off the yarn. Weave in ends. Add scraps of orange yarn at the center front to attach to the witch at the neck.
What Halloween-themed stuffies should I design next?