Free Crochet Gingerbread Man Pattern
This sweet gingerbread man is a charming way to add a traditional element to your holiday decorations. You can finish this gingerbread man off in two ways. The first way you could finish this gingerbread man off as is an ornament by adding a loop for hanging. The second way you could finish this gingerbread man off as is a garland. Just make multiples of the gingerbread man and string them together.
I created this pattern to be holiday friendly. What I mean by holiday friendly is a pattern that is streamlined and is easily adapted to suit you. In order to make this a holiday friendly pattern, I developed this pattern to limit the amount of time required for assembling.
The streamline element comes from the head, the body and one leg that are made together as one component. You don’t cut the yarn. You just transition to the next body part. First, you create the head. Second, you’ll transition and make the body. Third, you’ll create one leg. Fasten off the yarn after you have completed the first leg. To create the second leg, join the yarn at the bottom of the body. This means you will only have to sew on the arms.
The easily adapted comes from embellishment options. Option A is embellished with worsted weight yarn. Option B is embellished using embroidery floss and wool felt. If you find yourself running short on time, then a third option could be using only felt.
Materials
Lion Brand Yarns Vanna’s Choice medium (worsted) weight acrylic yarn (31/2 oz/170 yds/100g per ball): Toffee (860-724)—1 ball
Poly-Fil® Crafter’s Choice® Dry Packing Fiber
Embellishments (aka the frosting)
Option A
- Vanna’s Choice Worsted Weight Yarn in the Following Colors: Black, White, and Red
Option B
- Wool Felt: Black and White
- Embroidery Floss: Red and White
- Fabric Glue
Tools
- Lion Brand Split Ring Stitch Markers
- Size E/4/3.5mm crochet hook (Gauge is not important. Just work with the smallest crochet hook possible. So, the stuffing isn’t visible.)
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
Size
6″ tall X 4 1/2″ wide
NOTES
- Rounds are worked in continuous spirals; do not join. Do not turn work at the end of each round.
- sc2tog (sc dec) (Insert hook into next st and draw up a loop) twice, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook – 1 sc decreased
Instructions
Head
Rnd 1: Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook, place stitch marker (see Notes). (6 sc)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Rnd 3: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] around. (18 sc)
Rnds 4-8: Sc in each sc around.
Rnd 9: [Sc in next sc, dec in next 2 sc] around. (12 sc)
Rnd 10: Sc in each sc around.
Lightly stuff.
Rnd 11: [Sc in next sc, dec in next 2 sc] around. (8 sc)
Rnd 12: Sc in each sc around.
Body
Rnd 13: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] around. (12 sc)
Rnd 14: [Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc] around. (18 sc)
Rnd 15: [Sc in next 2sc, 2 sc in next sc] around. (24 sc)
Rnds 16-24: Sc in each sc around.
First Leg
Each leg will be comprised of 10 sc. There will be a sc crochet space between the two legs. Just sew closed. When you join the yarn for the second leg, just leave a tail long enough for sew the center stitches closed.
Rnd 25: Sc in 6 sc. Treat the sc opposite to the sixth sc as though it were next to it. Sc in 4 sc. Place a stitch marker. (10 sc)
Rnds 26- 29: Sc in each sc around.
Stuff body and leg.
Rnd 30: Dec in each sc. (5 sc)
Rnd 31: Sc in each sc around.
Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing. Sew closed, weave in end and trim.
Second leg
Rnd 1: Join yarn, ch 1, sc in the same sc, sc in 9 sc. Place a stitch marker. (10 sc)
Rnds 2-5: Sc in each sc around.
Stuff.
Rnd 6: Dec in each sc. (5 sc)
Rnd 7: Sc in each sc around.
Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing. Sew closed, weave in end and trim.
Arm (make 2)
Rnd 1: Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd ch from hook, place stitch marker. (4 sc)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (8 sc)
Rnd 3-7: Sc in each sc around.
Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing.
Finish
Lightly stuff arms. Sew into place. Weave in yarn ends and trim.
Embellish
As I mentioned in the introduction, I developed this pattern to make it easy to adapt to suit you. So, please feel free to “decorate” your gingerbread man as you see fit. Option B was the original way, but it didn’t match up to what was in my mind. So, I created what is labeled as option A.
Option A
Today, I prefer option A. I think the worsted weight yarn better communicates the idea of frosting. (After I created what I labeled as option B, I thought that embroidery floss was too dainty for a chunky gingerbread man.)
The eyes and buttons were created using the French Knot stitch. I wrapped the yarn around the needle three times. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the stitch, I am providing a link to a page with the stitch tutorial. Click here for French Knot instructions. (You’ll have to scroll down the page until you see it.)
Embroidery Tip: I insert the needle through the back and exit in the desired spot. I pull just enough so that the yarn end is no longer visible.
Eyes: Using black yarn work two French Knot stitches— in round 6 with three stitches between.
Buttons: Using white yarn work three French Knot stitches in the center of the body—one button in round 16, 18, and 20.
Mouth: Using red yarn work in the basic straight stitch—the center of the mouth is stitched into round 9. The edges are stitched slightly above into the yarn vs. into the stitch space.
Bow Tie: Create the bow tie using the white yarn in the following way. First, stitch two equilateral triangles over the “neck”. The top points of the triangles meet in the center. Next, stitch over the spot where the tops of the triangles meet a couple of times.
Icing on Hands and Feet: Use the white yarn to create the zig-zag decoration. I adapted the split stitch to create a more icing like effect. Info on the split stitch can be found on the same page as the French Knot stitch. (Link can be found in the introduction to this section.
Option B
I used embroidery floss and felt to decorate option B. Follow the directions from option A for the mouth and for the icing on hands and feet. I used all six strands of embroidery floss used: red for the mouth and white for the icing. Also, refer to option A regarding placement of felt components.
Bow Tie and Buttons
Cut the following from white felt:
- Three—1/4″ circles for the buttons
- On a scrap piece of paper draw overlapping triangles as shown below for the bow tie. The width of the bow tie is 1″ and the height is 5/8″. Place on top of felt and cut out.
Eyes
From black felt cut two 1/4″ circles.
Glue felt pieces into place.
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