Crochet a Santa decoration with a rounded red coat, black boots, embroidered face and a long red hat. The head and coat are made separately and joined at matching neck openings. A flat beard, narrow moustache strip and embroidered buckle give the face and outfit their finishing details without plastic eyes or a metal bell.
About this edition: This edition replaces the missing head, neck, hand and boot sequences with a complete separate-piece construction. All rows and rounds needed for the figure and accessories are given below. This is an AI-assisted Croshly editorial version with reviewed stitch arithmetic. A physically crocheted test sample and measured finished size are not documented. The AI project illustration is a styling concept; use the written construction below as your guide.
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Materials and stitch terms
- Worsted/Aran yarn in red, skin tone, white and black, plus a small amount of gold or yellow embroidery yarn. Plan on a 50 g ball of red, 25–50 g each of white and skin tone and black scraps; these are supply reserves, not measured sample consumption.
- A 3.5 mm hook as a starting point. Use a size that makes a firm stuffed fabric, and the same yarn thickness for the hat and head.
- Polyester stuffing, yarn needle, scissors, stitch marker and removable assembly pins.
- Black thread or fine yarn for embroidered eyes. No beads, plastic eyes or jingle bell are needed.
US terms: ch = chain; sc = single crochet; sl st = slip stitch; inc = 2 sc in one stitch; dec = sc the next 2 stitches together; MR = magic ring. A bracketed sequence is repeated the stated number of times. Work rounds in a continuous spiral and move a marker into the first stitch of each new round. Turning ch 1 does not count as a stitch. Leave about 20 cm of yarn for sewing whenever an attachment tail is needed.
Use skin-tone yarn A, red B, white C and black D. Keep the opening at the top of the body and bottom of the head open for their 18-to-18 stitch join. The finished measurements depend on your yarn and tension and have not been measured from a Croshly sample.
Red coat body
| Round | Instruction | Stitches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | With B, 6 sc in MR. | 6 |
| 2 | inc in every stitch. | 12 |
| 3 | [sc, inc] 6 times. | 18 |
| 4 | [2 sc, inc] 6 times. | 24 |
| 5 | [3 sc, inc] 6 times. | 30 |
| 6 | [4 sc, inc] 6 times. | 36 |
| 7–12 | sc in every stitch. | 36 each |
| 13 | [4 sc, dec] 6 times. | 30 |
| 14 | [3 sc, dec] 6 times. | 24 |
| 15 | [2 sc, dec] 6 times. | 18 |
| 16 | sc in every stitch. | 18 |
Fasten off with a sewing tail. Stuff the body from the base upward, leaving the top edge flexible. The starting magic ring closes the bottom; do not add an extra base decrease section.
Head and embroidered face
| Round | Instruction | Stitches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | With A, 6 sc in MR. | 6 |
| 2 | inc in every stitch. | 12 |
| 3 | [sc, inc] 6 times. | 18 |
| 4 | [2 sc, inc] 6 times. | 24 |
| 5 | [3 sc, inc] 6 times. | 30 |
| 6–10 | sc in every stitch. | 30 each |
| 11 | [3 sc, dec] 6 times. | 24 |
| 12 | [2 sc, dec] 6 times. | 18 |
Fasten off, keeping the 18-stitch opening open. Embroider the eyes between Rounds 7–8, about 5 stitches apart. Embroider a small skin-tone nose midway below them. Stuff the head, align its opening with the body neck and sew the 18 pairs together. Add the final stuffing before completing the seam.
Arms with cuffs, make two
- Round 1: with A, 6 sc in MR. (6)
- Round 2: [sc, inc] 3 times. (9)
- Round 3: sc around in A. (9)
- Round 4: change to C and sc around. (9)
- Rounds 5–9: change to B and sc around. (9 each)
- Round 10: [sc, dec] 3 times in B. (6)
- Lightly stuff the hand and lower sleeve. Flatten the opening and sew across 3 pairs of stitches. Leave the upper sleeve flexible.
Attach each arm at the side of body Rounds 14–15, below the neck seam. The two white cuff rounds should sit at the same height when the figure is upright.
Boots and legs, make two
- Round 1: with D, 6 sc in MR. (6)
- Round 2: inc in every stitch. (12)
- Rounds 3–4: sc around in D. (12 each)
- Round 5: [sc, dec] 4 times in D. (8)
- Rounds 6–10: change to B and sc around. (8 each)
- Round 11: change to C and sc around. (8)
- Stuff the foot lightly. Flatten the top and sew across its 4 pairs of stitches. Fasten off with a sewing tail.
Pin the white tops to the front lower coat around body Rounds 3–5, then sew securely. The boots point forward for a seated Santa. Reinforce each attachment by passing through both the leg edge and body fabric several times.
Flat beard and moustache
With C, ch 10. Work the beard in rows from its wide upper edge to its point. The turning chain never counts as a stitch.
| Round | Instruction | Stitches |
|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | sc in second ch from hook and the next 8 chains. | 9 |
| Row 2 | ch 1, turn; dec, 5 sc, dec. | 7 |
| Row 3 | ch 1, turn; dec, 3 sc, dec. | 5 |
| Row 4 | ch 1, turn; dec, sc, dec. | 3 |
| Row 5 | ch 1, turn; dec, sc. | 2 |
| Row 6 | ch 1, turn; dec. Fasten off. | 1 |
Leave a long sewing tail. Centre the wide 9-stitch top edge just below the nose and sew it to the lower face. Tack the beard point to the upper coat so it lies flat. Do not pull the sewing yarn so tightly that the beard cups.
Moustache: with C, ch 9. Starting in the second chain from the hook, work sl st, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, sl st across the 8 chains. Fasten off. Centre this strip under the nose and above the beard, then sew it down with its two ends angled slightly outward. Here hdc means half double crochet: yarn over, insert hook, draw up a loop, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.
Tapered hat
| Round | Instruction | Stitches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | With B, 6 sc in MR. | 6 |
| 2 | sc around. | 6 |
| 3 | [sc, inc] 3 times. | 9 |
| 4 | sc around. | 9 |
| 5 | [2 sc, inc] 3 times. | 12 |
| 6 | sc around. | 12 |
| 7 | [3 sc, inc] 3 times. | 15 |
| 8 | sc around. | 15 |
| 9 | [4 sc, inc] 3 times. | 18 |
| 10 | sc around. | 18 |
| 11 | [5 sc, inc] 3 times. | 21 |
| 12 | sc around. | 21 |
| 13 | [6 sc, inc] 3 times. | 24 |
| 14 | sc around. | 24 |
| 15 | [7 sc, inc] 3 times. | 27 |
| 16 | sc around. | 27 |
| 17 | [8 sc, inc] 3 times. | 30 |
| 18 | sc around. | 30 |
| 19–20 | Change to C and sc around. | 30 each |
Sl st in the next stitch and fasten off. Do not stuff the hat. Its 30-stitch brim matches the head’s maximum stitch count, so check the fit over the actual head before sewing. Position the brim above the eyes and tack it at several points; the long tip can bend to one side.
Optional soft hat-tip ball: with C, work 6 sc in MR (6); inc around (12); sc around (12); dec 6 times (6). Add a pinch of filling, draw the tail through the last 6 stitches and close. Sew firmly to the hat tip. Use this crocheted finish rather than a bead or bell.
Belt and buckle
With D, ch 39. Sc in the second chain and all remaining chains (38 sc). Fasten off with a sewing tail. Wrap the strip around the widest coat area, around body Rounds 9–10. The 38-stitch strip allows a short overlap on the 36-stitch body. Sew the ends together at the back and tack the belt to the body. Embroider a small gold rectangle at the front, about 4 belt stitches wide and 1 row high, to suggest a buckle.
Finishing checks and care
Confirm that the neck seam joins 18 stitches to 18, both sleeves end at 6 stitches and both legs end at 8. Check that the beard is centred, eyes remain visible and the hat does not pull them upward. Remove every pin and secure the embroidery ends inside the figure. Spot clean according to the yarn and filling labels and dry completely. Treat the completed figure as decoration; it has not undergone toy-safety testing.
