There are just 4 more days to Christmas, but I have one last Christmas pattern to share with you! It’s a bit late, but I hope you guys still get a chance to make this crochet Santa Claus plushie. If not, you can always make him next year and he’ll be as cute as ever. I’ve already shared 3 other crochet Christmas plushies over the last week so please go check out Ronald the gingerbread man, Ollie the elf, and Comet the reindeer if you haven’t already. But for now, let’s get started on our crochet Santa Claus pattern!
Like the other plushies, Santa Claus was very easy to make, and I think he’s a great project for adventurous beginners or anyone new to amigurumi. The body and head are all done in single crochet stitches and then I used some HDC and puff stitches for his clothes. Then I just finished him off by adding some hair and blush for those rosy cheeks!
This crochet Santa Claus needs no introduction. But if you didn’t know, his name is really Nick and he’s the sweetest, jolliest person you’ll ever meet. When he’s not out delivering presents, Santa spends most of his time restoring some of his vintage sleighs. He loves getting the newest models but something about fixing up the older ones fills him with such joy! Of course, Mrs. Claus and the elves get to take them for a spin every now and then. This cheerful fella’s a great guest to have around the home, he helps with the Christmas decor and gives the best ideas for Christmas gifts!!
Christmas Plushies: An Adorable Collection of Amigurumi!
The full free crochet pattern is written out below. For those who’d prefer to print the pattern and take it with you for on-the-go and to markup as you go, you can buy the inexpensive printable PDF from my Etsy and Ravelry shops. The PDF is formatted without ads or comments, so it’s easy to read.
Materials:
- 3.25mm crochet hook / D hook*
- #4 medium weight yarn – I used Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Biscuit, Cocoa, White, and Black
- stitch markers*
- tapestry needle*
- 8mm safety eyes*
- Polyfill stuffing*
- Mini pom poms
- Hot glue gun
- Blush (optional)
- Pet brush (optional)
Abbreviations:
- ch – chain
- SC – single crochet
- DC – double crochet
- HDC – half double crochet
- sl – slip stitch
Pattern Notes:
- Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate – some amigurumi experience is helpful but not necessary
- Sizing: 15″ tall (with hat) x 5″ across the body
- Gauge: 6S X 5R per inch
Crochet Santa Claus Free Pattern
Arms (make 2):
Round 1: With yarn in Biscuit (skin color), create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC 1, inc* around (18).
Rounds 4-6: SC around for 3 rounds.
Round 7: Switch to white yarn and SC around for 1 round.
Round 8: In each space, *YO, pull up a loop,* twice, YO and pull through all the loops.
Round 9: Switch to red yarn and SC for 16 rounds. BO, leaving a long tail. Add stuffing.
Legs (make 2):
Round 1: With black yarn, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Rounds 5-8: SC for 4 rounds.
Round 9: Switch to white yarn and SC around for 1 round.
Round 10: In each space, *YO, pull up a loop,* twice, YO and pull through all the loops.
Rounds 11-24: Switch to red and SC for 14 rounds.
Round 25: *SC 2, dec* around (18). BO, leaving a long tail for sewing. Add stuffing.
Body:
Round 1: With yarn in Red, create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).
Round 8: *SC 6, inc* around (48).
Rounds 9-18: SC around for 10 rounds.
Round 19: *SC 6, dec* around (42).
Round 20-21: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 22: *SC 5, dec* around (36).
Rounds 23-24: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 25: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Rounds 26-27: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 28: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Rounds 29-30: SC around for 2 rounds
Round 31: *SC 2, dec* around (18). BO, leaving a long tail for sewing. Add stuffing.
Head:
Round 1: With yarn in Biscuit (skin color), create a magic loop and work 6 SC into it. Place a stitch marker.
Round 2: Inc in each space by working 2 SC into each (12).
Round 3: *SC, inc* around (18).
Round 4: *SC 2, inc* around (24).
Round 5: *SC 3, inc* around (30).
Round 6: *SC 4, inc* around (36).
Round 7: *SC 5, inc* around (42).
Round 8: *SC 6, inc* around (48).
Rounds 9-18: SC around for 10 rounds. Insert safety eyes to round 5 after the last increase round, about 5 stitches apart. Start to add the stuffing.
Round 19: *SC 6, dec* around (42).
Round 20: *SC 5, dec* around (36).
Round 21: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Round 22: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Round 23: *SC 2, dec* around (18). Finish adding stuffing.
Round 24: *SC, dec* around (12).
Round 25: Decrease around (6). Cut the yarn and thread tail through a tapestry needle. Run the needle under the front loops of each stitch and secure yarn. Weave in the end.
Santa Hat:
Round 1: With white yarn, chain 43. Slip stitch to the first chain space to form a ring (42).
Round 2: SC 1 round.
Round 3: In each space of the next round, *YO, pull up a loop,* twice, YO and pull through all the loops.
Rounds 4-13: Switch to red and SC 10 rounds.
Round 14: *SC 5, dec* around (36).
Rounds 15-16: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 17: *SC 4, dec* around (30).
Rounds 18-19: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 20: *SC 3, dec* around (24).
Rounds 21-22: SC around for 2 rounds
Round 23: *SC 2, dec* around (18).
Rounds 24-25: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 26: *SC , dec* around (12).
Rounds 27-28: SC around for 2 rounds.
Round 29: *Dec* around (6). BO, and attach a pom to the end of the hat.
Jacket:
Row 1: With Red yarn, chain 37. Turn and HDC 36 starting from the second space from the hook.
Row 2: HDC 1 row (36).
Row 3: *Dec, HDC to last 2, dec* (34).
Row 4: HDC 1 row.
Row 5-14: Repeat rows 3-4 until 24 stitches remain.
Row 15: Dec, chain 5, skip 5, HDC to last 7, chain 5, skip 5, dec. Ch 5 spaces are the armholes.
Row 16: HDC all (including ch spaces) (22).
Row 17: Dec, SC to last 2, dec.
Row 18: Switch to white yarn and SC along the side, bottom and other side of the jacket.
Row 19: In each space, *YO, pull up a loop,* twice, YO and pull through all the loops. BO.
Attaching the beard
Now we’re done with all the pieces, but to really make this a Christmas pattern, Santa needs a beard! For the beard, cut strips of white yarn about 4 inches long. Insert your hook under a space along the jaw where you want the hair to be.
Fold the strip of yarn in half and use your hook to pull a loop through the space.
Bring the tails of the strip through the loop and pull to tighten. Add yarn like this to the entire area you want to be covered. You only need 2 rows to get a full beard.
You can leave the beard here if you want, but I wanted to make it look more like hair than yarn. So I used the same technique I used to make the hair on Aurora the Unicorn.
Untwist the ply of the yarn to make it fuller. Then, use a pet brush to brush the yarn out and make it smooth and fluffy. Trim to shape the beard just right. I trimmed the ones in the front shorter to make his mustache!
Assembly
Attach the arms to the body by sewing them in place with the tail ends you left and a tapestry needle. Make sure they line up with the armholes in the jacket. Sew on the legs to the base of the body as well.
Use the tail end from the body to sew the head into place. Work through each space on the neck and the matching space on the body so it doesn’t wobble. With the same yarn as the skin color, embroidery on a small nose with straight stitches. Use real blush to give him his rosy cheeks.
Put on his jacket and hat. Finally, weave in any loose ends and trim the excess yarn.
Finally, here is the finished Santa Claus! I think he looks so handsome and really jolly! I hope you guys liked this Christmas pattern and all the other Christmas plushies I’ve released this year. Let me know what you think of them and if you make one, share a picture on Instagram and tag me @_theblueelephants!
Check out the entire Christmas Buddies PDF Collection!
Looking for another Christmas pattern? Check out the rest of the set! Comet the Reindeer, Ollie the elf, and Ronald the gingerbread man are also available on this blog and in my shop. Thanks so much for reading and be sure to subscribe down below to get on the email list and get new patterns and tips delivered right to your inbox every week.
See you soon 🙂
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