Cheery festive elves
Meet cheeky Tinsel and Jingles…
Just like fabric rag dolls, these elves are made up of a back and a front piece that’s sewn up around the outside edge. The arms and legs are picked up and knitted from the body section, and the hair is added using a crochet hook. Once you’ve mastered the basic body shape, you can go on to create colourful characters of your own in yarn from your DK scraps. Let your imagination go super Christmassy!
Note The addition of buttons and a brass bell make this toy more suitable for children over the age of 3 years. Always make sure you attach buttons, bells, pompoms and facial features securely.
BOY ELF FRONT
Starting with the body section cast on 22 sts using 3 mm needles and Yarn A. Row 1 (RS) Knit into the back of all the sts. Row 2 ( WS) Kfb, purl to last st, kfb. [2 sts inc’d] Row 3 Change to Yarn B and K to end. Row 4 Purl. Row 5 Change to Yarn A. Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [2 sts inc’d] Row 6 Purl. Repeat the last 4 rows until there are 34 sts, ending with a P row. Next row Change to Yarn B and K to end. Next row Purl. Next row Change to Yarn A and K to end. Next row Purl. Repeat these 4 rows once more. Dec row Change to Yarn B, k2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d] Next row Purl. Next row Change to Yarn A and K to end. Next row Purl.
Repeat the last 4 rows until 22 sts rem, ending with the Dec row. Next row Purl.
HEAD
Change to Yarn C. Starting with a K row, work in st st for 4 rows. Next row Kfb, K to the last st, kfb. [24 sts] Next row Purl. Next row Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [2 sts inc’d]
Repeat the last 2 rows until there are 36 sts, ending with a K row. Next row Purl. Next row Knit. Next row Purl. Repeat last 2 rows 3 more times.
Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d] Next row Purl. Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d] Repeat the last 2 rows until there are 26 sts.
Next row Purl. Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d]
Next row P2tog, P to last 2 sts, p2tog. [2 sts dec’d] Repeat the last 2 rows until there are 14 sts. Cast off.
LEGS
The Legs are picked up and knitted along the cast- on edge of the body.
With RS facing, using 3 mm needles and Yarn B, pick up and knit 11 sts from right to left (you should have reached the centre of the cast off edge, make sure you have 11 sts left for the second Leg to pick up later). **Row 1 Purl. [11 sts] Row 2 Change to Yarn A, K to end. Row 3 Purl. Row 4 Change to Yarn B, K to end. Row 5 Purl.
Repeat the last 4 rows’ stripes as set until the Leg measures 16cm ending with the second Yarn A row.
SHOES
Change to Yarn B. Break off Yarn A. Row 1 Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [13 sts] Row 2 Purl. Row 3 Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [15 sts] Row 4 Purl. Row 5 Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [17 sts] Starting with a purl row, work in st st for 3 rows. Row 9 Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [19 sts] Row 10 Purl. Row 11 K2tog, K to last st, k2tog. [17 sts]
Starting with a purl row, work in st st for 3 rows. Row 15 K2tog, K to last st, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d] Row 16 Purl. Rep the last 2 rows 3 more times. [9 sts] Next row K2tog, K to last st, k2tog. [7 sts] Next row P2tog, K to last 2 sts, p2tog. [5 sts] Cast off.
Return to the cast- on edge of the body and pick up and knit the remaining 11 stitches as before with the RS facing, beginning at the centre and working to the left, using 3 mm needles and Yarn B.
Repeat from ** on Legs to end of Shoes.
ARM 1
Return to the left side of the Elf’s body. With RS facing and using Yarn B, pick up and knit 11 sts down from where the Head starts. Next row **Purl. Change to Yarn A. Starting with a K row, work in st st and 4 row stripe patt as for Body until the Arms measure 11cm, ending with the second Yarn B row. Change to Yarn C. Work in st st for 4 rows, beg with a K row. Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [9 sts] Next row Purl. Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [7 sts] Next row Purl. Next row K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [5 sts] Next row Purl. Cast off.
ARM 2
Return to the right side of the Elf’s body. With RS facing and starting from where the Yarn C neck meets the stripy top, count approximately 11 rows down the side of the body making sure the end of the Arms line up on each side, pick up and knit 11 stitches working back up towards the Head. Repeat from ** on Arm 1 until end.
BACK
Make exactly as the Front.
SHORTS FRONT
Starting with the bib, cast on 25 sts using 3 mm needles and Yarn D. Row 1 Knit into the back of all sts. Knit 33 rows.
At the beg of next row cast on 8 sts. Knit one row. [33 sts]
At the beg of next row cast on 8 sts. Knit one row. [41 sts] **Knit 3 rows across all sts.
Next row Kfb, K to last st, kfb [43 sts] Knit 6 rows. Next row Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [45 sts] Repeat last 7 rows until there are 49 sts. **** Next row K23, k2tog, turn and work on these sts only. Place the rem sts on a stitch holder if preferred, or you can knit each side separately leaving them on the needles. ***Knit 10 rows. Cast off. Reattach the yarn to the centre of the Shorts and work the second Shorts Leg from *** to end.
SHORTS BACK
Cast on 41 sts using 3 mm needles and Yarn D. Row 1 Knit into the back of all sts. Repeat from ** on Shorts Front to end. SHORTS STRAPS (MAKE 2) Cast on 57 sts using 3 mm needles and Yarn D. Knit 4 rows, knitting into the back of every stitch. Cast off.
HAT (MAKE 2) Cast on 46 sts using 3 mm needles and Yarn A. Row 1 ( WS) Knit into the back of all sts. Row 2 (RS) Purl. Row 3 Knit. Row 4 Purl. Repeat the last 2 rows 3 times. Row 11 Knit. Row 12 (RS) Change to Yarn D and knit to end. Row 13 Purl. Row 14 Knit. Row 15 Purl. Row 16 K2tog, K to last 2 sts, k2tog. [2 sts dec’d] *** Repeat the last 4 rows 21 times, or until 2 sts remain. Cast off.
POMPOMS
Using Yarn A make a large pompom for the end of the Hat, and two smaller pompoms for the Shoes.
TO MAKE UP
Place the Front and Back sections of your Elf RS together and pin around the edge using dressmaker’s pins. Sew around the edges using Yarn C for the Head and Hands, and Yarn A or B for the body. Leave a 2.5-5cm gap in the seam for turning. Turn the Elf RS out. Stuff your Elf, making sure not to overstuff. The Elf is supposed to have a flat appearance, like a rag doll. Take time stuffing your Elf making sure all the limbs are even and without lumps. When you’re happy, sew up the turning
gap neatly with colour- matching yarn.
Shorts Lining up the legs, place the Shorts Front and Shorts Back RS together. Using Yarn D sew the side seams. Sew the inner leg seam. Turn right side out. Sew the short edge of one of the Straps to one side of the front bib, repeat with the other strap. Using white sewing thread and a sewing needle sew on two wooden buttons, one either side of the bib top. Put the Shorts on the doll and pull them up snugly. Secure at the hips on both sides with a few stitches of Yarn D. Pull the Straps over the shoulders, cross them over at the back and using Yarn D secure to the back of the Shorts on either side, roughly 2cm from each side seam.
Face Measure 7cm down from the top of the head and, below this point, sew eyes in dark brown yarn and a nose and mouth in pink yarn using the photo as a guide.
Hat Placing the two Hat sections RS together, sew around the two long edges using Yarn D for the green section and Yarn A for the white edging. Attach the large pompom to the top. With the Hat RS out, measure 14cm up from the bottom of the hat and insert a dressmaker’s pin across the width of the hat. Turn the bottom section up until you reach where you’ve pinned and using sewing thread (it doesn’t matter what colour, it won’t be seen from the front) and a sewing needle, sew a seam from side to side at this point (creating an inner seam inside the Hat. You’re going to stuff the lower portion of the Hat and this prevents the stuffing from moving up the Hat). Don’t sew this seam too tight, you want it to be as invisible as possible from the other side, and not distort the Hat shape. Turn Hat to right side. Fill lightly with stuffing and pull onto the head (make sure the back of the Hat is at the nape of the neck and the front 3.5cm above the eyes). Lining up the seams and pinning in place beforehand, sew Hat to the head working around the White edge of the Hat using Yarn A. Sew a brass bell at the tip of the Hat, just under the pompom using white sewing thread (optional).
Shoes Add a small pompom to each shoe using Yarn A.
Hair (Boy Elf only) Cut eight 8cm lengths of brown yarn. Using a 3mm crochet hook and starting from centre of front of forehead add the hair: push the crochet hook under the ‘ V’ of the flesh- coloured stitch, fold the dark brown yarn in half, catch the loop with the crochet hook and pull under the ‘ V’ stitch BUT not all the way through. Tuck the ends of the dark brown yarn through loop on the RS side and pull them tight to form two strands of hair. Repeat along the edge of the Hat to form a fringe. Trim the fringe to your preferred length.
GIRL ELF
The Girl and Boy Elf are identical apart from the hair, clothes and embroidered eyes. Knit the body, head, Legs, Arms and Hat as for the Boy Elf, follow the make up instructions for the main components (excluding the above), then follow the instructions below to finish your Girl Elf.
PINAFORE FRONT
Knit as for Shorts Front until ****. Knit 17 rows. Cast off.
PINAFORE BACK
Cast on 41 sts using Yarn D and 3 mm needles. Knit into the back of all sts. Knit 3 rows. Next row Kfb, K to last st, kfb [43 sts] Knit 6 rows. Next row Kfb, K to last st, kfb. [45 sts]
Repeat last 7 rows until there are 49 sts. Knit 17 rows. Cast off.
PINAFORE STRAPS
Work as for Shorts Straps.
TO MAKE UP
Pinefore Place the Pinafore Front and Pinafore Back RS together. Using Yarn D sew the side seams. Turn RS out. Sew the short edge of one of the Straps to one side of the front bib, repeat with the other Strap. Using white sewing thread and a sewing needle sew on two wooden buttons, one either side of the bib top. Put the Pinafore on the doll. Secure at the hips on both sides with a few stitches of Yarn D. Pull the Straps over the shoulders, cross them over at the back and using Yarn D secure to the back of the Pinafore on either side, roughly 2cm from each side seam.
Face Repeat as for Boy Elf, adding eyelashes to the eyeline with short brown stitches if you like.
Hair Cut 80cm lengths of Yarn E and Yarn F. Starting from the centre back of the doll’s head, right under the edge of the Hat, insert a crochet hook under the two strands of a single Yarn C stocking stitch, coming back out the other side. Fold one of the hair lengths in half and hook the loop over the crochet hook. Pull the hair length back under the stocking stitch leaving a tail on the other side. Thread the tail through the loop you have pulled under and through the stocking stitch. Pull the tail end tight pulling the loop snug against the head. Repeat along the edge of the Hat to ear height on each side, making sure to alternate between the two hair colours. Repeat this process around the face, using shorter lengths of yarn to create a fringe. Trim carefully to neaten. Plait the hair on either side of the face. Attach ribbons to finish.