The elf head, ears, hair, hat, collar, torso and arms are crocheted separately and assembled before attaching the long red and green spiral underneath. Tiny bells or beads decorate the spiral, while a curled green elf shoe finishes the bottom.
Skill level: Confident beginner
Crochet terminology: US terms
Finished height: Approximately 10 to 11 inches or 25 to 28 cm
Finished width: Approximately 2½ to 3 inches or 6 to 7.5 cm
Hook size: 3 mm
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What you need
DK or light worsted weight green yarn for the hat, body, collar, spiral and shoe
Red yarn for the hat trim, spiral and belt
Peach yarn for the face, ears and hands
Brown yarn for the hair
White yarn for an optional hat pom-pom
Black yarn or safety eyes for the face
Pink yarn for the cheeks
Gold yarn or embroidery thread for the belt buckle
Small gold bells or beads
3 mm crochet hook
Polyester stuffing
Yarn needle
Embroidery needle
Scissors
Stitch marker
Gold or coordinating yarn for the hanging loop
Small gold bells are particularly cute on this project, but ordinary craft beads work just as well if you prefer a quieter ornament.
Instructions
If ever there was a Christmas ornament designed to use up all those little balls of red and green yarn hiding in the bottom of the craft basket, this is probably it.
This crochet Christmas elf spiral ornament has just about everything you could want from a slightly whimsical handmade Christmas decoration. There are pointy ears, rosy cheeks, an elf hat with a tiny bell, a little green collar, a red belt and, best of all, an enormous curly red and green body that finishes in a proper turned-up elf shoe.
It is delightfully over-the-top.
The spiral is much easier to make than it looks. You crochet one green strip and one red strip, working two single crochet stitches into every foundation chain. That dramatic increase makes each strip curl naturally. Once the two strips are twisted together, you get the festive candy-cane-style spiral without having to shape every turn by hand.
The character sections are mostly basic amigurumi techniques, so if you can work a magic ring, single crochet, increases and decreases, you already know most of what you need.
This would be lovely hanging from a Christmas tree, but the finished ornament is around 10 to 11 inches long, so it also works beautifully from a mantel, cupboard handle, covered veranda or gift basket.
If elves have already started taking over your Christmas crafting, CraftBits also has a completely different fabric elf doll project that makes a larger 12-inch Christmas decoration. Make a Fabric Elf Doll
Instructions
Crochet the Elf Head
Use peach yarn.
Work in continuous rounds and place a stitch marker in the first stitch.
Round 1: Make a magic ring and work 6 sc into the ring. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc in every stitch around. (12 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc. Repeat around. (18 sts)
Round 4: Sc 2, inc. Repeat around. (24 sts)
Round 5: Sc 3, inc. Repeat around. (30 sts)
Rounds 6 to 10: Sc around. (30 sts)
Begin decreasing.
Round 11: Sc 3, dec. Repeat around. (24 sts)
Round 12: Sc 2, dec. Repeat around. (18 sts)
Begin stuffing.
Round 13: Sc 1, dec. Repeat around. (12 sts)
Finish stuffing.
Round 14: Dec around. (6 sts)
Fasten off.
Thread the yarn tail through the remaining stitches and pull firmly to close.
The head should be firmly stuffed but still soft enough that the stitches remain closed.
Crochet the Elf Ears
Make two using peach yarn.
The ear decrease instructions in the source contain a stitch-count conflict. The corrected version below keeps the same small pointed shape while allowing each row to be worked completely.
Row 1: Ch 7. Beginning in the second chain from the hook, sc across. (6 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (6 sts)
Row 3: Ch 1, turn. Dec, sc in next 2 sts, dec. (4 sts)
Row 4: Ch 1, turn. Dec twice. (2 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long sewing tail.
Pin one ear to each side of the head.
Angle the pointed ends slightly upward.
Sew securely into place.
Add the Elf Face
Position safety eyes between approximately Rounds 7 and 8, spacing them about 6 to 7 stitches apart.
Alternatively, embroider the eyes using black yarn.
Use brown yarn to embroider eyebrows.
Add a tiny embroidered nose with peach or brown yarn.
Using black yarn, embroider a curved smile.
Add small pink stitches to the cheeks.
I would position all the face details before permanently securing them. Elves are meant to look mischievous, but there is a difference between Christmas mischief and an expression that suggests he knows exactly where you hid the presents.
Crochet the Elf Hair
Use brown yarn.
Row 1: Ch 12. Beginning in the second chain from the hook, sc across. (11 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (11 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a sewing tail.
Position the strip across the upper front of the elf’s head.
Sew it into place.
You can add a few extra short brown yarn stitches around the forehead if you want slightly messier elf hair.
Corrected Crochet Elf Hat
The original source decreases the hat to 12 stitches and then works five straight rounds at that size. At the stated yarn and hook size, that opening is far too small to fit around a head that reaches 30 stitches.
This corrected version keeps the same pointed elf-hat idea but increases gradually toward a usable 30-stitch opening.
Use green yarn.
Round 1: MR, 6 sc. (6 sts)
Round 2: Sc around. (6 sts)
Round 3: Sc 1, inc. Repeat 3 times. (9 sts)
Round 4: Sc around. (9 sts)
Round 5: Sc 2, inc. Repeat 3 times. (12 sts)
Round 6: Sc around. (12 sts)
Round 7: Sc 3, inc. Repeat 3 times. (15 sts)
Round 8: Sc around. (15 sts)
Round 9: Sc 4, inc. Repeat 3 times. (18 sts)
Round 10: Sc 5, inc. Repeat 3 times. (21 sts)
Round 11: Sc 6, inc. Repeat 3 times. (24 sts)
Round 12: Sc 7, inc. Repeat 3 times. (27 sts)
Round 13: Sc 8, inc. Repeat 3 times. (30 sts)
Red Hat Trim
Change to red yarn.
Round 14: Sc around. (30 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a sewing tail.
Fold the tip of the hat gently to one side.
Attach a tiny gold bell to the point.
You can add a small white pom-pom instead if you do not want to use bells.
Place the hat over the top of the elf’s head and sew the lower edge securely in place.
Crochet the Elf Collar
Use green yarn.
Make a magic ring but do not close it completely until the collar is finished.
Ch 3. This counts as the first dc.
Work 2 dc into the ring, ch 2, then sl st into the ring.
Repeat:
Ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, sl st into the ring
five more times.
You should have six little collar points.
Fasten off.
Pull the magic ring closed.
Position the collar around the elf’s neck and sew it securely into place.
A tiny gold bead or bell at the centre front looks particularly cute.
Crochet the Elf Body
Use green yarn.
Round 1: MR, 6 sc. (6 sts)
Round 2: Inc around. (12 sts)
Rounds 3 and 4: Sc around. (12 sts)
Round 5: Sc 1, dec. Repeat 4 times. (8 sts)
Begin stuffing lightly.
Round 6: Dec 4 times. (4 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long sewing tail.
Finish stuffing.
Sew the body directly underneath the elf head.
The collar should hide most of the join.
Crochet the Elf Arms
Make two.
Begin with green yarn.
Row 1: Ch 8. Starting in the second chain from the hook, sc across. (7 sts)
Rows 2 and 3: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (7 sts)
Change to peach yarn at the end of Row 3.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (7 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long sewing tail.
Sew one arm to each side of the body.
The peach end becomes the elf’s hand.
Crochet the Red Belt
Use red yarn.
Row 1: Ch 25. Beginning in the second chain from the hook, sc across. (24 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (24 sts)
Fasten off.
Wrap the belt around the elf’s torso.
Sew the ends together at the back.
Using gold yarn, embroider a small square buckle at the centre front.
You could also use a tiny gold bead or miniature buckle charm if you already have one in the craft drawer.
Crochet the Green Spiral Strip
Use green yarn.
Foundation: Ch 55.
You will work into 54 chains.
Row 1: Beginning in the second chain from the hook, work 2 sc in every chain across. (108 sts)
The strip should begin curling naturally almost immediately.
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (108 sts)
Fasten off.
Crochet the Red Spiral Strip
Use red yarn.
Repeat the same instructions.
Foundation: Ch 55.
Row 1: Work 2 sc into every chain beginning in the second chain from the hook. (108 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (108 sts)
Fasten off.
Join the Red and Green Spiral
Place both strips together at the top.
Sew the upper ends securely together.
Allow the strips to hang naturally and gently twist the red and green curls around one another.
Do not twist too tightly.
You want both colours visible with a fairly open spiral.
Secure the bottom ends together.
The original pattern’s length guide indicates that a 55-chain foundation produces a finished spiral of approximately 9 to 10 inches or 23 to 25 cm.
Decorate the Spiral
Sew small gold bells or decorative beads at intervals along the spiral.
Red, green and gold beads work beautifully if you want a more traditional Christmas look.
Distribute the decorations fairly evenly rather than clustering them all in one area.
Make sure each bead or bell is stitched securely.
If you are making this for a household with small children or pets, consider leaving off the loose beads and bells.
Crochet the Elf Shoe
Use green yarn.
Row 1: Ch 12. Beginning in the second chain from the hook, sc across. (11 sts)
Rows 2 to 4: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (11 sts)
Row 5: Ch 1, turn. Sc in the next 8 sts, then inc in each of the final 3 sts. (14 sts)
Rows 6 to 8: Ch 1, turn. Sc across. (14 sts)
Now begin shaping the curled toe.
Row 9: Ch 1, turn. Sc in next 5 sts, dec, sc in next 7 sts. (13 sts)
Row 10: Ch 1, turn. Sc in next 4 sts, dec, sc in next 7 sts. (12 sts)
Row 11: Ch 1, turn. Sc in next 3 sts, dec, sc in next 7 sts. (11 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long sewing tail.
Roll the wider toe section gently upward.
Use the yarn tail to stitch the curl into position.
Attach a small gold bell to the tip of the shoe.
Attach the Elf Shoe
Position the upper edge of the finished shoe against the lower end of the spiral.
Sew securely through both spiral strips and the shoe.
Hang the ornament temporarily and check that the curled toe faces outward rather than disappearing behind the spiral.
Adjust before tightening the final stitches.
Attach the Elf to the Spiral
Position the joined upper end of the red and green spiral directly underneath the elf’s torso.
Sew securely using several stitches.
Hold the ornament upright and check that the elf faces forward while the spiral hangs straight.
Make the Hanging Loop
Use gold or coordinating yarn.
Ch 15.
Join with a sl st to the first chain to form a loop.
Fasten off, leaving a sewing tail.
Sew the loop securely to the top of the elf hat.
Give it a proper tug before hanging the finished ornament.
Shape and Block the Ornament
The spiral should already curl naturally, but a little gentle shaping helps the red and green sections sit evenly.
Lightly mist the spiral if required.
Arrange the turns with your fingers.
Allow the ornament to dry completely while hanging or lightly pinned in shape.
Do not flatten the spiral.
The aim is simply to encourage evenly spaced curls.
Christmas Elf Colour Ideas
Traditional red and green is hard to beat, but this pattern is very easy to change.
For a woodland elf, try forest green, burgundy, cream and wooden beads. A pastel elf would be lovely in mint, blush pink and cream with pearl details. For something a little more Scandinavian, use deep red, cream and dark green with natural wooden embellishments.
You could also make several elves with different hair colours and slightly different faces. Hanging a whole row of them across a mantel would be wonderfully cheerful.
Can I Make the Spiral Longer?
Yes.
The source includes a useful approximate spiral length guide:
35 foundation chains gives around 5 to 6 inches.
45 chains gives around 7 to 8 inches.
55 chains gives around 9 to 10 inches.
65 chains gives around 11 to 12 inches.
Whatever length you choose, make both the red and green foundation chains exactly the same.
Work 2 sc into every foundation chain on the first row and one sc into every stitch on the second row.
Can I Leave Off the Bells?
Absolutely.
Replace them with pom-poms, wooden beads, embroidered dots, tiny crochet stars or simply leave the spiral plain.
The red and green twist is decorative enough on its own.
More Christmas Ornament Ideas
If you would like another little elf for your Christmas decorations, the CraftBits fabric elf doll is a fun sewn alternative to this crochet ornament. Make a Christmas Elf Doll Using Fabric
For a quick crochet ornament with another naturally curling body, the Icicle Angel is a lovely little project made with a simple crochet spiral. Free Icicle Angel Crochet Pattern
And if this elf is only the beginning of your handmade Christmas tree, there are plenty more projects in the CraftBits ornament collection. Browse Christmas Tree Ornament Crafts
There is something about handmade Christmas decorations that makes them better every time they come out of the storage box.
Maybe the hat has gone slightly sideways or the little bell has somehow turned around during eleven months in storage, but those are usually the decorations with the stories attached to them.
And I suspect a curly green elf wearing a tiny gold bell is going to be rather difficult to forget.
What do you think of this project? Let us know!