How to Crochet a Doll

Learn how to crochet a doll with this guide that includes both photo and video tutorials. Create your own doll using Lion Brand Coboo.

Design Story and Inspiration

I really loved making my first doll, Morgan, and hosting her pattern as my first CAL. I’d been meaning to make her a friend for a while and wanted a cute Halloween doll.

I was really torn between a witch and a scarecrow, but ultimately decided on a little witch costume. Of course, she can always be made without the hat and will be a cute little girl in a dress.

I named her Maddie because I thought it was a cute complement to Morgan!

About the Yarn

I love making dolls out of the Coboo Yarn from Lion Brand. It is really my favorite yarn to make dolls with.

I like a good DK yarn for the clothes and the colors of the Mandala yarns are perfect. I can buy one skein and make an entire outfit with the different colors. I used two here because I had them on hand, but could have easily made her boots a different color from the Dragon skein.

I chose Heartland for the hair because I like the subtle variations in color that it has, giving the hair an extra dimension.

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The body of this doll is crocheted just like my Morgan doll. You can view the video tutorial here:

What You’ll Need

Yarn: Lion Brand Coboo or other similar tan or skin color DK yarn, 1 skein for doll (MC)
Lion Brand Mandala, 1 skein Dragon for dress and hat (CC1)
Lion Brand Mandala, 1 skein Harpy for boots (CC2)
Lion Brand Heartland, 1 skein for hair

Hook: US Size D (3.00mm)

Notions: Safety eyes (embroider eyes for a small child), small amount of polyester fiberfill, yarn needle, stitch marker, scissors
For the broom: Small stick and straw-colored scap yarn

Finished Size: Approximately 12″ tall, not including hat

Gauge: 25 sts and 25 rows = 4″ in sc

Crochet Maddie Doll Pattern

Pattern Notes

Doll is worked in continuous rounds without joining. Use a stitch marker to mark first st of each round.

Stuff legs, body and head as you go. I found that when I waited to stuff at the end of a section it was lumpy. About every inch or so I will stop to stuff.

Stitch Descriptions and Abbreviations:
Single Crochet (sc)
Double Crochet (dc)
Increase (Inc): 2 sc in next st
Invisible Decrease (Dec): insert hook in front loop only of next 2 sts, yarn over, draw up a loop, yarn over, draw through two loops

PATTERN

Leg (Make 2)

With MC, make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6 sts).

Round 2: 2 sc in each st (12 sts).

Rounds 3-32: Work even in sc.

Fasten off first leg. Do not fasten off second leg. Continue to body.

Body

Round 1: Ch 3, sc around 12 sts of first leg, sc flo in ch-3, sc 12 sts of second leg, sc flo in ch-3 (30 sts).

Round 2: (Sc 4, 2 sc in next st) 6 times (36 sts).

Round 3: (Sc 5, 2 sc in next st) 6 times (42 sts).

Rounds 4-11: Work even in sc.

Round 12: Sc 10, sc2tog, sc 19, sc2tog, sc 9 (40 sts).

Round 13: Work even in sc.

Round 14: Sc 10, sc2tog, sc 18, sc2tog, sc 8 (38 sts).

Round 15: Work even in sc.

Round 16: Sc 10, sc2tog, sc 17, sc2tog, sc7 (36 sts).

Round 17: Work even in sc.

Round 18: (Sc 4, sc2tog) 6 times (30 sts).

Round 19: Work even in sc.

Round 20: Sc 8, sc2tog, sc 13, sc2tog, sc 5 (28 sts).

Round 21: Sc 8, sc2tog, sc 12, sc2tog, sc 4 (26 sts).

Round 22: Work even in sc.

Round 23: Sc 8, sc2tog, sc 11, sc2tog, sc 3 (24 sts).

Round 24: Sc 8, sc2tog, sc 10, sc2tog, sc 2 (22 sts).

Round 25: Sc 8, sc2tog, sc 8, sc2tog, sc 2 (20 sts).

Round 26: Sc 7, sc2tog, sc 7, sc2tog, sc 2 (18 sts).

Round 27: (Sc, sc2tog) 6 times (12 sts).

Rounds 28-29: Work even in sc.

Head

Round 1: 2 sc in each st (24 sts).

Round 2: (Sc 3, inc) 6 times (30 sts).

Round 3: (Sc 4, inc) 6 times (36 sts).

Round 4: (Sc 5, inc) 6 times (42 sts).

Round 5: (Sc 6, inc) 6 times (48 sts).

Round 6: (Sc 7, inc) 6 times (54 sts).

Rounds 7-18: Work even in sc.

Place safety eyes between rows 12-13, 9 sts apart.

Embroider nose 2 rows lower with MC as shown in photos.

Be sure to stuff neck firmly at this point.

Round 19: (Sc 7, dec) 6 times (48 sts).

Round 20: (Sc 6, dec) 6 times (42 sts).

Round 21: (Sc 5, dec) 6 times (36 sts).

Round 22: (Sc 4, dec) 6 times (30 sts).

Round 23: (Sc 3, dec) 6 times (24 sts).

Round 24: (Sc 2, dec) 6 times (18 sts).

Round 25: (Sc, dec) 6 times (12 sts).

Round 26: (Dec) 6 times (5 sts).

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Finish stuffing head.

Weave yarn tail through remaining 6 sts and pull tightly to close.

Arm (Make 2)

With MC, make magic ring.

Round 1: 4 sc in magic ring (4 sts). Pull tightly to close.

Round 2: 2 sc in each st (8 sts).

Rounds 3-25: Work even in sc.

Fold in half and work 4 sc across, closing tube.

Do NOT stuff arms.

Attach arms as shown in photo.

Crochet Doll Hair

Cut yarn strands twice as long as desired hair length.

The easiest way to do a lot of these is to wrap the yarn around something. I used my laptop for long strands that I could braid. Then, cut across one side of the wrapped yarn.

Hair is attached in the latch hook style. Insert hook from front to back where you would like strands. Fold strand in half, catch in hook and pull through about 1/2″. Yarn over with both strands and pull through loop. (Same as if you were attaching fringe to a project). Repeat for everywhere you want hair. (See video for help!)

Dress

With CC1, ch 19.

1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across; turn (18 sts).

Row 2: Ch 1, sc 3, inc, sc, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 1, 2 sc in next st, sc 3; turn (22 sts).

Row 3: Ch 1, sc 3, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 3, inc, sc 3; turn (26 sts).

Row 4: Ch 1, sc 3, inc, sc 5, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 5, 2 sc in next st, sc 3; turn (30 sts).

Row 5: Ch 1, sc 3, inc, sc 7, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 7, 2 sc in next st, sc 3; turn (34 sts).

Row 6: Ch 1, sc 3, inc, sc 9, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 9, inc, sc 3; turn (38 sts).

Row 7: Ch 1, sc 5, ch 1, skip next 9 sts, sc 10, ch 1, skip next 9 sts, sc 5; turn (22 sts).

Row 8: Ch 1, 2 sc in first st, sc to last st, 2 sc in last st, ch 3 (27 sts).

Dress is now worked in rounds. Begin Round 1 in first sc of last row.

Round 1: Sc 6, inc, sc 10, inc, sc 6, sc 4 in chain space (30 sts).

Round 2: *Sc 4, inc; repeat from * around (36 sts).

Round 3: *Sc 5, inc; repeat from * around (42 sts).

Round 4: Ch 3, dc in each st, join with slip st to first st (42 sts).

Rounds 5-12: Repeat round 4.

Fasten off.

Join yarn at top and ch 20. Fasten off and weave in ends. Repeat for second side to create ties for the top.

Weave in all ends.

Crochet Doll Boots

With CC2, make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sts in magic ring (6 sts). Pull tightly to close.

Round 2: 2 sts in each st (12 sts).

Rounds 3-5: Work even in sc, turn at end of round 5.

Heel Flap:

Row 6: Ch 1, sc 6; turn (6 sts).

Row 7: Repeat row 6.

Row 8: Ch 1, sc2tog, sc 2, sc2tog; turn (4 sts).

Row 9: Ch 1, (sc2tog) twice; turn (2 sts).

Row 10: Ch 1, sc2tog (1 st).

Place marker in st.

Boot Shaft

Round 11: Sc 4 sts down side of heel flap, sc 6 sts from front, sc 4 sts up other side of heel flap, sc in marked st (15 sts.)

Rounds 12-20: Sc evenly on 15 sts. Can make the boots as short or tall as you wish by adjusting this number.

Crochet Doll Hat

With CC1, make magic ring.

Round 1: 3 sc in magic ring. Pull tightly to close.

Round 2: 2 sc in each st (6 sts).

Rounds 3-4: Work even in sc.

Round 5: *Sc, inc; repeat from * (9 sts).

Rounds 6-7: Work even in sc.

Round 8: *Sc 2, inc; repeat from * (12 sts).

Rounds 9-10: Work even in sc.

Round 11: *Sc 3, inc; repeat from * (15 sts).

Rounds 12-13: Work even in sc.

Round 14: *Sc 4, inc; repeat from * (18 sts).

Rounds 15-16: Work even in sc.

Round 17: *Sc 5, inc; repeat from * (21 sts).

Round 18: Work even in sc.

Round 19: *Sc 6, inc; repeat from * (24 sts).

Round 20: *Sc 3, inc; repeat from *, working all sts in front loop only (30 sts).

Hat Brim

Round 21: *Sc 4, inc; repeat from * (36 sts).

Round 22: *Sc 5, inc; repeat from * (42 sts).

Round 23: *Sc 6, inc; repeat from * (48 sts).

Round 24: *Sc 7, inc; repeat from * (54 sts).

Round 25: *Sc 8, inc; repeat from * (60 sts).

Round 26: *Sc 9, inc; repeat from * (66 sts).

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

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Common Questions about Crocheted Dolls

How do you crochet a beginner doll?

If you know how to work in the round, most dolls are basic single crochet. They use basic techniques such as increasing by working 2 stitches in the same space, and decreasing by sc2tog.

How do you crochet a small doll?

The techniques for crocheted dolls don’t change due to size. You will use the basic sc, increasing by working more than one stitch in a given stitch or space, and decreasing with sc2tog or the invisible decrease.

How do you crochet doll hair?

There are many ways to crochet doll hair! Some patterns have you crochet an entire “wig” out of yarn, other patterns use individual strands of yarn for the hair and still others will brush out acrylic yarn for hair.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this free crochet pattern and instructions for how to crochet a doll. In today’s crochet tutorial we learned how to crochet the body of a doll, how to create doll hair and how to crochet an outfit for our new doll. I hope this tutorial for Maddie has inspired you to create a crochet doll of your own!

You can always view all of my free crochet patterns here.

Happy Crocheting!
Amanda

How to Crochet a Doll – Free Maddie Pattern

Design Story and Inspiration

About the Yarn