Francis the Snowman

I’ve always been a bit reluctant to put up holiday decorations. It just feels like there’s such a small window of time that they get to be enjoyed, so I decided to make this amigurumi snowman pattern – the great thing about this fella is that he’ll last from the beginning until the end of the winter season!

Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn in white and orange. I used red and green for his hat/scarf, but feel free to substitute whichever colors you want to make them in.
• Size E(3.5mm) of F (3.75mm) crochet hook, whichever size you normally use for your amigurumi to get a nice, tight stitch.
• Size G(4mm) crochet hook
• Poly-beads
• Polyester fiberfill
• 9 mm Safety eyes x 2
• Yarn Needle
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery thread or craft cord, in black
• Tacky Glue or Elmer’s White School Glue (optional, to make arms rigid)

Abbreviations Used:

ch: chain

sc: single crochet

hdc: half double crochet

dec: decrease by crocheting two stitches together – in this case sc two together

inc: increase by making two single crochets into one stitch

sl st: slip stitch

Notes:

Gauge is not terribly important here as long as you are producing a nice tight fabric so that the polyfill won’t pop through your stitches.

Finished snowman measures approximately 6 inches tall.

This pattern is written using US terminology.

Pattern is made mainly using continuous(spiral) rounds. The snowman’s hat is made with joined rounds. For the hat, each round is joined with a slip stitch, then chain 1 and single crochet in the same stitch. This chain 1 is not counted as a stitch.

Please do not copy or sell my pattern in any way. You are welcome to sell finished objects made using my pattern. I only ask for you to credit me so that other makers can find my pattern as well.

Special Stitches

Increases are made by making 2 single crochet stitches into the same stitch.

Decreases are made by using the invisible decrease method – Insert hook under front loop only of next two stitches, yarn over, draw through first two loops on hook, yarn over, draw through remaining two loops to finish.

Pattern

Nose – Using Orange Yarn

Make 4 sc in magic ring, sl st to first sc and finish off.

Fasten off, leaving a tail for attachment. 

Arms: (Make two)

Make a slip knot leaving at least a 4-5 inch tail. Ch 9. Beginning in second ch from hook, sl st 4. Ch 5, and starting in second ch from hook, sl st into next 4 ch. From here, sl st into remaining 4 ch. FO and leave a tail of at least 4-5 inches. You should have two tails per arm.

Body/Head – Using White Yarn

Row 1: 6 sc in magic ring

Row 2: Inc in each st all around (12)

Row 3: (Sc 1, inc) six times (18)

Row 4: (Sc 2, inc) six times (24)

Row 5: (Sc 3, inc) six times (30)

Row 6: (Sc 4, inc) six times (36)

Rows 7-13: Sc all around (36)

Row 14: (Sc 4, dec) six times (30)

Row 15-19: Sc all around (30)

Row 20: (Sc 3, dec) six times (24)

Row 21: (Sc 3, inc) six times (30)

Row 22: (Sc 4, inc) six times (36)

Rows 23-27: Sc all around (36)

Row 28: (Sc 4, dec) six times (30)

Row 29: Sc all around (30)

Row 30: (Sc 3, dec) six times (24)

At this point, we’re going to start some of the assembly. 

Place eyes in row 26, leaving 7 stitches between each eye.  For the nose, you can either sew it on or hot glue it in place. If you choose to sew, make sure the magic circle is nice and tight and snip the tail short. Place the side of the nose with the snipped end against the face to sew.  If you decide to hot glue, knot two yarn ends together and snip tails before gluing.  For nose placement, line up the nose in the middle of the eyes.  Then, lower the nose down one row. This should be just about the perfect placement for his eyes.  Use the photo at the top of this post as a reference for nose placement.  Make smile with embroidery thread and needle.  Attach arms – since these are flat arms and not made in the round, we’ll be sewing them to the top and bottom of a row. I chose row 19 and sewed the two ends through the top and bottom.  See Photo Guide below for additional help. 

Before finishing head, add your poly-beads to the inside of his body, about a 1/2″-1″ deep, then fill the rest with your fiberfill. As you finish each of the next rows, you may need to add a tiny amount of fiberfill each row, just to keep it even.

Row 31: (Sc 2, dec) six times (18)

Row 32: (Sc 1, dec) six times (12)

Row 33: Dec six times (6)

At this point, thread your yarn needle and pass needle through each remaining stitch. Pull tight to close. Knot and fasten off, hiding yarn end inside his head.

Hat:

For the hat, at the end of each row we will slip to the first sc made, then ch 1 and sc in the same stitch.

Row 1: Using Green, Ch 36 using E or F hook. Sl to first ch, making sure chain hasn’t twisted.

A quick tip: At this point make certain the chains fit nicely around your snowman’s head. You may need to go up or down a hook size to get just the right size.

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in same stitch and sc all around, sl to 1st sc. (36)

Row 3: Ch 1 by pulling up loop in new color (red), sc all around, make sl st in first st. (36)

Row 4: Ch 1, sc in same stitch and all around, make sl st in first st. (36)

Row 5: Ch 1, sc in same stitch and all around, make sl st in first st. (36)

Row 6: Ch 1, sc in same st and next 3 st, dec. Then, (sc 4, dec) five more times.  Make sl st in first st. (30)

Row 7: Ch 1, sc in same stitch and all around, make sl st in first st. (30)

Row 8: Ch 1, sc in same st and next 2 st, dec. Then, (sc 3, dec) five more times. Make sl st in first st (24)

Row 9: Ch 1, sc in same st and next st, dec. Then, (sc 2, dec) five more times.  Make sl st in first st (18)

Row 10: Ch 1, sc in same st, dec. Then, (sc 1, dec) five more times.  Make sl st in first st (12)

Row 11: Ch 1, dec six times. (6)

Thread yarn needle with tail and pass needle through remaining stitches. Pull tight to close hat.

For the hat, you can either sew it onto your snowman’s head with the yarn tail left over, or, finish off and weave in the tail and place it on his head.

Scarf:

Row 1: Using G hook, Ch 46.

Row 2: In second st from hook, hdc in all across. Finish off, weave in ends.

Photo Guide – Creating the Face 

From front to back, pass your yarn needle through one of the posts in your magic circle (left).  You now have both yarn ends on one side – one from the initial magic circle, and the other that you have just passed through the other side (right).  Make a simple double knot with both tails and cut both as short as possible. Now you’ll dab the glue on the side with the snipped ends and place it onto your snowman!

Mouth

First, thread embroidery needle with your black craft cord. Make a straight line with your cord, making sure to start from back to front so your ends wind up inside. Leave it about 3 or 4 stitches wide, whichever looks nice and even on your snowman (left).  Next, poke the needle through a little lower than the center of the straight line you just made (right). Make sure the cord is underneath your needle. Notice how it dips into a smile shape? That’s the goal we’re after!

Pull needle with cord all the way through so everything is now in front of your work (left).  Now position the needle as close as possible to where your cord originally came out from (right).

Push needle through and pull the cord tight. This stitch in the middle is what is going to anchor the mouth into a smile shape!  Now that the face is done, continue on to the arms. 

Arms

Since these are flat arms and not made in the round, we’ll be sewing them to the top and bottom of a row. I chose row 19 and sewed the two ends through the top and bottom.

This is why I like to leave the two yarn tails. Sew the arms on by pulling one tail through the top of row 19 and one through the bottom. Here, you can make a double knot inside and snip the tails.  The arms can be left like this and will stay straight for the most part if positioned right. However, if you’d like to make them a little stiffer you can use some Aileen’s tacky glue or white school glue.  All you need to do is get some glue between your pointer and thumb and lightly press onto the arms.  A lot isn’t needed, just enough to cover the surface.  Definitely not looking to fully saturate the arm!

Once it dries it looks pretty clear and will make the arm more rigid and “stick-like”.