Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Amigurumi Nativity: Crocheted Mary and Baby Jesus


For Christmas this year, I made this amigurumi Mary and baby Jesus for my friends and family. My plan is to make a new pattern every year for a different figure (Joseph, shepherds, wise men, animals, angel, etc.) so that after several years they will have a complete amigurumi nativity scene. This is the first year I'm doing it so this is the only pattern I have come up with so far.


Amigurumi Pattern
Notes on this pattern:
  • My patterns are free and may not be sold. Please do not reproduce or repost patterns or instructions from CraftyCattery.com without my permission. For information on selling items created from my patterns, please view the FAQ.
  • There are a few color changes in this pattern. Aside from that, the most complicated part of the pattern to crochet is the swaddling, where you must switch from continuous crochet to flat crochet, and Mary's veil which is crocheted flat.
  • The finished size of the pair of figures is 5 inches.
Materials needed:
  • Bulky weight yarn in a flesh color, white (for veil and swaddling), and blue (for Mary's dress). I used Lion Brand Jiffy.
  • Size H (5.00 mm) crochet hook
  • Yarn needle
  • Stuffing
  • Optional: Bean bag plastic pellets. Putting some of these in the bottom of the Mary figure can help it balance better. Make sure the pellets are large enough that they won't work their way through the crochet stitches. Pellets are not recommended if small children may have access to the figure.
Abbreviations used in this pattern:
  • Rnd = round, when doing continuous crochet
  • Row = row, when doing flat crochet
  • sc = single crochet
  • st = stitch
  • sts = stitches
  • ch = chain
  • sc2tog = single crochet two stitches together, aka a decrease. (I recommend using falwyn's invisible decrease.)
The pattern:
Baby Jesus' Head
Using flesh color:
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6 sts).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts).
Rnd 3: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 4: [sc2tog] six times (6 sts).
Bind off, weaving in tail.
Baby Jesus' Swaddling
Using white:
Rnd 1: 3 sc in magic ring (3 sts).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around (6 sts).
Rnd 3: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts).
Rnd 4: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 5: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 6: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 7: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 8: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 9: sc around (12 sts).
Switch to flat crochet:
Row 10: sc in each st for 8 sts, ch 1 turn (8 sts).
Row 11: sc2tog, sc 4, sc2tog, ch 1 turn (6 sts).
Row 12: sc2tog, sc 2, sc2tog, ch 1 turn (4 sts).
Row 13: sc2tog, sc2tog. (2 sts).
Bind off, weaving in tail.
Swaddling, showing flat crochet at top:

Stuff the head and the swaddling. Put the open end of the head just inside the open end of the swaddling and sew them together.
Mary's Veil
Crocheted flat. Using white:
Row 1: ch 11. sc in second chain from hook. [sc in each chain] eight times (with first sc, a total of 9 sc). In 10th chain, 4 sc. Work back down the other side of the chain doing sc in each chain (total of 9 sc), ch 1 turn (22 sts).
Row 2: sc 9, 2 sc in next 4 sts, sc 9, ch 1 turn (26 sts).
Row 3: sc 9, 2 sc in next 8 sts, sc 9, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 4: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 5: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 6: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 7: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 8: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Row 9: sc across, ch 1 turn (34 sts).
Bind off, weaving in tails.
Here are some photos detailing how to start the veil.

Row 1 - Chain 11:
Row 1 cont'd - sc in second chain from hook. [sc in each chain] eight times (with first sc, a total of 9 sc):


Row 1 cont'd - In 10th chain, 4 sc:


Row 1 cont'd - Work back down the other side of the chain doing sc in each chain (total of 9 sc), ch 1 turn:


Row 2 - sc 9, 2 sc in next 4 sts, sc 9, ch 1 turn:


Keep working back and forth according to the pattern. Here is the final result:
Mary's Arm
Make two. Begin with flesh color:
Rnd 1: 4 sc in magic ring (4 sts).
Rnd 2: [2 sc in next st, sc 1] two times (6 sts).
Rnd 3: sc around (6 sts).
Color change to blue:
Rnd 4: sc around (6 sts).
Rnd 5: [2 sc in next st, sc 1] three times (9 sts).
Rnd 6: sc around (9 sts).
Rnd 7: sc around (9 sts).
Rnd 8: sc around (9 sts).
Rnd 9: sc around (9 sts).
Rnd 10: sc around (9 sts).
Bind off, leaving tail to use to sew arm to body. Stuff arm.
Mary's Head and Body
Beginning with flesh color:
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6 sts).
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts).
Rnd 3: [2 sc in next st, sc 1] six times (18 sts).
Rnd 4: [2 sc in next st, sc 2] six times (24 sts).
Rnd 5: [2 sc in next st, sc 3] six times (30 sts).
Rnd 6: sc around (30 sts).
Rnd 7: sc around (30 sts).
Rnd 8: [sc2tog, sc 3] six times (24 sts).
Rnd 9: [sc2tog, sc 2] six times (18 sts).
Rnd 10: [sc2tog, sc 1] six times (12 sts).
Color change to blue:
Rnd 11: sc around (12 sts).
Rnd 12: [2 sc in next st, sc 3] three times (15 sts).
Rnd 13: [2 sc in next st, sc 4] three times (18 sts).
Rnd 14: [2 sc in next st, sc 5] three times (21 sts).
Rnd 15: [2 sc in next st, sc 6] three times (24 sts).
Rnd 16: [2 sc in next st, sc 7] three times (27 sts).
Rnd 17: [2 sc in next st, sc 8] three times (30 sts).
Rnd 18: [2 sc in next st, sc 9] three times (33 sts).
Rnd 19: sc around (33 sts).
Rnd 20: [2 sc in next st, sc 10] three times (36 sts).
Rnd 21: sc around (36 sts).
Rnd 22: sc around (36 sts).
Sew arms to body underneath head. Stuff head and upper part of body (stuffing it partially now is easier than trying to stuff the whole thing as you are closing it up).
Rnd 23: [sc2tog, sc 4] six times (30 sts).
Rnd 24: [sc2tog, sc 3] six times (24 sts).
Rnd 25: [sc2tog, sc 2] six times (18 sts).
Rnd 26: [sc2tog, sc 1] six times (12 sts).
Stuff the rest of the body. Add plastic bean bag pellets if desired.
Rnd 27: [sc2tog] six times (6 sts).
Bind off, closing hole and weaving in tail.
Final Construction
Sew veil to Mary's head. Add hair if desired. Sew baby Jesus to Mary's hands. Enjoy!

25 comments:

Megan T said...

Deadly!!!!! I want one!

Cat Carlisle said...

Awesome. :) Let me know if you make one!

Ms Muffin said...

This is SO adorable!!! AWESOME!!!

Redloon said...

Hi Cathy, I am muna from pakistan, and after nearly 20 years of crocheting i discovered amigurumi!!!! and am now addicted. your Mary and Baby Jesus were the first ones i made. I then customised a couple of them to adapt them to an ethnic pakistani theme. I would love to post some pictures here to share with you, but, silly as it sounds, i dont know how to go about it. could you tell me? also a question... when can we expect to see the next doll/dolls in this collection. if the others are anywhere near as lovely and cute as these, they will be worth waiting for. do please let me know. my email address is muna.nana@gmail.com

congratulations on such amazing patterns. next on my list is the little wolf!!!

Cat Carlisle said...

Hi Muna! Glad you like the patterns. :) The easiest way to share a photo would be to upload it to a photo hosting site like photobucket or flickr. When you upload a photo there, they will give you a web address/URL for the photo which you can post in a comment here. Like this:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o320/lucy_edward/nativity2.jpg

We'll have to copy and paste the link to view it but it still works!

I plan on doing about one new doll each year so it will be a while before all the patterns are here! I am making them for my family as Christmas gifts so I usually design and make them in December, which is a busy month already so I may not get the new pattern up until January.

But if you are in a hurry to finish off your nativity, you don't have to wait on me to make more patterns. You can make a body for any of the other figures in the nativity by using the basic head, body and arm pattern from Mary and changing the colors and decorations to fit. For example, give the doll a beard and it become Joseph, give it wings and a halo and it becomes an angel, give it a crown and it's a wise man or a staff and it's a shepherd! Really from now on that is all I will be doing, just redecorating the basic body pattern to make new figures!

Good luck! I will email you this info too in case you missed this comment. :)

Redloon said...

thank you for that reply. here is a link to my ravelry project page, where i have posted all the variations i made of your doll. am hoping that your family loved the new dolls you (hopefully) made for them ;) I would love to know what you think of them.....

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Redloon/mother-and-baby-amigurumi-dolls


I wrote a little note on the page about how and why i adapted them.

Cat Carlisle said...

:D Oh my gosh, your dolls are awesome! I love how creative you got with them, the jewelry, the hair, the stripes you added in the pattern - it's all great! Thanks so much for sharing them with me. :)

Cat Carlisle said...

Oh, and I forgot to say that I did come up with a Joseph pattern. Right now it is just scribbles so I need to make one more Joseph (for me, all the rest I have given away already!), write it up properly and take photos of the construction. Hopefully it will be up in the next few weeks.

Redloon said...

Hi Cathy, just read your reply telling me about your Joseph pattern.... hehehehe am so excited now, can hardly wait for you to write it up. did u get to check out some of the new things i have been making recently.... came up with a disposable lighter holder...
all my own.

Cat Carlisle said...

:D Joseph should be up on Monday! Hope you like him.

Cool lighter cover! It's awesome to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary. I like the crochet covered rocks too. I am always picking up rocks but I would never had thought to cover them with crochet! They looke very pretty.

Barb said...

This pattern is beautiful! I added it to my pininterest board with your blog link. Hope it's ok. If not, I'll remove it :). Barb

Cat Carlisle said...

Barb, I'm a little behind the times with pinterest but if it's just a photo and a link, that's fine with me!

mexerg said...

Thanks for this pattern. My mom has a collection from all over the world and i've always wanted to make her one. I'm working on it right now to give to her as a b-day present. So freaking awsome!

Cat Carlisle said...

You are welcome! :)

Alia said...

Just putting mine together... it looks fab already. Thank you. Can't wait for Christmas to show it off

madhat said...

I mentioned your pattern in my blog. Thank you for sharing it! :)
http://thenuttyknittersblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/nativity-christmas-project.html

Cat Carlisle said...

You're welcome! Your figures turned out great. :)

madhat said...

Cat, thanks for your comments. The lamb just turned out like that. I did it free-style and it turned out quite well.
I wrote down a kind-off pattern for the sheep, if ever you want it. The legs are pieces of pipe cleaner covered in a length of i-chord. A bit fiddly, but not too hard.

madhat said...

Hi Cat
Sorry, I am not sure how to reply to your comment on my blog, so I'm doing it here instead.
For the staff I used some wire, which I tightly wrapped brown yarn around, securing along the way with glue - especially at the ends. Not sure how long it will hold though.
Pipe-cleaners covered in i-chord might be safer, but will also look a bit thicker.

kristy said...

hi.. this is so great! can a beginner make these too?

Cat Carlisle said...

Hi Kristy! I don't see why not. My first crochet project as a beginner was a doll like this one. Whenever I ran into something in the pattern that I didn't understand, I would search for instructional videos online to help me.

Unknown said...

Hey! I've been wanting to send you a picture of my Nativity set since last year!!!
How can I do that??? I would love to hear from you!
Let me know if I can e-mail it to you.
XOXO
Vanessa.

Cat Carlisle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Redloon said...

Do you still blog here or elsewhere?

Cat Carlisle said...

I am not blogging anymore, unfortunately. I don't have much time for crafting nowadays and, even if I can squeeze something in, I don't have time to write it up.

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