By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by ElyseCrochets 💌.
This little crochet ghost fits in the palm of your hand, takes about an hour, and needs no sewing at all. Elyse from ElyseCrochets builds it in nine rounds of single crochet, closes the bottom as she goes, then works a ruffled skirt into the loops she skipped. The face is two stitched yarn eyes. If you can chain and single crochet, you can make one tonight.
You need worsted weight acrylic yarn in white or cream, a little black for the eyes, pink if you want cheeks, a 4.5 mm hook, scissors, a tapestry needle and a pinch of stuffing. Yarn scraps work as stuffing too.
Most amigurumi patterns ask you to crochet several parts and sew them together. That sewing is where beginners give up. This ghost is one piece from top to bottom. The round top becomes the head, the straight rounds become the body, and the skirt grows out of the same stitches. Nothing to pin, nothing to line up.
Elyse starts with a chain of two and works six single crochets into the first chain. If you already know the magic ring, use it instead. It closes the top hole tighter. Every other round uses one stitch, so brush up on single crochet before you start.
Worsted weight (4) acrylic in cream or white reads as a ghost from across the room and holds its shape. A 4.5 mm hook gives firm stitches for this weight. If you can see stuffing through the gaps, drop to a 4 mm or 3.5 mm hook. Tight fabric is what makes amigurumi look neat.
Chunky yarn with a 6 mm hook makes a bigger ghost from the same pattern. Nothing about the stitch counts changes. The worsted version stands about 2 inches tall, small enough for a pocket. Glow-in-the-dark yarn is a fun swap for a Halloween party.
Twelve stitches a round is easy to lose track of in cream yarn. Clip a stitch marker into the first stitch of every round and move it up as you go. When your count drifts, you will spot it within a round instead of five rounds later.
Ghost leaning or lumpy? Add a little more stuffing and roll it between your palms before you close the bottom. Skirt lying flat instead of ruffling? You probably worked fewer than four stitches into some loops. Holes at the top? Pull the starting tail tighter, or switch to a magic ring next time. The crochet decrease guide covers the invisible decrease if round eight looks gappy.
Push a keyring jump ring through the top of the head and this ghost becomes a keychain or bag charm. Make a handful in white, lavender and mint for a Halloween garland, or sit one next to a crochet pumpkin on a shelf. A crochet spider web makes a good backdrop. Want a ghost with no yarn at all? The ghost garland is paper.
Giving one to a toddler? Stick with stitched eyes like Elyse uses. Safety eyes can come loose on small ghosts.
9 steps · about 17 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Wrap the yarn round two fingers and across, then pinch it with your thumb so it holds. Slide a finger from your other hand under the first strand and over the second. Flip that second strand up and pull it tight. You now have a slip knot. Elyse shows it twice, slowly, so watch the video if the wrap feels awkward.
Tip
Leave a 4 inch tail. You will pull on it later to close the top of the head.
Put the hook into the slip knot loop and pull the tail to snug it down round the hook. Yarn over and pull through the loop on your hook. That is one chain. Do it once more for a chain of two. Trim the tail a little so it stays out of your way, but keep enough to grab.
Tip
Keep this starting chain loose. You are about to fit six stitches into it.
Go into the first chain you made, yarn over and pull up a loop so two loops sit on the hook. Yarn over and pull through both. That is a single crochet. Make six of them in that same chain. Pull the tail at the back to close the circle, then slip stitch into the first single crochet to finish round one.
Tip
Prefer a magic ring? Make six single crochets into the ring instead. The rest of the pattern stays the same.
Chain one. It does not count as a stitch. Now work two single crochets into every stitch round the circle, going under both loops at the top of each. You should end with twelve stitches. The slip stitch from the last round can look like a thirteenth, so skip it. Slip stitch into the first single crochet to close round two.
Tip
Count to twelve before you slip stitch. A wrong count here shows up as a lopsided head.
Chain one and make one single crochet into every stitch, twelve in all, then slip stitch to join. Your work starts to curl into a cup. Flip it so the right side faces out. Repeat that same round until you have seven rounds. The circle turns into a small tube, which is the ghost's head and body.
Tip
Move your stitch marker up every round. It is the easiest way to know you are on round six and not round seven.
Before you close anything, push a little stuffing into the tube. Elyse uses leftover yarn scraps, which is a good way to use up ends. Polyester fiberfill gives a smoother, lighter ghost. Fill the head firmly so it keeps a round shape, and stop about level with the top of your last round.
Tip
Match the stuffing colour to the yarn if you can. Bright scraps can show through loose stitches.
Chain one. For round eight, work only in the back loop, the one furthest from you. Pull up a loop in one back loop, then in the next stitch, so three loops sit on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all three. Repeat round the tube for six decreases. Slip stitch across the small hole to close it, tie off, and pull the tail inside.
Tip
Leave the front loops alone. They are where the ruffle skirt grows in the next step.
Tie your cream yarn onto any front loop you skipped in round eight. Chain one, then make four single crochets into that loop. Move to the next front loop and make four more. Keep going all the way round. Four stitches crowded into one loop is what makes the edge ruffle. Slip stitch, tie off and weave in the tail.
Tip
Want a fuller, wavier skirt? Try five stitches per loop. Three gives a tidier flare.
Thread black yarn onto a tapestry needle. Go in through the bottom and come out where the first eye starts, leaving a tail below. Go up one stitch, then across to the second eye and up one stitch again. Come back out at the bottom, knot the tails and push the knot inside. Repeat with pink yarn for cheeks.
Tip
Pin the eye spots with a stitch marker before you sew. Moving them after is fiddly.
Keep going
How to Crochet an Owl (Tiny Amigurumi Pattern, Step by Step)
How to Crochet a Ghost
Clover
Clover Amour Crochet Hook Set (10 sizes)
Soft, easy-grip handles that warm to the touch and a full size range in one case. The set most crocheters upgrade to and never look back.
Lion Brand
Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton Yarn
Mercerized cotton with crisp stitch definition and a subtle sheen. Machine washable, and the go-to for amigurumi, bags, and dishcloths.
Clover
Clover Locking Stitch Markers (20-pack)
Lock onto stitches so they never slip while you mark rounds, increases, and repeats. A dollar-store fix that actually holds.
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