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Steps written out by Crafting Step by Step from ElyseCrochets 💌's video (opens YouTube) (16:32). Published .
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.
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Crochet a tiny no-sew amigurumi ghost in about an hour. An easy project: about 3 hours. Materials cost about $8 to $15. You need 8 things, including black yarn, pink yarn and polyester fiberfill or yarn scraps. The 9 steps start with make a Slip Knot in the Cream Ghost Yarn, chain Two to Start the Crochet Ghost Head, work Six Single Crochets Into the First Chain for Round One and increase to Twelve Stitches for the Round Top of the Ghost.
9 steps, about 17 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.
Tick each step off as you go.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pin the eye spots with a stitch marker before you sew. Moving them after is fiddly.
Keep going
How to Sew Amigurumi Pieces Together (Invisible Seam)
More on this topic, picked for this ghost.
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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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Question 1 of 5
Which stitch makes up nearly every round of the ghost?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.Which stitch makes up nearly every round of the ghost?
Answer: Single crochet
Tight single crochet is the standard amigurumi fabric.
2.You can see stuffing through the gaps. What is the fix?
Answer: Drop to a smaller hook size
A smaller hook closes up the fabric so the stuffing stays hidden.
3.The skirt lies flat instead of ruffling. What went wrong?
Answer: Too few stitches went into some loops
The ruffle comes from packing four or more stitches into each loop.
4.Why clip a stitch marker into the first stitch of each round?
Answer: It catches a miscount within one round
Moving it up each round means a drifting count shows up right away.
5.Why stitch the eyes rather than use safety eyes for a toddler?
Answer: Safety eyes can work loose on small toys
On a toy this small, a loose safety eye is a choking risk.
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