Candyland Nutcracker Free Crochet Pattern

I know, I know; the holidays are well behind us but let me explain.

This past Christmas I decided to have a candyland themed tree (think cupcakes, macarons, ice cream cones, doughnuts, cookies, gumdrops, cotton candy, you name it!), which then inspired me to crochet a candyland themed nutcracker! I started this project in the twilight period between Christmas and New Years’ simply as a fun project to relax with. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out or even if it would end up in a pattern. I am very happy to report that I stuck with it after the holidays and designed what may be one of my favourite patterns I’ve ever created.

I know we have a long way to go before anyone is even thinking about holiday makes again, and I debated waiting until the Fall to release it, but I really love this pattern and I worked hard on it so I thought, why wait?

So, without much further ado, featuring candy cane arms, gum drop buttons, a cupcake hat, and a peppermint cane, I hope you enjoy this Candyland Nutcracker pattern!

The Details

Everything except the cupcake frosting, the hair, and the moustache are worked in continuous rounds.

The legs, body, arms, head, and cupcake base are all worked from the bottom up. The hair, moustache, and cupcake frosting are worked side to side.

All pieces are worked separately and are assembled as you go. Chenille stems (pipecleaners/wire) are used to stabilize the head and cupcake hat.

This Nutcracker is a tall boi with the finished measurements being approximately 36cm/14″ tall.

Let’s get started! (Or Pin/Shop for later!)

If you’d prefer a downloadable or printable version of this pattern, an inexpensive, formatted, and ad-free PDF can be purchased the following ways:

• On Etsy HERE or through the “Shop It” button above;
• On Ravelry HERE; or
• On Ribblr HERE!

Materials:

• 2.75mm hook (I use THESE hooks!);
• 6.00 mm hook for the hair and moustache;
• Hobbii Rainbow 8/6 Cotton in the following colours (1 skein of each):
  • Color 02 (white)
  • Color 03 (skin)
  • Color 27 (light blue) – for body
  • Color 39 (dark purple) – for buttons (optional – you can use light purple if you don’t want to buy a whole skein for just two little buttons!)
  • Color 62 (dark pink)
  • Color 93 (light pink)
  • Color 94 (light purple) – for legs
  • Color 97 (light grey) – for boots
• Any bulky weight fur yarn in white or cream (approximately 15g);
• 3 Chenille stems/pipe cleaners;
• 12mm safety eyes;
• Stitch markers;
• Stuffing;
• Tapestry needle.

Terms and Stitches:

Ch – Chain

Slst – Slip stitch

MR – Magic Ring

Sk – Skip a stitch

Sc – Single Crochet

Inc – Increase. Work a regular sc increase

Dec – Decrease. Work a regular sc decrease

InvDec – Invisible decrease. Sc 2 sts together using the invisible method

BLO – Back loop only

FLO – Front loop only

Hdc – Half double crochet

Dc – Double crochet

Pattern

Boots/Legs (make 2):

Rnd 1: In light grey yarn, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)

Rnd 2: *Inc in first st, sc 2, repeat from * once more (8 sts)

Rnd 3: *Inc in first st, sc 3, repeat from * once more (10 sts)

Rnd 4: *Inc in first st, sc 4, repeat from * once more (12 sts)

Rnds 5-6: Sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 7: *Invdec, sc 4, repeat from * once more (10 sts)

Rnd 8: *Invdec, sc 3, repeat from * once more (8 sts)

Rnd 9: Sc in each st around (8 sts), ch 1, turn.

Stuff the boot. The next three rows are worked flat to create the heel of the boot.

Rows 10-12: Sc 4, leave rem sts unworked (4 sts), ch 1, turn.

Slst the ends of rows 10 to 12 together to create the heel. Tie off. Rejoin yarn at any stitch around the ankle.

Rnd 13: Sc 12 sts evenly around the ankle (12 sts)

Rnds 14-23: Sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnds 24-34: In light purple, sc in each st around (12 sts)

Tie off. Set aside.

Boot Cuffs (make 2):

Rnd 1: In light grey, ch 8, insert hook into first ch to create a loop, sc in each ch around (8 sts)

Rnds 2-18: Sc in each st around (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching (If you need more or fewer rows than 18, feel free to adjust as necessary). Flatten the cuff and place it around the leg where the top of the boot meets the purple. Stitch the ends together at the back of the leg. Tack in one or two places around to secure. Weave ends.

Body (make 1):

Rnd 1: In light blue, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: *Sc 3, inc in each of the next 3 sts, repeat from * once more (18 sts)

Rnd 4: Sc 4, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 6, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 2 (24 sts)

Rnd 5: Sc 6, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 9, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 3 (30 sts)

Rnd 6: Sc 7, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 12, inc in each of the next 3 sts, sc 5 (36 sts)

Rnd 7: *Sc 5, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (42 sts)

Rnd 8: In BLO sc in each st around (42 sts)

Rnds 9-10: Sc in each st around (42 sts)

Rnd 11: *Sc 12, invdec, repeat from * two more times (39 sts)

Rnd 12: Sc in each st around (39 sts)

Rnd 13: *Sc 11, invdec, repeat from * two more times (36 sts)

Rnd 14: Sc in each st around (36 sts)

Rnd 15: *Sc 10, invdec, repeat from * two more times (33 sts)

Rnd 16: Sc in each st around (33 sts)

Rnd 17: *Sc 10, inc in next st, repeat from * two more times (36 sts)

Rnd 18: *Sc 11, inc in next st, repeat from * two more times (39 sts)

Rnd 19: *Sc 12, inc in next st, repeat from * two more times (42 sts)

Rnd 20: *Sc 13, inc in next st, repeat from * two more times (45 sts)

Rnds 21-30: Sc in each st around (45 sts)

Rnd 31: *Sc 13, invdec, repeat from * two more times (42 sts)

Rnd 32: Invdec around (21 sts)

Stuff the body.

Rnd 33: *Sc 5, invdec, repeat from * two more times (18 sts)

Tie off. Top up stuffing. Set aside.

Buttons (make 2):

Rnd 1: In dark purple, work 5 sc into a MR (5 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching. Close with a seamless join. Stitch buttons onto either side of the front of the body at rows 27-28 (make sure they are centred with the oval base), with approximately 8 sts between them. With a length of light grey yarn, make one long stitch between the buttons. Tie off and hide the yarn tails inside the body.

Belt (make 1):

Rnd 1: In light pink, ch 8, insert hook into first ch to create a loop, sc in each ch around (8 sts)

Rnds 2-44: Sc in each st around (8 sts).

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching (If you need more or fewer rows than 44, feel free to adjust as necessary). Flatten the belt and place it around the narrowest part of the body. Stitch the ends together at the back of the body. Weave ends.

Arms (make 2):

Stuff as you go.

Rnd 1: In skin colour, work 6 sts into a MR (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: *Sc 1, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)

Rnds 4-5: Sc in each st around (18 sts)

Rnd 6: *Sc 1, invdec, repeat from * five more times (12 sts)

Rnd 7: *Sc 4, invdec, repeat from * once more (10 sts)

Rnds 8-10: In white, sc in each st around (10 sts)

Rnd 11: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * once more (12 sts)

Rnd 12: Sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 13: In light pink, in BLO slst in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 14: In BLO sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 15: In white, in BLO slst in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 16: in BLO sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnds 17-24: Repeat rows 13-16.

Rnd 25: In light pink, in BLO slst in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 26: In BLO, sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnds 27-29: Sc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 30: Invdec around (6 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for closing. Top up stuffing. Using a tapestry needle, weave tail through each stitch, down through centre of the arm and out a stitch in the side. Pull to close. Weave ends.

Wrist Cuffs (make 2):

Rnd 1: In light blue, ch 8, insert hook into first ch to create a loop, sc in each ch around (8 sts)

Rnds 2-18: Sc in each st around (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching (if you need more or fewer rows than 18, feel free to adjust as necessary). Flatten the cuff and place it around the base of the arm/top of the hand. Stitch the ends together at the back of the arm. Tack the cuff to the arm in one or two places to secure. Weave ends.

Head (make 1):

Rnd 1: In skin colour, ch 5, starting in second ch from hook, sc 3, 4 sc into the last ch, continue working on the opposite side of ch, sc 2, 3 sc in last ch (12 sts)

Rnd 2: *Sc 1, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)

Rnd 3: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)

Rnd 4: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)

Rnd 5: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (36 sts)

Rnd 6: *Sc 5, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (42 sts)

Rnd 7: *Sc 6, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (48 sts)

Rnd 8: *Sc 7, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (54 sts)

Rnd 9: Sc 10, invdec, sc 11, inc in next st, sc 12, invdec, sc 13, inc in next st, sc 2 (54 sts)

Rnd 10: *Sc 8, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (60 sts)

Rnd 11: Sc 10, invdec, sc 13, inc in next st, sc 14, invdec, sc 14, inc in next st, sc 3 (60 sts)

Rnd 12: *Sc 9, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (66 sts)

Rnds 13-15: Sc in each st around (66 sts)

Rnd 16: *Sc 9, invdec, repeat from * five more times (60 sts)

Rnd 17: *Sc 8, invdec, repeat from * five more times (54 sts)

Rnd 18: *Sc 7, invdec, repeat from * five more times (48 sts)

Rnds 19-20: Sc in each st around (48 sts)

Rnd 21: *Sc 6, invdec, repeat from * five more times (42 sts)

Rnds 22-27: Sc in each st around (42 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching. Stuff. Set aside.

Hair (make 1):

Row 1: Using fur yarn and a 6.00mm hook, ch 6, starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch (5 sts), ch 1, turn.

Rows 2-10: Sc in each st across (5 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 11: Sc in each st across (5 sts).

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching. Wrap the rectangle of hair around the back of the head so that each end of the hair lines up with each side of the head. Stitch down the sides and across the bottom and top of the rectangle. Weave ends.

Nose (make 1):

Rnd 1: In skin colour, ch 5, starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc 3, work 3 sc into the last ch, continue working on opposite side of ch, sc 3 (9 sts)

Rnds 2-3: Sc in each st around (9 sts)

Rnd 4: Invdec, sc 7 (8 sts)

Rnds 5-9: Sc in each st around (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching. Align the top of the nose (row 9) with row 25 of the head. Stitch in place in the centre of the head.

Moustache (make 1):

Row 1: Using fur yarn and 6.00mm hook, ch 7, starting in 2nd ch from hook, slst in each ch (6 sts).

Tie off. Weave ends. Stitch moustache onto the centre of the face underneath the nose.

Insert 12mm safety eyes between rows 20-21 of the head about 3 sts from either side of the nose.

In white, make two stitches using your tapestry needle, one above each eye to create eyebrows.

Apply some pink blush or pastel to the face to make his cheeks rosy.

Cupcake base (make 1):

Rnd 1: In light purple, work 6sc into a MR (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc in east st around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: *Sc 1, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)

Rnd 4: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)

Rnd 5: *Sc 3, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (30 sts)

Rnd 6: *Sc 4, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (36 sts)

Rnd 7: *Sc 5, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (42 sts)

Rnd 8: In BLO sc in each st around (42 sts)

Rnds 9-10: Sc in each st around (42 sts)

Rnd 11: *Sc 6, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (48 sts)

Rnd 12: Sc in each st around (48 sts)

Rnd 13: *Sc 7, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (54 sts)

Rnd 14: In BLO *Sc 7, invdec, repeat from * five more times (48 sts)

Rnd 15: *Sc 4, invdec, repeat from * seven more times (40 sts)

Rnd 16: *Sc 3, invdec, repeat from * seven more times (32 sts)

Rnd 17: *Sc 2, invdec, repeat from * seven more times (24 sts)

Rnd 18: *Sc 1, invdec, repeat from * seven more times (16 sts)

Stuff.

Rnd 19: Invdec around (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for closing. Top up stuffing. Using a tapestry needle, weave tail through each stitch, down through centre and out a stitch in the side. Pull to close. Weave ends. Set aside.

Cherry (make 1):

Rnd 1: In dark pink, work 6 sc into a MR (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc in each st around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: *Sc 1, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)

Rnd 4: *Sc 2, inc in next st, repeat from * five more times (24 sts)

Rnds 5-7: Sc in each st around (24 sts)

Rnd 8: *Sc 2, invdec, repeat from * five more times (18 sts)

Rnd 9: *Sc 1, invdec, repeat from * five more times (12 sts)

Rnd 10: Invdec around (6 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for closing. Stuff. Using a tapestry needle, weave tail through each stitch, down through centre and out a stitch in the side. Pull to close. Weave ends. Set aside.

Cupcake Frosting (make 1):

Row 1: In white, ch 21, starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 2: In BLO inc in first st, sc 17, dec across last 2 sts (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 3: In pink, in BLO dec across first 2 sts, sc 17, inc in last st (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 4: In white, in BLO inc in first st, sc 17, dec across last 2 sts (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 5: In BLO dec across first 2 sts, sc 17, inc in last st (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 6: In pink, in BLO inc in first st, sc 17, dec across last 2 sts (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 7: In white, in BLO dec across first 2 sts, sc 17, inc in last st (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 8: In BLO inc in first st, sc 17, dec across last 2 sts (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Row 9: In pink, in BLO dec across first 2 sts, sc 17, inc in last st (20 sts), ch 1, turn.

Rows 10-27: Repeat rows 4 to 9.

Rows 28-30: Repeat rows 4 to 6.

Tie off. Stitch the short ends of the parallelogram together through the back loops of row 30 and the starting chain to create a cylinder. Weave a length of yarn around the top of one end of the cylinder and pull to close. Stitch to secure. Weave a second length of yarn around the other end of the cylinder and pull but do not pull all the way closed. Leave it opened enough so that it will cover the cupcake base. Stitch the cherry to the top of the frosting. Stuff the frosting. Stitch the frosting to the cupcake base.

Take a chenille stem and cut it in half. Cross the two halves in the shape of an ‘X’. Twist them together to secure the ‘X’ shape. Bend all four ends downward to create a pyramid shape. Insert the pointed end (the “top” of the pyramid) down into the head with the four ends sticking up out of the head. Position the cupcake onto the head, inserting each of the four chenille stem ends into the bottom of the cupcake base at even intervals to stabilize it (trim the chenille stems as necessary if the ends are a bit too long). Stitch the cupcake onto the head by whip stitching through each st of the last round of the head and the exposed front loops of round 8 of the cupcake base.

Hat Brim (make 1):

Rnd 1: In light grey, ch 8, insert hook into first ch to create a loop, sc in each ch around (8 sts)

Rnds 2-46: Sc in each st around (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long tail for stitching (if you need more or fewer rows than 46, feel free to adjust as necessary). Flatten the brim and place it around the base of the cupcake/top of the head. Stitch the ends together at the back. Tack in one or two places around to secure. Weave ends.

Peppermint Candy (make 1):

Rnd 1: Work the following into a MR: *1 sc in white, 1 sc in dark pink, repeat from * three more times (8 sts)

Rnd 2: *In white inc in first st, in dark pink inc in next st, repeat from * three more times (16 sts)

Rnd 3: *In white inc in first st, sc 1, in dark pink inc in next st, sc 1, repeat from * three more times (24 sts)

Rnd 4: *In white inc in first st, sc 2, in dark pink inc in next st, sc 2, repeat from * three more times (32 sts)

Rnd 5: *In white inc in first st, sc 3, in dark pink inc in next st, sc 3, repeat from * three more times (40 sts)

Rnds 6-8: *In white sc 5, in dark pink sc 5, repeat from * three more times (40 sts)

Rnd 9: *In white sc 3, invdec, in dark pink sc 3, invdec, repeat from * three more times (32 sts)

Rnd 10: *In white sc 2, invdec, in dark pink sc 2, invdec, repeat from * three more times (24 sts)

Rnd 11: * In white sc 1, invdec, in dark pink sc 1, invdec, repeat from * three more times (16 sts)

Stuff.

Rnd 12: *In white invdec, in dark pink invdec, repeat from * three more times (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for closing. Using a tapestry needle, weave tail through each stitch, down through centre and out a stitch in the side. Pull to close. Weave ends. Set aside.

Peppermint Stick (make 1):

Be sure to stuff as you go after every 2 to 3 rounds.

Rnd 1: In light grey, work 6 sc into MR (6 sts)

Rnds 2-28: Sc in each st around (6 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for stitching. Stitch the peppermint to the top of the stick. Weave ends.

Final Assembly:

Using a chenille stem and the same method outlined above for the cupcake/head, sew the head to the body. Weave ends.

Stitch the arms onto either side of the body with the top of the arms aligning with rows 29/30 of the body. Stitch the arms down in the middle and at the wrist as well to ensure they are secure.

Cut a chenille stem in half. Fold each half in a ‘V’ shape. Insert the bottom of a ‘V’ into each leg. Insert the other ends into the bottom of the body. Stitch each leg in place such that the inside of each leg is aligned with round 2 of the body (i.e. on either side of the magic circle).

You’re done!

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