The Grinch Free Crochet Pattern

Hi, friends! I promised one last ragdoll pattern for the year and, (while it’s admittedly a bit late), here it is!  

It’s the King of Sinful Sots himself, the Grinch. I’ve been meaning to make him since last year and I’m so glad I was finally able to! It’s particularly timely given the new Grinch movie this year; I haven’t had an opportunity to see it yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing it.

This pattern is worked flat as usual, and then joined together in the same style as my Ragdoll patterns. The pattern has 9 separate pieces. 

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

Materials:

Stitches and Special Terms (US Terminology):

MR – Magic Ring

Ch – Chain

Slst – Slip stitch

Sc – Single crochet

Inc – Increase. Work 2 sc in the same st.

Dec – Decrease. Work a regular sc decrease.

Hdc – Half double crochet

Dc – Double crochet

Colour Changing:

When switching to a new colour, insert your hook into the stitch for the last stitch of Colour A and pull up a loop, then, with Colour B, yarn over and complete the stitch by pulling through both loops with Colour B. Drop your working yarn in Colour A and continue with Colour B. This applies when switching colours at the end of a row before starting a new row in a different colour too. 

There is some colour work involved in this pattern. Carry the yarn on the back of the panels by dropping the working yarn when you switch colours and picking it back up again when you need it in the next row. Always carry the yarn on the wrong side (instead of carrying it inside the stitch as you go); this ensures the front of the panel has clear lines and colours without any of the yarn carries showing through.

Since the whole pattern is worked in sc stitches, I have omitted the usual “sc” in front of the stitch counts in any rows with colour changes and used the associated colour letter instead. For example, “B14, Y4” means to work the next 11 stitches in Black and the next 4 stitches in Yellow. “WBdec” means to work a regular sc decrease in white, and so on.

Colour Legend:

R – Red

G – Green

B – Black

Y – Yellow

W – White

Body Panels with 3.5mm hook:

The pieces are worked from the bottom up. Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row. We will make two separate legs and then join them in row 10. Start in green.

Row 1: Ch 6, sc across (5 sts)

Row 2: Inc, sc 3, inc (7)

Row 3: Sc across (7 sts)

Row 4: Inc, sc 5, inc (9 sts)

Rows 5-6: Sc across (9 sts)

Row 7: Inc, sc 7, inc (11 sts)

Rows 8-9: Sc across (11 sts)

Tie off. Repeat rows 1-9 for the second leg.

Lay both legs next to each other. You will crochet across both legs to join them in Row 10:

Row 10: Sc across both legs (22 sts)

Switch to white yarn:

Row 11: Inc, sc 20, inc (24 sts)

Rows 12-14: Sc across (24 sts)

Switch to red yarn:

Rows 15-16: Sc across (24 sts)

Row 17: Inc, sc 22, inc (26 sts)

Row 18: Sc across (26 sts)

Now we will start some colour work for the belt. B=Black, Y=Yellow:

Row 19: B11, Y4, B11 (26 sts)

Row 20: B11, Y1, B14 (26 sts)

Row 21: B14, Y1, B11 (26 sts)

Row 22: B11, Y4, B11 (26 sts)

Switch back to red:

Rows 23-25: Sc across (26 sts)

Row 26: Dec, sc 22, dec (24 sts)

Rows 27-29: Sc across (24 sts)

Row 30: Dec, sc 20, dec (22 sts)

Now we will start some colour work for the collar. R=Red, W=White, and G=Green:

Row 31: R3, W16, R3 (22 sts)

Row 32: W22 (22 sts)

Row 33: Wdec, W18, Wdec (20 sts)

Row 34: Wdec, W2, G12, W2, Wdec (18 sts)

Switch to green:

Row 35: Inc, sc 16, inc (20 sts)

Row 36: Inc, sc 18, inc (22 sts)

Row 37: Inc, sc 20, inc (24 sts)

Row 38: Inc, sc 22, inc (26 sts)

Row 39: Inc, sc 24, inc (28 sts)

Row 40: Inc, sc 26, inc (30 sts)

Row 41: Inc, sc 28, inc (32 sts)

Row 42: Inc, sc 30, inc (34 sts)

Row 43: Inc, sc 32, inc (36 sts)

Row 44: Inc, sc 34, inc (38 sts)

Rows 45-48: Sc across (38 sts)

Row 49: Dec, sc 34, dec (36 sts)

Row 50: Dec, sc 32, dec (34 sts)

Row 51: Dec twice, sc 26, dec twice (30 sts)

Row 52: Dec, sc 26, dec (28 sts)

Rows 53-57: Sc across (28 sts)

Row 58: Dec, sc 24, dec (26 sts)

Row 59: Dec, sc 22, dec (24 sts)

Row 60: Dec, sc 20, dec (22 sts)

Row 61: Dec, sc 18, dec (20 sts)

Row 62: Dec, sc 16, dec (18 sts)

Row 63: Dec, sc 14, dec (16 sts)

Tie off. Repeat rows 1-63 for the back body panel, EXCEPT you do not need to do the colour changes in rows 19-22 for the belt. Do these rows in all black. 

Also, make sure the yarn tails for the back panel are on the opposite side as they were for the front. This is so that all the edges will line up perfectly later when we put the panels together (i.e. what was the “right” side on the first panel is now going to be the “wrong” side on the back panel)

Arms with 3.5mm hook:

Start with red yarn

Row 1: Ch 5, sc across (4 sts)

Rows 2-7: Sc across (4 sts)

Switch to white yarn:

Rows 8-9: Sc across (4 sts)

Switch to green yarn:

Rows 10-12: Sc across (4 sts)

Tie off. Repeat rows 1-12 for back panel. Put both arm panels together, matching up all sides and colours. Ch 1 and begin single crocheting around the entire arm. Be sure to switch colours as you go, as necessary. Stop before you close to stuff. Once stuffed, continue crocheting around, slst to first st and tie off. Repeat for second arm.

Hat panels with 3.5mm hook:

The hat is done in two separate pieces (the tip and the base) which are then joined together.

Hat Tip in red:

Row 1: Ch 2, sc 1 (1 st)

Rows 2-3: Sc 1 (1 st)

Row 4: Sc 3 all in the same st (3 sts)

Rows 5-6: Sc across (3 sts)

Row 7: Sc 2, inc (4 sts)

Row 8: Sc across (4 sts)

Tie off. 

Hat Base:

Start in white yarn.

Row 1: Ch 27, sc across (26 sts)

Row 2: Inc, sc 24, inc (28 sts)

Row 3: Sc across (28 sts)

Switch to red yarn:

Row 4: Dec, sc 26 (27 sts)

Row 5: Sc 25, dec (26 sts)

Row 6: Dec, sc 24 (25 sts)

Row 7: Sc across (25 sts)

Row 8: Dec, sc 23 (24 sts)

Row 9: Sc 22, dec (23 sts)

Row 10: Dec, sc 21 (22 sts)

Row 11: Sc 20, dec (21 sts)

Row 12: Dec, sc 19 (20 sts)

Row 13: Sc 18, dec (19 sts)

Row 14: Dec, sc 17 (18 sts)

Row 15: Sc 14, dec twice (16 sts)

Now we will join the base and the tip by crocheting across both pieces in row 16:

Row 16: Dec, sc 13, inc, sc 4 (20 sts)

Row 17: Dec, sc 14, dec twice (17 sts)

Row 18: Dec twice, sc 13 (15 sts)

Row 19: Dec twice, sc 7, dec twice (11 sts)

Row 20: Dec twice, sc 5, dec (8 sts)

Tie off. Repeat all of the above for the back panel of the hat. 

Place both hat panels together, matching up all sides. Start in the lower right hand corner of the hat with white yarn. Ch 1 and then sc around the hat to join the panels. You will need to switch to red yarn after the brim of the hat. Crochet up and around the tip of the hat and down the opposite side. Switch back to white yarn for the brim. Tie off. Don’t crochet across the bottom; the bottom should remain open to fit over the Grinch’s head!

Pompom with 3.5mm hook:

Using white yarn:

Rnd 1: MR 6 sc (6 sts)

Rnd 2: Inc around (12 sts)

Rnd 3: [Sc 2, inc], repeat [ ] 3 more times (16 sts)

Rnds 4-6: Sc around (16 sts)

Rnd 7: [Sc 2, dec], repeat [ ] 3 more times (12 sts)

Rnd 8: Dec around (6 sts)

Tie off, leaving a tail for closing. Stuff the pompom. Using your tapestry needle, weave the yarn tail through the stitches of round 8, down into the pompom and out the other side. Tug firmly on the yarn tail to close and poke the tail back inside the piece. Sew pompom to your hat.

Move on to assembly below!

Assembly:

Step 1: Face

First we will add the face to the front panel. 

Cut out two ovals in yellow felt as shown below. Fold over the ovals and cut a small hole in the centre. Insert 8mm safety eyes into the felt and then insert them into the front panel and fasten. With yellow thread, stitch around the felt to secure. 

Next, stitch on a nose using black crochet thread by crocheting around 2 stitches between the eyes. I also added a small vertical stitch beneath the nose after I took these photos (you can see it in the finished photos above).

Stitch on eyebrows. In order to get the curved shape of the eyebrows, I used black sewing thread and a sewing needle and actually stitched the black crochet thread in place where I wanted it.

Finally, stitch on a biiiig evil smile. I used the same technique as above; i.e. using black sewing thread and a sewing needle to stitch the black crochet thread in place. 

Step 2: Joining Panels

Time to join! Here’s what you’re working with.

Place the two panels together, matching up all sides.

**Make sure the front is facing you as you crochet around the outside.**

First, cut two lengths of red yarn about 30 cm/12″ long and set these aside for later.

Starting on the left side of your Grinch at the top of the head, begin attaching the panels together by chaining one and single crocheting around the outside of the panels.

Stop at the neck. Using a length of red yarn that you set aside earlier, place the first arm between the panels and secure by sewing through all three pieces: the top panel, the arm and the bottom panel. Tie a knot in the yarn tails to secure and hide the tails inside the panels. Continue crocheting around. Be sure to switch to white for the collar and then to red for his coat. When you get to the arm, crochet in the stitches of the front panel only, since this section is already sewn shut. Continue crocheting both panels together as normal when you get past the arm, switching to white and then to green, as appropriate.

Crochet down around each leg and up the other side, switching back to white and red as needed. Stop about halfway up his coat and stuff the legs. Then attach the second arm the same way you did for the first. 

Continue crocheting up the side. Switch back to white and then green as needed. Stop at the top of the head.

Stuff!

Now we will do his hair.

Crochet across five stitches on the top row of the head and stop. Now, ch 10 and crochet the following back down the chains:

First hair: Sc 3, hdc 3, dc 3 (9 sts)

Sc into the next 2 sts on the Grinch’s head, then ch 13. Crochet the following along the chs:

Second hair: Slst 3, sc 3, hdc 3, dc 3 (12 sts)

Sc into the next 2 sts on the Grinch’s head, then ch 10 and repeat the sts for the first hair.

Stop here and top up stuffing as much as you need.

Continue crocheting across the top. Slst to first st and tie off. Poke the yarn tails back inside the piece.

You’re done! 

P.S. The Christmas lights that the Grinch is stealing in the pic above is a free pattern courtesy of Repeat Crafter Me. 

Happy holidays!

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