How to Crochet Doll.

A crochet doll made by a talented Russian designer Nelly Bolgert presented on this page is a basic design of a doll which can be used to create a whole family of funny crochet toys. A few more of Nelly's dolls can be seen at Smart-knit-crocheting and Knit toys page. Nelly's instruction about the way she made her dolls can be found at her site . Click the 4th button from the top, and at the bottom of the page you will find a link to the page which has the instrustion for making a doll.

Instruction is written down in .pdf format which requires an Adobe Reader program installed on your computer. You can download it for free from the link at Nelly's page. Instruction is full of pictures, which allow you to follow it step by step.

The only reason I decided to make this page on my site is desire to help English-speaking visitors to understand some moments in the text which are not quite obvious from the pictures in case you can't read Russian.

Here is some basic information which will help you. A single crochet stitch (SC) is used for crocheting all parts of a doll. Thickness of yarn, its colors, number of a crochet hook are a matter of your preferences. A picture on this page is a small dictionary of the terms which will help you to understand description.

Now download the instruction and let's follow it step-by-step. It is not exact translation, but only major moments which are not obvious from the pictures. If you still have some questions, you can ask them through my contact form.

2. Body. Chain 6 stitches, join into the ring. Crochet a circle till its diameter is about 10 cm. Continue to crochet not adding stitches. It will form an "egg" (see the picture in instruction), about 10 cm long. Start to decrease stitches to shape an "egg". Stuff it before close the stitches.

3. Head. The same as body, but diameter of a circle is about 8 cm. To form a doll chin form a tiny "half-egg" first. It is the beginning of a head.

4. Two Legs.

Two rectangulars 20 cm x 10 cm. To make the legs rigid you can roll a piece of fabric and use it as a stuffing instead of regular one.

5. Two Hands.

The same as legs. Two rectangulars (13-15) cm x 8 cm.

6. Two Feet.

Four ovals 8 cm x 15 cm. Sew two ovals together. Stuff them tight to keep weight of a crochet doll.

7. Lower parts of the hands.

Start from 15 chains and crochet two ovals 7 cm x 10 cm. Ten ovals for fingers: 7 cm x 2.5 cm (20 chains) - 4 pcs, 9 cm x 2.5 cm (24 chains) - 4 pcs, 10 cm x 2.5 cm (26 chains) - 2 pcs. Sew two hands - see the pictures of Nelly's instruction.

8. Hair.

Use the same principle like for the hair-do from a Girl Sweater picture. Make hair-do according to your taste.

9. A crochet doll face.

Use buttons, yarn, additional crochet details to make it look the way you like. The main thing is : a face has to be kind. :)

10. Assemble a crochet doll.

Sew all parts together the way you see it in instruction. Dress your doll sewing her garments on the body or live some parts of a doll undressed in case it is crocheted as a garment. You will find a lot of inspirations at Nelly's site.

Thank you, Nelly! :)

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