Introduction: Anna & Julia
The most difficult part of social distancing during the pandemic has been not being able to spend time with our beautiful granddaughters. I get to see them through online pictures and videos which I love to see, and the occassional video chat. But I really miss the physical contact, especially the hugs.
I decided to create dolls that reminded me of them to brighten up my days and to keep me busy doing something that I love to do - creating fun things for children.
I started with a picture that their auntie, our talented daughter Jenni Evans had drawn of them. Using this as my inspiration, I created these dolls.
I love how they turned out and now I have something to hug until we can get together once again.
The Anna girl doll is 13" high and the Julia baby doll is 10" high.
Both of the toy animals, Meow the cat and Hop Hop the bunny are 4" high.
Supplies
See the next step for details
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
Anna & Meow - 4 ply cotton yarn – One 1.5 oz. ball of skin color, brown, lavender & pink and small amounts of black, white & red.
Julia & Hop Hop – 4 ply cotton yarn – One 1.5 oz. ball of skin color, brown, purple and red and small amounts of light blue & dark blue. For the eyes, use small amounts of sport weight cotton in black and white with 3mm crochet hook.
3.5mm crochet hook
Polyester Stuffing
Scissors
Darning Needle
Step 2: Helpful Hints
Always remember to remove your cat or other pet from your work area as needed. This is a regular challenge I have to deal with while creating anything using yarn.
I prefer to make toys from 100% cotton yarn as it wears well, keeps it shape and is machine washable.
You can use any colors that you prefer or substitute acrylic yarn.
To make a smaller sized doll, use sport weight or fine yarn and a smaller crochet hook.
If you do not have any sport weight yarn to make the eyes for Julia, you can split a strand of 4 ply cotton in 2 and use that instead with a smaller crochet hook.
Polyester stuffing is recommended.
Most of the parts are worked in rounds unless otherwise noted.
Mark stitches using stitch markers or safety pins.
Count the number of stitches in each round frequently and make corrections as needed.
Leave a “tail” of yarn with the lengths listed for sewing where noted.
How to basic crochet stitches and magic circle instructions are available at
Step 3: Abbreviations Used in Pattern
sc – single crochet
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
tbc – treble crochet
st – stitch
sts- stitches
ch – chain
sl st – slip stitch
inc – increase by making 2 stitches in the same stitch
dec –decrease by crocheting 2 stitches together
x – times – followed by a number that indicates the number of times you repeat what is in the bracket
magic circle – sc # - make a magic circle and work the specified number of stitches in the loop
Step 4: Anna's Head and Body
Head
1. With hair color make a magic circle - sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
5. (inc, sc 3) x 6 = 30 sts
* Mark last stitch for back of head
6. sc 6, (inc) x 3, sc 12, (inc) x 3, sc 6 = 36 sts
7. sc 6, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 12, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 6 = 42 sts
8. sc 6, (inc, sc 2) x 3, sc 12, (inc, sc 2) x3, sc 6 = 48 sts
9 – 11. sc 48
* Change to skin color
12. thru back loops - sc 48
* Fold flat and mark the sides of the head
13 – 19. sc 48
20. sc 9, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 18, (inc, sc) x3, sc 9 = 54 sts
21. sc 11, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 21, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 10 = 60 sts
22 – 26. sc 60
27. sc 11, (dec, sc) x 3, sc 21, (dec, sc) x 3, sc 10 = 54 sts
28. (dec, sc 7) x 6 = 48 sts
29. sc 3, (dec, sc 6) x 5,dec, sc 3 = 42 sts
30. sc 1, (dec, sc 5) x 5, sc 5 = 36 sts
* Mark last stitch as center back
31. (dec, sc 4) x 6 = 30 sts
* Stuff head firmly
32. sc 2, (dec, sc 3) x 5, dec, sc 1 = 24 sts
33. (dec, sc 2) x 6 = 18 sts
34 – 37. sc 18
* Change to dress color and continue to work in rounds
Body
38. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
39 – 45. sc 24
46. work thru back loops - sc 24
* Change to pants color and continue in rounds
47. thru back loops – sc 24
48 – 50. sc 24
* Cut yarn leaving a 20” tail
Skirt
Join dress color yarn at the center back of row 46 thru a front loop
1. Work thru front loops– (inc) x 24 = 48 sts
2 – 3. sc 48
4. (inc, sc 5) x 8 = 56 sts
5 – 6. sc 56
7. (inc, sc 6) x 8 = 64 sts
8. sc 64
* Cut yarn and weave in end
Step 5: Anna's Face & Ears
Embroider the eyes at row 17 - Make 4 stitches that are the width of 3 sc & stitch 3 eyelashes at the sides of the eyes
Embroider the mouth with the bottom at row 27
Make nose in center of face at row 21 – make 5 stitches that are the width of 2 sc
* See pictures for details
Ears – Make 2
1. With skin color - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. ( inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4. sc 18
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Sew to the head after you have attached the hair
* Sew to sides of head between the last hair strand and the back hair piece
Step 6: Anna's Legs & Arms
Legs – Make 2
1. With shoe color – make a magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
5 – 6. sc 24
7. sc 7, (dec) x 5, sc 7 = 19 sts
8. sc 6, (dec) x 4, sc 5 = 15 sts
* Change to skin color
* Stuff foot & stuff leg every 2” as you are making the leg
9. sc 3, (dec) x 5, sc 2 = 10 sts
10 – 13. Sc 10
14. (inc, sc 4) x 2 = 12 sts
15 – 22. sc 12
* Cut yarn leaving a 14” tail
* Sew legs to the bottom row of the pants color
* See picture for details
Arms – Make 2
1. With skin color - magic circle – sc 4
2. (inc) x 4 = 8 sts
3. (inc) x 8 = 16 sts
4 – 5. sc 16
6. (dec, sc 6) x 2 = 14 sts
7. (dec, sc 5) x 2 = 12 sts
* Stuff hand lightly
8. (dec, sc 4) x 2 = 10 sts
9 – 12. sc 10
13. (inc, sc 4) x 2 = 12 sts
14 – 21. sc 12
* Stuff middle of arm from wrist tightly and last 1” at top of arm lightly
* Sew to sides of body on last row of skin color at neck
Dress Shoulder Straps – Make 2
1. Ch 10, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 8
* Cut yarn, leaving a 12” tail
* Sew to front and back at the top of the dress after arms are attached
Step 7: Anna's Hair
Hair
Base chain
Ch 51, sc in 2nd chain from hook then start with hair strands
* Hair strands are worked along the 51 base chain stitches
* See pictures for details
Hair Strands
Make individual hair strands as follows, ending each strand with a sc in base chain of 51 sts
1 – 2. ch 11, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 9 in ch, sc in base chain
3- 4. ch 10, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 8 in ch, sc in base chain
5 – 6. ch 9, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 7 in ch, sc in base chain
7. ch 8, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 6 in ch, sc in base chain
8. ch 7, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 5 in ch, sc in base chain
9 – 16. ch 6, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 4 in ch, sc in base chain
17. ch 7, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 5 in ch, sc in base chain
18. ch 8, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 6 in ch, sc in base chain
19 – 20. ch 9, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 7 in ch, sc in base chain
21 – 22. ch 10, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 8 in ch, sc in base chain
23 – 24. ch 11, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 9 in ch, sc in base chain
Back of Hair
Continue to work along remaining base chain stitches in rows
1. sc 24, ch 1, turn
2 – 8. sc 24, ch 1, turn
9. dec, sc 20, dec, ch 1, turn = 22 sts
10. dec, sc 18, dec = 20 sts
* Cut yarn
Assembly
* Pin hair to head at sides of the head where they are marked before sewing.
* Sew hair to head using hair color yarn.
* Start with first hair strands made at the right side of the face in the front loop of row 11 of the head.
* Sew the back hair piece to back of head.
* See pictures for details.
Pigtails – Make 2
Strand – Ch 26, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 24
* do not cut yarn - continue with next strand
Make 5 strand of hair for each pigtail then cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Use yarn tail to gather the 5 strands together
* Sew to head on sides at row 6
* See pictures for details
Hair ties – Make 2
1. Ch 13, hdc in 2nd chain from hook, hdc 11 then cut leaving a 10” tail
* Sew hair ties around the base of the pigtails
* See pictures for details
Step 8: Meow - Anna's Toy Cat
Head & Body
1. With body color - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4 – 6. sc 18
7. (dec, sc) x 6 = 12 sts
* Stuff head
8. (dec, sc) x 4 = 8 sts
9. sc 8
10. (inc, sc) x 4 = 12 sts
11. (inc, sc 5) x 2 = 14 sts
12. sc 14
13. (inc, sc 6) x 2 = 16 sts
14. sc 16
15. (inc, sc 7) x 2 = 18 sts
16. sc 18
* Cut yarn
Legs – Make 2
1. With white - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc, sc) x 3 = 9 sts
* Change to body color
3 – 8. Sc 9
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Stuff legs lightly and sew flat to the bottom edge of the body
Arms – Make 2
1. With white - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc, sc) x 3 = 9 sts
* Change to body color
3 – 4. sc 9
* Stuff lightly
5. dec, sc 3, dec, sc 2 = 7 sts
6 – 7. sc 7
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Sew to sides of body
Muzzle
1. With white - magic circle – sc 5
* Cut yarn leaving a 10” tail
* Embroider pink nose on muzzle
* Sew on face – see picture for details
Embroider eyes, mouth and whiskers
* See picture for details
Tail
Ch 8, sl st in 2nd chain from hook, sl st in 6 ch
* cut yarn leaving an 8” tail
* Sew onto back of body
Ears – Make 2
1. With body color, magic circle – sc 4
2. (inc, sc) x 2 = 6 sts
* Cut yarn leaving a 10” tail
* Sew to sides of head at row 2
Step 9: Julia's Head & Body
Head
1. With hair color - magic circle - sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
5. (inc, sc 3) x 6 = 30 sts
* Mark last stitch for back of head
6. sc 6, (inc) x 3, sc 12, inc x 3, sc 6 = 36 sts
7. sc 6, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 12, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 6 = 42 sts
8. sc 6, (inc, sc 2) x 3, sc 12, (inc, sc 2) x 3, sc 6 = 48 sts
9 – 10. sc 48
* Change to skin color
11. work thru back loops - sc 48
* Fold flat and mark sides of head
12 – 14. sc 48
15. sc 9, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 18, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 9 = 54 sts
16. sc 11, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 21, (inc, sc) x 3, sc 10 = 60 sts
17 – 21. sc 60
22. sc 11, (dec, sc) x 3, sc 21, (dec, sc) x 3, sc 10 = 54 sts
23. (dec, sc 7) x 6 = 48 sts
24. sc 3, (dec, sc 6) x 5, dec, sc 3 = 42 sts
25. sc 1, (dec, sc 5) x 5, dec, sc 5 = 36 sts
26. (dec, sc 4) x 6 = 30 sts
* Stuff head firmly
27. sc 2, (dec, sc 3) x 5, dec, sc 1 = 24 sts
28. (dec, sc 2) x 6 = 18 sts
29 - 30. sc 18
* Change to clothing color and continue to work in rounds
Body
31. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
32. sc 24
33. (inc, sc 5) x 4 = 28 sts
34. sc 28
35. sc 5, (inc, sc) x 2, sc 10, (inc, sc) x 2, sc 5 = 32 sts
36 – 39. sc 32
40. sc 5, (dec, sc) x 2, sc 10, (dec, sc) x 2, sc 5 = 28 sts
41. sc 4, (dec, sc) x 2, sc 8, (dec, sc) x 2, sc 4 = 24 sts
* Stuff body and neck leaving 16” tail
Step 10: Julia's Face & Ears
Eyes – Make 2
* Use fine cotton to make eyes and 3mm hook
* If you don't have fine cotton, you can split a strand of 4 ply into 2 pieces
1. With black, magic circle – sc 8
* Cut yarn and join round
* Work next row around the black circle
1. With white, sc 1, (inc) x 4, sc 1
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail * Sew to head with bottom at row 16
* Embroider a line at top of eye and eye lashes
Nose
Embroider nose in the center of the face at row 18 – make 5 stitches that are the width of 2 sc
Soother – Work in rounds
Base
1. With light blue – Ch 7 – 3 sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 4, 3 sc in next ch, sc 4 = 14 sts
2. (2 sc) in sc, (sc, hdc, dc) in sc, (2 dc, hdc) in sc, sc in next sc, (sl st) in next 2 sc, sc in next sc, (hdc, 2 dc) in sc, (dc, hdc, sc) in sc, (2 sc) in sc, (sc) in next 5 sc = 24 sts
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
Front of Soother
1. With dark blue – magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 2, sc, (inc) x 2, sc = 10 sts
3. sl st in 10 sc – then chain 16, sl st in 2nd chain from hook, sl st in 14 ch
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Sew the chain loop to the opposite side of circle
* Sew the front piece onto the base
* See pictures for details
Ears – Make 2
1. With skin color - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Sew to head after you have attached the hair
* Sew to sides of head between the last hair strand and the back hair piece
Step 11: Julia's Arms & Legs
Legs – Make 2
1. With clothing color – magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4. (inc, sc 2) x 6 = 24 sts
5 – 6. sc 24
7. sc 7, (dec) x 5, sc 7 = 19 sts
8. sc 5, (dec) x 4, sc 6 = 15 sts
* Stuff foot & stuff leg every 2” as you are working
9. sc 4, (dec) x 3, sc 5 = 12 sts
10 – 18. sc 12
* Cut and leave 12”
* Sew to bottom of body
* See pictures for details
Arms – Make 2
1. With skin color - magic circle – sc 4
2. (inc) x 4 = 8 sts
3. (inc) x 8 = 16 sts
4 – 5. sc 16
6. (dec, sc 6) x 2 = 14 sts
7. (dec, sc 5) x 2 = 12 sts
* Stuff hand lightly
8. (dec, sc 4) x 2 = 10 sts
9 – 11. sc 10
12. (inc, sc 4) x 2 = 12 sts
13 – 14. sc 12
* Change to clothing color
15 – 18. sc 12
19. (dec, sc 4) x 2 = 10 sts
* Cut yarn leaving a 12” tail
* Sew to sides of body at first row of clothing color
Step 12: Julia's Hair
Hair
Base chain
Ch 51, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc in base chain
Hair Strands & Bangs
Make individual hair strands along base chain as follows, ending each strand with a sc in base chain
1 – 2. ch 9, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 7 in ch, sc in base chain
3- 4. ch 8, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 6 in ch, sc in base chain
Then continue by working along base chain as follows:
(sc) x 2, (hdc) x 2, (dc) x 2, (tbc) x 2, dc, hdc, sc, sl st, sc, hdc, (dc) x 2, hdc, (sc) x 2 = 18 sts
Then make 4 more individual hair strands along base chain, ending each strand with a sc in base chain
1 – 2. ch 8, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 6 in ch, sc in base chain
3- 4. ch 9, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 7 in ch, sc in base chain
* See picture for details
Hair Back
Continue working along base chain in rows for hair back
1. sc 22, ch 1, turn
2 – 4. sc 22, ch 1, turn
5 – 8. dec, sc to last 2 sts, dec
* Cut yarn
Assembly
* Pin hair to sides head before sewing.
* Sew hair to head using hair color yarn.
* Start with hair strands at the right side of the face in the front loop of row 11 of the head.
* Sew the back hair piece to back of head.
* See pictures for details.
Headband - 4 pieces
Band
1. With clothing color - Ch 60 and join in a round – sc in 60 chains
2. sc 60
* Cut yarn leaving a 24” tail
Bow – Make 2
1. With clothing color – magic circle – sc 4
2. (inc, sc) x 2 = 6 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 9 = 9 sts
4 – 6. sc 9
* Cut yarn leaving a 10” tail
* Sew to Band
Top of Bow
1. ch 10, sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc 8, ch 1, turn
2. sc 9
* Cut yarn and leave a 10” tail
* Sew to band around the 2 bows
* See pictures for details
Step 13: Hop Hop - Julia's Toy Bunny
Head & Body
1. With body color - magic circle – sc 6
2. (inc) x 6 = 12 sts
3. (inc, sc) x 6 = 18 sts
4 – 6. sc 18
7. (dec, sc) x 6 = 12 sts
* Stuff head
8. (dec, sc) x 4 = 8 sts
9. sc 8
10. (inc, sc) x 8 = 16 sts
11 – 15. Sc 16
* Stuff body
* Continue in rounds to make 2 legs
Legs
16. sc 8 sc and join in a round for first leg
17 – 20. sc 8
* Cut yarn leaving a 10” tail
* Gather 8 sts and weave in end
Repeat rows 16 – 20 and finish the same for the second leg
* see pictures for details
Ears – Make 2
With body color – ch 11, sl st in 2nd chain from hook, (sc) in next 2 ch, (hdc) in next ch, (dc) x 2 in next 2 ch, sc in last ch
* Cut yarn and leave 10” tail
* Sew to top of head at row 2
Embroider eyes, nose and mouth
* See pictures for details
Arms – Make 2
1. With body color – magic circle – sc 8
2 – 5. sc 8
* Cut yarn and leave a 10” tail
* Sew to sides of body at row 10
Participated in the
Fiber Arts Contest
