Crochet ghost pattern — four pieces, 25 rounds written out
A free crochet ghost pattern for a 7 cm figure that sits in a palm, worked on a 3.5 mm hook in four colours, about two hours' work. The body is an egg rather than a ball — out to 24 stitches by round 4, then seven straight rounds before it closes — and the one round that makes it a ghost is round 12, worked in back loops only. The front loops of round 11 stay free, and the grey hem is worked into them afterwards, three rounds widening from 24 stitches to 40 so it waves instead of lying flat. All 25 rounds are written out below across four pieces, each carrying the stitch count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 25 rounds was checked against the round before it by machine — the counts, the increases and the decreases all add up. What nobody can promise you yet is how it sits in the hand.How we check
6 of 8 checks ran on 2026-09-04
- 1 format and stitch chainscripts/validate.py — 113 patterns, all counts chain.
- 2 catalogue auditscripts/audit-patterns.py — 113 audited, 0 errors, 66 warnings.
- 3 geometrygeometry-check.py — 113 checked, 0 errors, 4 warnings.
- 5 not a duplicate113 distinct display names across 113 patterns
- 6c target on the recordseo.headKeyword, confidence and demand present and cross-checked by scripts/validate.py
- 8 page readinessscripts/check-completeness.py --gate — 0 required fields missing, 114 editorial flags, 0 unearned claims.
Not yet checked
- 4 render matches the pattern — no image has been compared against its own prompt, so a render showing a piece the rounds do not make would not be caught here. Nothing has counted how many do.
- 6a recognisability — provenance.recognisability is empty in every pattern, so there is no feature list to check the parts against.
Why it is rated Medium
Medium for two steps you cannot undo later: the eyes go in between rounds 6 and 7 while the body is still open, and round 12 must be back loops only or the hem has nothing to hang from.
Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.
00
00What you need before you start
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What you need before you start
Yarn — four colours, all weight 3
1 skein (well under half of it)Worsted / aran acrylic, worked tight so the stuffing stays hidden
scrapsWorsted / aran acrylic, same weight as the white
scrapsEmbroidery floss or a scrap of black yarn, split to two plies for a finer line
scrapsA scrap of pink yarn for two small straight stitches under each eye
Tools
4 you probably own, 3 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
A chopstick or similar for pushing stuffing in
You need to buy
6 mm black safety eyes x2
Polyester stuffing (~10 g)
Black embroidery floss for the mouth
Optional
Pink powder blusher and a soft brush, instead of embroidered cheeks
A contrast stitch marker for the start of the round
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Gauge is not critical, but the fabric should be tight enough that no stuffing shows between stitches. If it does, drop to a 3.0 mm hook.
Finished size
~7 cm tall on a 3.5 mm hook, about 4.5 cm across the body
For a fuller hem, work the last ruffle round as (2 sc, inc) x8 for 48 stitches instead of 40. If the stuffing shows through the white fabric, drop to a 3.0 mm hook rather than using less filling.
How to make the ghost, piece by piece
Switching rewrites every round:US6 sc in mrUK6 dc in mrWork a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01The body
Out to 24 stitches, seven straight rounds, then in again. The extra…14 RNDS
starts in white· magic ring· Piece 1 of 4
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [24] [24]
Opening out
RND 1–41[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
Straight sides — eyes after round 6
RND 5–115[24]
6[24]
7[24]
8[24]
9[24]
10[24]
11[24]
Closing in — round 12 is back loops only
RND 12–1412[18]
13[12]
14[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasebloback loops onlyflofront loops onlyrndroundst(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneTwo things had to happen before this point: the eyes went in between rounds 6 and 7, and round 12 was worked in back loops only. If either got past you, undo back to it now rather than living with it.
2
02The hem
Join the grey in any free front loop of body round 11 and work…3 RNDS
starts in softGrey· picked up· Piece 2 of 4
First three rounds[24] [32] [40]
1[24]
2[32]
3[40]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasebloback loops onlyflofront loops onlyrndroundst(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneLet it fall on its own. It will not lie flat, and it is not meant to — the extra stitches have nowhere to go but into waves.
3
03The arms
Two the same, six stitches wide, four rounds long. Small enough that…4 RNDS
starts in white· magic ring· Piece 3 of 4
First four rounds[6] [6] [6] [6]
1[6]
2[6]
3[6]
4[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasebloback loops onlyflofront loops onlyrndroundst(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneNo stuffing. Press each one flat between finger and thumb before you sew.
4
04Right arm
— the same 4 rounds again, worked from piece 034 RNDS
starts in white· magic ring· Piece 4 of 4· mirrors the arms
First four rounds[6] [6] [6] [6]
1[6]
2[6]
3[6]
4[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasebloback loops onlyflofront loops onlyrndroundst(s)stitch, or stitches
You are here
Four pieces from three lists. One list — the arms — is written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.25 ROUNDS IN ALL
Nine notes on the ghost
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Worked in a continuous spiral — nothing to join, nothing to turn. Mark the first stitch of each round.
03Round 12 of the body is worked in back loops only. That leaves the front loops of round 11 free, and those free loops are what the hem ruffle is worked into later. Do not skip the marker on round 11 — you will need to find it again.
04Set the safety eyes between rounds 6 and 7, about 8 stitches apart, while the body is still open. Once round 13 is done you cannot reach the backs of them.
05Stuff the body firmly after round 13 and add a little more through the last round before you close it. Understuffed, the ghost slumps; overstuffed, the white fabric goes grey where the filling shows.
06The hem is a separate piece in the app so the counts stay honest, but on the hook it is one continuous ghost: finish the body, then join the grey in a free front loop of round 11 and work the three ruffle rounds around.
07The ruffle is shaped with plain increases rather than three stitches worked into one, so it waves rather than frills hard. For a fuller hem, work round 3 as (2 sc, inc) x8 for 48 stitches instead.
08The arms are not stuffed. Pinch each one flat and sew the open end to rounds 7 and 8, the same height on both sides — pin them first and look at the ghost from the front before a single stitch goes in.
09Embroider the mouth as a small oval or a wobbling line under the eyes, and keep it low. A mouth set close to the eyes reads as a face; set far below them it reads as a ghost.
Four questions this pattern answers
Not questions anybody asked. Each one is written from this pattern's own record, and every answer is read off the fields it names.
How many pieces make up the ghost?
How much yarn will the ghost take?
What hook will the ghost need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the ghost take to crochet?
A round that will not add up?
Tell us the piece and the round number — the stepper already knows where you are.There is nowhere to send one yet.
Put the laptop down mid-round
The iPhone app keeps your place — piece of 4, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
