Easy DIY Christmas Gift: Crochet Toy Soldier Plushie
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Oh my goodness, it's THAT time of year again! It certainly crept up on me. Did it creep up on you? I feel like I just got done doing Thanksgiving dishes...
My family and I are in a new home this year, and somehow we managed to lose all of our Christmas decorations from years past. I'm not sure if we went downsize crazy trying to fit everything into a tiny house life (there's a story for another day) or if we just left things in my in-laws' basement by accident. Either way, we've got a house full of places to put cute winter stuff and no cute winter stuff!
That dilemma inspired this recent creation. I am also lacking in the time department thanks to our newest addition to the family this fall - babies have their own schedules as we know! [It's a good problem to have, though.] Anyway, I wanted just a few more things in the living room for this season and knew that simple plushies always seemed to come together quickly. Combine that thought with a television full of holiday shows and displays, and voila! I present to you a toy soldier plushie for your couch, window ledge, mantle, or decorative basket! I've also found that kids really like them as a buddy...
Each one of these plushies took me about 3 hours to complete, and most of that time was doing the stitching at the end. The stitches used in the pattern are single crochet, double crochet, single crochet decrease (SC2tog), and double crochet decrease (DC2tog), so I felt an advanced beginner would feel comfortable giving it a go.
Color wise, I chose to make the whole soldier from a single yarn skein (I love this yarn! by Hobby Lobby, Rosy Cheeks, 355 yards) because the look matches my living room, but obviously there's a big opportunity to be super creative there. Each section is clearly marked to help with both construction and any color changing.
Finally, while I used an H sized hook (5 mm) with worsted weight yarn (4, medium), you could mix any sizes/weights to get different sizes out of the pattern for whatever your needs. Personally, I wanted to try a really light yarn with a much smaller hook to see the result, but I ran out of time!
I really hope you enjoy this pattern. Please tag me on Instagram if you make one of these!
Thanks for reading! I'll see you soon. :)
-Daysha