Crochet a winged fairy doll in 12 steps
Sylphide is a crocheted winged fairy doll with a crown and a magic wand that will tell a fairy tale to your favourite girl. Along with her wings, Sylphide got special magic power – she can make good wishes come true.
level
To make this fairy doll, you will need intermediate knowledge of crocheting skills. Stitches used in this pattern are chain and single crochet for the doll, while for the crown I used chain, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet. Additionally, you should be familiar with round crochet.
material
- About 1 ball of white yarn (50 gr) for a 3 mm hook for the body, head, wings and crown
- About 1 ball of thin golden yarn (50 gr) for the hair, crown, dress hem and collar
- Crochet hook 3.5 mm
- Yarn needle
- Silicon fiber stuffing
- Wooden stick for the magic wand about 20 cm in length
- 2 pieces of shimmering cardboard for the magic wand top in red and pink colors
- A small piece of decorative ribbon for the magic wand
size
Fairy doll Sylphide is about 20 – 22 cm (7.8 – 8.6 in) tall and it weighs 50 gr
abbreviations
st(s) – stitch(es)
ch – chain
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet (yarn over once)
tr – treble crochet (yarn over twice)
picot – ch3, sl.st in 3rd st from the hook
instructions
1. Body
Holding double strand of white yarn, begin with ch 2. Leave a tail about 20 cm long for later.
Rnd 1 – In the 2nd st from the hook work 6sc. Continue working in spirals, rather than finishing each rnd with a sl.st. Place marker. Move the marker at the end of every round = 6sts.
Rnd 2 – (2sc in next st)6x. = 12 sts.
Rnd 3 – (1sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 18sts.
Rnd 4 – (2sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 24sts.
Rnd 5 – (3sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 30sts.
Rnd 6 – (4sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 36sts.
Rnd 7 – (5sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 42sts.
Rnds 8 to 12 – sc in every st = 42 sts.
Rnd 13 – (4sc, sk1, 1sc)6x = 36sts.
Rnd 14 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 36 sts.
Rnd 15 – (3sc, sk1, 1sc)6x = 30 sts.
Rnd 16 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 30 sts.
Rnd 17 – (2sc, sk1, 1sc)6x = 24 sts.
Rnd 18 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 24 sts. Pull the yarn tail from the starting chain to the outside of your work.
Rnds 19 – (1sc, sk1, 1sc)6x = 18 sts
Rnds 20-22 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 18 sts. Stuff the body.
Rnd 23 – (sk1, 1sc)6x = 12 sts.
Rnd 24 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 12 sts.
Rnd 25 – (sk1, 1sc)6x = 6 sts.
Break yarn, tighten it and leave a long tail for sewing the head onto the body.
2. Head
Begin with ch 2.
Rnd 1 – In the 2nd st from the hook work 6sc. Continue working in spirals, rather than finishing each rnd with a sl.st. Place marker. Move the marker at the end of every round = 6sts.
Rnd 2 – (2sc in next st)6x. = 12 sts.
Rnd 3 – (1sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 18sts.
Rnd 4 – (2sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 24sts.
Rnd 5 – (3sc, 2sc in next st)6x = 30sts.
Rnds 6 to 11 – 1sc in each sc of the previous rnd = 30sts.
Rnd 12 – (3sc, 2sc tog)6x = 24sts.
Rnd 13 – (2sc, 2sc tog)6x = 18sts.
Rnd 14 – (1sc, 2sc tog)6x = 12sts. Stuff the head.
Rnd 15 – Like rnd 14 = 6sts.
Cut yarn leaving a long tail, thread the yarn needle with it and pull it through all 6sts one by one. Pull tight to close the opening. Weave in end.
3. Wings
For the wings of my fairy dolls I used a video tutorial that you can see on this link. Those wings are shown in the 2 upper photographs. However, I’ve recently made a little different variation of the wings which suits better to my taste and needs. The bottom photo shows my new, altered variation for doll wings, instructions for which you can read in further text.
Right Wing – Holding 1 strand of white yarn, start by doing ch2. (Ch1 at the beginning of odd rows and row 2 doesn’t count as a stitch; sl.st also doesn’t count as a stitch.)
Row 1 – In 2nd st from the hook 4sc, turn.
Row 2 – Work all sts in back loops only, in all rows; ch1, 2sc in each st = 8sts. Turn.
Row 3 – Ch1, 2sc, 2sc in next st, 5sc, ch5 = 14sts. Turn.
Row 4 – Sl.st in 2nd st, 9sc, 2sc in next st, 2sc, sl.st in the last st from row 2 = 13sts. Turn.
Row 5 – Ch1, 3sc, 2sc in next st, 7sc, ch5 = 17sts. Turn.
Row 6 – Sl.st in 2nd st,, 10sc, 2sc in next st, 4sc, sl.st in the last st from row 4 = 16sts. Turn.
Row 7 – Ch1, 5sc, 2sc in next st, 8sc, ch5 = 20sts. Turn.
Row 8 – Sl.st in 2nd st,, 12sc, 2sc in next st, skip1, 3sc, sl.st in the next st = 17sts.
Row 9 – Ch1, 3sc, 2sc in next st, 11sc, ch5 = 21sts. Turn.
Row 10 – Sl.st in 2nd st, 14sc, 2sc in next st, 3sc, sl.st in the last st from row 8 = 19sts.
Row 11 – Ch1, 4sc, 2sc in next st, 11sc, ch5 = 22sts. Turn.
Row 12 – Sl.st in 2nd st from hook, 5sc, ch5, sl.st in 2nd st from hook, 5sc, ch4, sl.st in 2nd st from hook , 10sc 2sc in next st, 3sc. DO NOT TURN. 10sc along the left side of the wing, sl.st in next st. Cut yarn, leave a long tail for sewing.
Left Wing – Like the right wing.
Use a yarn tail of one wing to sew the wings to each other. Line up the central parts of the wings together and sew them with 8 sts using a yarn needle, and starting from the point where the tail is. Weave in end.
Use the other tail end to sew the wings later to the body. Before you sew the wings onto the body of the doll, starch them with sugar syrup to make them firm. Read this article about how to make the sugar syrup and how to starch the wings. When dipping the wings in the starch syrup, make sure you DON’T starch/dip the yarn tail which was left for sewing. It needs to stay soft for sewing the wings to the body.
Extra Tip – If your crocheting tension is strong, you may not need to starch the wings. However, if you crochet rather loosely, then starching step shouldn’t be omitted.
4. Crown
The crown can be made in many different ways, and I have designed 2 variations: the first one has 8 spikes of the same height, while the second variation has 3 spikes, 2 small ones and one big in the middle, so the front side is taller than the rest of the crown.
Variation 1
Holding 1 strand of white and 2 strands of golden yarn begin by chaining 40 and join 1st and last sts with a sl.st to form a ring. Crochet in the rounds.
Rnd 1 – Ch1 (doesn’t count as a st), sc in the same st as ch1, 39 sc; sl.st in 1st sc.
Rnd 2 – insert the hook in the back loops only: ch1, 1sc, skip1, *in next st(3sc, ch3, 3sc), skip1, 2sc, sk1*. Repeat from * to * to the end of rnd. Finish with a sl.st in next st. Break yarn, weave in end.
Variation 2
Holding 1 strand of white and 2 strands of golden yarn begin by chaining 39 and join 1st and last sts with a sl.st to form a ring. Crochet in the rounds.
Rnd 1 – 39 sc.
Rnd 2 – Insert the hook in back loops only. (3sc, picot)4x, 3hdc, picot, 3dc, picot; in the next, central stitch work(3tr, picot, 3tr); then continue: picot, 3dc, picot, 3hdc, picot, (3sc, picot)4x. Sl.st. in the next st. Cut off yarn, weave in end.
Starch the crown with sugar syrup to make it stiff and firm. How to make the sugar syrup and how to starch crocheted items, please, read this article.
5. Wreath
This fairy doll has a wreath which she got from the Forest Fairy. With the help of the wreath, crown and magic wand she can make magic.
Make the wreath by braiding 6 pieces of white yarn, about 35 cm long. Hold 2 strands of yarn for each part of the simple braid. Tie the ends with transparent rubber band. Trim the excess yarn.
6. Hair
Making the hair is one of the most important elements of a doll, since the hair and face are the ones that give the doll its beauty and charm. However, making the hair takes up the most time and it requires skill and patience. There are many different ways for creating a doll’s hair, and here I’ll share one of the easiest and most accurate methods which I have been using for flat hair of my crocheted and sewn dolls.
7. Face
Sylphide fairy is a good listener. That’s why I decided to give her only the nose and eyes. But if you prefer your doll to have a mouth as well, feel free to add one.
I embroidered her eyes using black yarn and just a few vertical stitches. The stitches stretch to about 3 rows in height, and I inserted the needle in one stitch on top and on on the bottom.
The nose was made with 3-4 horizontal sts, and the width is 3sts. Then I did 5-6 vertical stitches around the whole nose. I inserted the needle only around the horizontal sts, not in the sts of the head.
You can make the mouth in the same way as the nose but doing only the horizontal sts. Watch my video on youtube on how to embroider eys, nose and lips.
8. Arms
To make these simple arms, cut 18 pieces of yarn 20 cm long. Pull them all through the dolls body where the arms are supposed to be so that all the pieces of yarn stick out on the left and right sides of the body. Make sure the yarn pieces are all lined up and even on both sides. Then make a simple braid for each arm, secure it with a transparent rubber band and trim the excess yarn to form small hands.
9. Collar
Make the collar by inserting the hook anywhere at the doll’s neck and ch1 with golden yarn. Next, do 3sc in each st around till you get to the end of the round. Now since you made the body spirally, your end of round will be a row higher/lower (depending of the crocheting direction, i.e. whether you crocheted the collar top to bottom or bottom to top) than the beginning of round. Therefore, even your work by doing the last 3sc in the round where you started the collar. Finish with sl.st in the 1st sc.
10. Dress Hem
Attach golden yarn anywhere at the bottom of the doll’s body and make the hem in the same way as the collar.
11. Magic Wand
For the magic wand, first make a pattern. Print out the star outline drawing given in this step, and cut it along the outer lines. Then cut the inner lines of the small star.
Lay this pattern onto the back side of the red shimmering cardboard and draw the outer lines of the big star. Repeat once again to have 2 big stars. Stick one star onto one side of the wooden stick stick, making sure the stick is in the middle of the star. Stick the other star to the stick and at the same time to the first star. Press all sides and corners with your fingers.
Next, lay the star pattern onto the pink shimmering cardboard and draw the inner lines of the small star 2 times to have 2 little stars.
Paste each small star onto each big star and press with your fingers. Make sure the small pink stars are in the center of the big red stars.
Tie a decorative ribbon around the stick below the star.
12. Finishing
To make the doll stand stable, on the bottom of the doll’s body, where you left a 20 cm long tail, thread the yarn needle with that tail and insert the needle through the center. Pull out the needle and yarn somewhere at the arm, pull tug so that the bottom of the doll is pulled towards inside. Tie 2 knots and hide the yarn in the doll’s body. This way the doll will stand straight and stable.
