Elf-Worry-Worm-Crochet-Pattern-

 Elf Worry Worm
Crochet Pattern

I originally designed this little Elf Worry Worm for Christmas last year, but soon realized that people wanted to make him for a whole lot of other occasions.

Since Elves are known for their magical superpowers and connection to nature, they make wonderful little keepsakes to remind us of our own connection to the earth and our ability to be, do and create super-powerful things. 

I wanted to use this small Elf Worry Worm for several activities really, so I decided to make an Elf that is quite versatile, quick to make and would fit in someone's pocket.

1. One idea is to use it as a Random Act of Kindness. (Details & Poem below).

2. The other idea, is to give it to children who suffer from anxiety, depression or loneliness. It's been proven that worry worms are quite helpful with this.

3. Another idea is to use it as an Elf on the Shelf before Christmas so families with kids can add another dimension of excitement & magic to the holiday season by playing hide-and-seek with the elf .

4. And if you're not keen on activities, you could also simply add your crocheted Elf to a birthday or Christmas gift as an embellishment. I've designed some pretty gift tags to go along with this.

You can decide for yourself what you want to use your crocheted Elf for. I'll explain how each of the above activities work in more detail.

If you have any questions, please drop me a comment below.


Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the Start Crochet links. Please see my disclosure for more details.


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Crochet Christmas Gift Accessories
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Three Christmas Worry Worm Crochet Patterns
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(PDF Printable)

Crochet Christmas Worry Worms

If you'd like to buy all three Christmas Worry Worm crochet patterns in an Ad-free PDF printable format (discounted rate), you can either download them from Ravelry or my online shop. Price is $9.99 instead of $14.97

Three Christmas Worry Worm Crochet Patterns
Bundle Sale
(PDF Printable)

Crochet Christmas Worry Worms

If you'd like to buy all three Christmas Worry Worm crochet patterns in an Ad-free PDF printable format (discounted rate), you can either download them from Ravelry or my online shop. Price is $9.99 instead of $14.97

1. Elf Worry Worm for Random Acts of Kindness

Crochet worry worms became a real hit when a FB Group called "Random Acts of Crochet Kindness" came up with the idea to distribute these simple crochet worry worms with a poem packaged in a small see-through plastic baggie or organza bag anywhere you can think of... in the woods, playground, nursing home, school, camping area... wherever. 

These cute crochet worry worms are meant to put a smile on whoever finds them and comfort them in times of sorrow or stress.

The idea of these worry worms is to go out of one's way to make another person smile. It builds a sense of community in kind acts, and attempts to make the world a bit lighter and brighter!

The best thing about these crochet worry worms is that they are super easy and fast to whip up, which make them ideal projects for beginner crocheters.

In a previous post, I showed you how to crochet basic worry worms, how to add relevant poems or tags, how to package and distribute them.

How to crochet worry worms

To add some variety to the regular Worry Worms, I want to show you how to crochet themed worry worms for different holiday seasons.

These worry worms are also super simple to make and will definitely put big smiles on little faces!

Not only will you feel accomplished when you've created a few of these, you'll also feel great about yourself when you actually go out and hide them around your neighbourhood for people to find and brighten up their day.

Here are a few other themed worry worms I designed for different occasions.

Worry Worm Crochet Pattern Pumpkin

Pumpkin Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Worry Worm crochet pattern written

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Bee worry worm crochet pattern

Bee Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Bunny Worry Worms crochet pattern

Bunny Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

New! Themed Worry Worm Patterns 

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Worry Worm Crochet Pattern Bundle

Themed Worry Worm Patterns Bundle


Worry-Worm-Story-Pattern-Poems

Interesting Note: Did you know that the technique used to crochet curly surfaces is called hyperbolic crochet? When I discovered this was actually a mathematical term for "negative curvature", I was really intrigued! 

Think of the types of curvature you see in coral reefs or lettuce leaves. These organic shapes can be replicated in crochet by adding stitches at a constant rate to each row of crochet. The more frequently you add stitches, the curlier (and more negatively curved) your crochet project gets.  Isn't that awesome?! You can watch a video about hyperbolic crochet here.


And if you'd like to check out a little experiment I made about crocheting Corkscrew Spirals using different stitches & stitch counts, you can have a look at this post here.

How-to-Crochet-Corkscrew-Spirals

Now let's experiment with hyperbolic crochet with our worry worm pattern...

You can also download the Printable Elf Worry Worm Tags that you could include in your baggies with your worry worms. 

Elf Worry Worm
Poem Tags

Elf Worry Worm Poem Tags PDF Printable

2. Elf on A Shelf Activity

The Elf on a Shelf tradition began in 2005 after the publication of the American picture book Elf On The Shelf written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell. You can read more about the book here.

Families have taken the idea from the story to play a game of hide-and-seek with the Elf from Thanks Giving to Christmas.

The idea is that the Elf watches over the kids during that time and reports back to Santa every night by flying to the North Pole.

When the Elf comes back the next morning, he hides in a different place and the kids have to find him.

You can get quite creative with how and where to hide him and make a fun activity out of it.

There is one rule to follow though: No one is allowed to touch the Elf or else he loses his magic.


3. Elf Gift Idea

This simple crochet elf can be used as a gift in & of itself, or you could embellish your gifts with this cute little elf as well. My 6 year-old daughter loves to talk with her little Elf, sleeps with him at night and hides him in her school bag!

Elf Worry Worm Christmas Gift Tags

I've designed some printable gift tags you could add to your gifts with fun & positive sayings. These are super easy to print on your home computer or you could also have them professionally printed at your local print store or online. See details in the product description.

Christmas Elf
Gift Tags

Elf Christmas  Gift Tags

What You’ll Learn

  • How to crochet a worry worm's head using the amigurumi technique (with or without the Magic Circle)
  • How to crochet a 3-D continuous spiral using (sc) single crochet stitches.
  • How to create a 3-D Elf Hat
  • How to attach the Elf's head to the worry worm body.
  • How to add a poem/tag to your worry worms.
  • How to package your crochet worry worm for distribution.

Materials Needed


Abbreviations

MC = Magic Circle
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
sc2tog = single crochet two together (single crochet decrease)
sl st = slip stitch
st = stitch
sts = stitches
fo = fasten off


Skill Level

Beginner - this pattern uses basic stitches used in different ways. You do not need to know how to crochet a Magic Circle. Alternatives are provided.


Measurements

Length = 16 cm
Weight = 5 g

Yardage

14 m of yarn in total


Elf Worry Worm Christmas Gift Tags

Elf GIft Tags Available For Sale at the Start Crochet Shop

Gauge

17 stitches & 16 rows in sc = 4” (10 cm) square with a 4.5 mm hook

Gauge is not really that crucial for this project. Just try experimenting with different hook sizes & different weight yarns to get a size you are happy with.

If your worry worm looks smaller than you anticipated, try a thicker weight yarn or a smaller size crochet hook.

If you are using bulky yarn, you might want to decrease the number of repeated stitches in the body chain to 3 sc per ch instead of 4.

If you want your worry worm to be longer, just increase the number of stitches in your body chain.


Notes

- You can use any type of yarn as long as you have a corresponding crochet hook size (check yarn label for recommendations)

- For this Christmas-themed worry worm, you will not need to crochet a round sphere for the head (amigurumi style). You start at the top of the head, insert eyes halfway, stuff with stuffing from the bottom, then continue the rest of the head. No need to know how to crochet a Magic Circle for this pattern.

- You can make the pattern larger or smaller by changing the type of yarn and/or hook size.

- Numbers at the end of each step (in brackets) indicate the number of final stitches in that step. 

- Ch1 at beginning of rows do not count as a stitch.

- Please note that I use US crochet terms

US vs. UK Crochet Terms & Symbols
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US vs UK Crochet Terms and Symbols - Start Crochet

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Like this pattern  but not ready to work it yet? Save it to Pinterest!

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Stitch How-To Instructions

Instructions for Ch (Chain): Bring the yarn over the crochet hook from back to front and hook it. Draw hooked yarn through the loop of the stitch on your hook and up onto the working area of your hook.

Instructions for sc (Single Crochet):Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (you now have two loops on hook), yarn over again and pull through both loops on hook (note: this is equivalent to the UK Double Crochet (dc) stitch)

Instructions for Sl St (Slip Stitch): Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull the loop back through your last stitch AND through the loop on your hook (through both stitches).

Instructions for Fastening Off: After the last stitch of the last round, cut the yarn, leaving a 6-inch end. Draw the cut end of your yarn completely through the stitch & pull to tighten knot.

Instructions for sc2tog: Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over (you'll have 3 loops on your hook), pull through all 3 loops on your hook.

If you need more detailed instructions on how to work the required stitches, check out these tutorials by The Woobles.


Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern 7

Printables

Below you will find a text-only ad-free printable version of the Elf Worry Worm which you can buy for a small fee.

The second printable is for Worry Worm Poems that you could add as tags to your worry worms if distributing for Random Acts of Crochet Kindness.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern PDF - 1

Christmas Elf
Gift Tags

Elf Christmas  Gift Tags

You can also purchase this PDF Pattern from my Ravelry Store:


Are you enjoying the idea of worry worms and would like to make some more for different occasions during the year? Have a look at these other worry worm adaptations. Each one has its own special tags to go along with it:

Worry Worm Crochet Pattern Bundle

Free Themed Worry Worm Crochet Patterns

Worry Worm PDF Bundle Offer

Buy all 6 PDF Worry Worm Patterns at a Discount.

New! Themed Worry Worm Patterns 

Bundle  Sale

Worry Worm Crochet Pattern Bundle

Themed Worry Worm Patterns Bundle


Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern Instructions

Elf Worry Worm Head

Round 1: With beige, start off with a MC, 6 sc into MC, sl st into top of first sc, ch 1 (6).
Note: Pull tail end tightly to close circle.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern 1
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern 2

If you do not want to start with a MC, you have 2 other options:

  1. Start by tying a slip knot on your hook, ch 2, then sc 6 times into the second chain from your hook. Pull your yarn tail tight to close the circle, chain 1 (6)
  2. Start by tying a slip knot on your hook, chain 3, slip stitch to first chain on your hook, chain 1, then work your 6 sc into your ch-3 circle, chain 1 (6)

Round 2: 2 sc into each stitch around, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch, ch 1 (12)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern


Round 3: sc into each st around, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch, ch 1 (12)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern


Round 4
: sc2tog 6 times, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch, ch 1 (6)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Pop in the safety eyes in place (between round 3 and 4)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Insert some fiber fill stuffing (don't overstuff).

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Give your yarn tail a good pull and tuck it inside the head.

Round 5:  6 sc around, join with a sl st to top of first sc, ch 1 (6)

Round 6: sc2tog 3 times, join with a sl st to top of first st, ch 1 (3)

Round 7: sc2tog, join with a sl st to top of first st (1)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Leave a 4" tail, cut your yarn and fasten off.

Set your worry worm head aside till we get to the hat section.

Elf Worry Worm Body

Row 1: With red, tie a slip knot on your hook, then ch 31 (31)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Leave a 4" tail, cut your yarn and fasten off.

Row 2: Attach green yarn with a slip knot to the last red ch stitch, 4 sc into each st along all the way to the top of your worry worm body. (120)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Leave a 4" tail, cut your yarn and fasten off.

Elf Worry Worm Hat

Row 1: Grab your worry worm head that you set aside.
With Red, surface crochet along the circumference of the worry worm head (Round 2).
12 sc around Round 2 of the head, join to top of first sc with a sl st, ch 1 (12)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Row 2: sc into each st around, join with a sl st to top of first sc, ch 1 (12)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Row 3: sc2tog 6 times,  join with a sl st to top of first sc, ch 1 (6)

Row 4: sc2tog 3 times, ch 1 (3)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Row 5: sc2tog, (1)

Row 6: ch 10 (10)

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Leave a 4" tail, cut your yarn and fasten off.

Hat End

WIth green, tie a slip knot on your hook, ch 2, sl st into 1st st to form a small circle, cut your yarn leaving a 4" tail, fasten off.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Tie a knot with the 2 strands to form a ball.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Ears (x 2)

With beige yarn, tie a slip knot on your hook, ch 2, fasten off leaving a long tail.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Assembling Your Elf Worry Worm

Once you've crocheted all your pieces, attach the Elf's head to its body using your darning needle and the red strand of yarn you left at the end.

Use strands of yarn from Hat End to attach the green little ball to the Hat end.

Use strands of yarn from the ears to attach one ear on either side of the head.

With your darning needle insert one strand into the row just under that hat, then insert the other strand on the other end of your ch 2 into the same stitch to form the Elf's ear shape. Careful not to pull too hard.

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern
Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Repeat for the other ear.

Weave in all your ends.

Adjustments

If you feel your worry worm didn't curl up properly, don't worry! Simply run your finger along the curls to place them in the correct position. Give them all a little twist and they'll all fall into place perfectly!

Elf Worry Worm Crochet Pattern

Now you can place your worry worm into a plastic baggie or organza bag and gift it to your favorite kid or distribute it as a RAOCK. 

I hope you enjoyed this Elf Worry Worm Pattern. Please let me know what you'll be using it for down in the comments below.

Happy crocheting!


Would you like to see more Christmas-themed worry worms? Click on the Snowman and Gnome Worry Worms below.

snowman worry worm crochet pattern
Gnome Worry Worm crochet pattern Free

Disclaimer: Information in this crochet pattern is given for reference only. Even though I do my best to ensure all patterns have no mistakes, occasional errors may slip through.

No liability is accepted for variations in finished projects. Please get in touch with me at [email protected] if you think there might be a mistake in the pattern or if you are unsure about how to interpret the instructions.

I’d love to see your finished item, so please tag me using @startcrochet.

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You may sell any finished products that you make from this pattern. However, when selling online, please include a link back to my blog startcrochet.com or tag me on social media with @startcrochet or with hashtag #startcrochet 

Thank you!

© All rights for this crochet pattern design and photos are copyright and reserved to Start Crochet (May Shehab © 2023) . Copies and/or reproduction, translating or reselling of this pattern is a violation of the law. 

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Hi. I'm May! Welcome to my Blog! Here you'll find easy crochet patterns, tutorials and simple crochet gift ideas you can offer your loved ones on special occasions.

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