Gingerbread Draft Stopper and Shelf Sitter |

Winter is here and so is the cold. Do you have cold air that leaks under your door? We certainly do, so I decided I needed to create some draft stoppers. These gingerbread people are cute and functional. Just push them up against your door and their legs will stop that cold air from coming in.

I loved them so much, I wanted to create matching ones that I could put on a shelf in my living room. So I created one pattern, with different legs, that can be used to make the matching set.

If you want a pattern that you can save on your computer and easily print, this pattern is available in my Ravelry shop for only $3.00. Or you can get my whole Christmas 2017 Collection for only $8.00. I love printing patterns and saving them in a binder to keep track of the ones I’ve done and the ones I still plan to do.

These patterns work best if you put a bit of weight in their bottoms. It will help them to sit up and stay put. I used polly pellets and some cheap nylons, and the weight on them ended up perfect.

Abbreviations:

ch: chain

sc: single crochet

sl st: slip stitch

inc: increase (2 single crochets in one loop)

dec: decrease (pull yarn through loop, pull yarn through second loop, yarn over and pull through all loops)

hdc: half double crochet

fphdc: front post half double crochet

bphdc: back post half double crochet

Materials needed (with affiliate links):

Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn in soft taupe and white. Soft rose for the cheeks, red hot and fern for the buttons and bows.

I (5.25mm) crochet hook

Making the weighted pouch

I got the nylon stockings so they were already 2 individual pieces. By cutting them in half, I was able to make 4 bodies using 1 set of nylons.

With the toe part, you just fill it and tie the end. With the other half, tie a knot at one end first. Fill each of them with 1/2-3/4 cup of polly pellets. Tie a knot in the top to close it.

This extra bit of weight really does help them to sit up without making them too heavy. You can get quite a few of these made using 1 bag of polly pellets. I believe I made 7 or 8 of them with 1 bag.

This pattern is worked “in-the-round”, and stitches are worked through both loops unless otherwise noted.

Head:

With soft taupe, ch 3. Sl st to first ch to create circle. (Instead, you can perform the “magic circle” if you’d like.)

Row 1: ch 1, 10 sc inside of circle. (10 stitches)

Row 2: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next stitch, repeat from * around. (15 stitches)

Row 3: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 2 stitches, repeat from * around. (20 stitches)

Row 4: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 3 stitches, repeat from * around. (25 stitches)

Row 5: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 4 stitches, repeat from * around. (30 stitches)

Row 6: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 5 stitches, repeat from * around. (35 stitches)

Row 7: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 6 stitches, repeat from * around. (40 stitches)

Row 8: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 7 stitches, repeat from * around. (45 stitches)

Row 9: *Inc in first stitch, sc in next 8 stitches, repeat from * around. (50 stitches)

Switch to white.

Rows 10-11: Sc in each stitch around. (50 stitches)

Switch to soft taupe.

Rows 12-17: Sc in each stitch around. (50 stitches)

Row 18: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 8 stitches, repeat from * around. (45 stitches)

Row 19: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 7 stitches, repeat from * around. (40 stitches)

Row 20: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 6 stitches, repeat from * around. (35 stitches)

Row 21: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 5 stitches, repeat from * around. (30 stitches)

Row 22: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 4 stitches, repeat from * around. (25 stitches)

Row 23: *Dec in first 2 stitches, sc in next 3 stitches, repeat from * around. (20 stitches)

Tie off. Stuff with poly-fil. Position eyes onto head. Be sure you have them where you want them before putting the back on, because once it’s on they can’t be moved.

Body: