The Bitty Snowman Buddy: A FREE Crochet Snowman Pattern

Need a sweet, simple and quick gift for a little one this holiday season? Look no further! Today I’m sharing this free crochet snowman pattern, the Bitty Snowman Buddy! Bitty Snowman is part of the original holiday bitty buddy collection including the snowman, Santa and reindeer – with more to come this season!

This bitty buddy makes a cool friend this holiday for any little love in your life. Add a rattle insert to the head or crinkle paper to the body for a sweet noise maker OR pop on a wooden teething ring for a tiny teether! Read on to find out how you can make your very own FREE crochet snowman pattern! 

The Bitty Snowman Buddy is a unique design in the Bitty Buddy Collection featuring the bobble stitch. Bitty buddies are a tiny-sized cross between a security blanket and favorite stuffed animal, making them the perfect little loveys. They are teeny and sweet and make great rattles, teether toys or binky buddies! The bobbled texture and soft body structure provide great sensory input while the cute animal designs make them fun for play! Check out the full collection! 

If you prefer the ad-free printable version of the bitty snowman, you can find it on Etsy or Ravelry.

Interested in the full collection? Check out the bundle here!

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These bitties are meant for babies, so I typically prefer cotton yarn like Hobby Lobby,  I Love This Cotton yarn or Lion Brand, 24/7 cotton. In general, cotton yarn works up nicely and is great for teething babies to chew on. It doesn’t have loose strands of fiber shedding off, it is easy to wash and it just gets softer and softer over time. You can use other acrylic blends for these patterns, I just prefer the cotton. Plush is also an option! If you are looking to use something bulky, I recommend Premier, Parfait Chunky or Michael’s replacement for Posh or Baby Bear (RIP Joanns!). 

BLOG FEATURE:

This pattern is being featured as part of the 2025 Let It Snow Blog Campaign by The Crochet Village! This blog hop features 15 designers sharing free Christmas crochet patterns each day of the hop from November 1st to November 15th! Check out the blog hop page so you don’t miss a pattern!

For 24 hours only, you can grab the FREE crochet snowman pattern pdf download. Use the code “LETITSNOW25” to grab the pdf as a direct download from the website OR as a free pattern on Ravelry. Click the buttons below to find the pattern.

MATERIALS:

Materials needed for this little free snowman crochet pattern will vary based on the type of yarn you choose. If you choose a size 4 yarn as pictured, you will need smaller hooks and slightly less yardage of yarn whereas if you use a size 5 or 6 yarn, you will need larger hooks and slightly more yardage of yarn. A quick note about bulkier yarns – these patterns can work well with size 5 bulky yarn or with a very thin “size 6” yarn. I do not recommend using this pattern with Bernat Blanket Yarn as I feel that it just comes out far too bulky! See the bitty butterfly pattern in my shop if you’d like a body style that works well with super bulky!

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HOOK(S): [My all-time favorite hooks are Clover Amour hooks]

• For Size 4 Cotton/Acrylic Yarn:
    4.0 mm • US size G
• For Bulkier Yarn (Parfait Chunky):
   5.0 mm • US size H

YARN: 

Weight : Worsted Hobby Lobby, I Love This Cotton Yarn
You will need white, black, brown, orange and desired scarf color

Other Yarn Suggestions:

• Hobbii Friends Cotton 8/8
• WeCrochet Comfy

NOTIONS

• Darning Needle
• Embroidery Thread
• Measuring Tape
• Polyfil Stuffing
• Rattle Insert (if desired)
• Scissors
• Stitch Marker (if desired)
• Teething Ring (if desired)

GAUGE
Exact gauge is not necessary for this project

FINAL HEIGHT
~9.5 inches from top to bottom (with hat)

OK, let’s get started!

If you prefer the ad-free printable version, you can find it on Etsy. Use code BITTY to save on any of the bitty buddy patterns!

Here’s a quick note! Most of my patterns use the bobble stitch. This is a unique stitch that creates bobbles which pop up off of the work to add to the texture and overall look of the project. For infants and children, this unique texture creates interest and great sensory input in their toy! I work my bobbles in the round by pushing them towards me rather than away from me so they end up on the outside of the work in the round. If you need help with this technique, see this stitch tutorial and check out this video which gives directions on how to work the bobble stitch in the round. The pattern featured in this video is the free pineapple plush, but the technique used is the same. 

STITCH ABBREVIATIONS:

SPECIAL STITCHES:

BOBBLE STITCH (bobble): tutorial here

To make a bobble stitch you will work multiple double crochets into the same stitch.

(Yo, insert hook into st, draw up a loop, yo, pull through first two loops on hook) and repeat 3 more times. End with 5 loops on the hook – yo, pull through all 5 loops.

See this stitch tutorial for a step-by-step description with photos here. 

You can choose to make the bobbles on the right or the wrong side of your project, just make sure they are on the outside of the body when finished.

DECREASE STITCHES (hdc2tog/sc2tog): To decrease stitches, you will hdc or sc 2 stitches together to decrease the stitch count. Pattern indicates which stitch to use for these decreases.

INCREASE STITCHES (inc): To increase stitches, you will sc or hdc 2 stitches into the same spot.

COLOR CHANGES: COLOR CHANGES:

This pattern requires color changes within the body of the work to create the buttons for the snowman. If this is too difficult, you may choose to omit the buttons. If you need more help with bobble color changes, check out this tutorial: https://stuckonyoucrochet.com/how-to-change-colors-on-bobble-stitches/

PATTERN:

MAKING THE ARMS: (Make Two) 
To begin, ch 13. Working in the second chain from hook, work back across the ch as below:
sl st x 3, ch 3, sl st x 2, sc x 10 (I prefer to sc in the back bump of the chain)

To make the opposite arm, begin by ch 12 and work back across the ch as below:
sl st x 2, ch 4, sl st x 3, sc x 10 (I prefer to sc in the back bump of the chain)

For both arms, cut yarn leaving a long tail to sew on to the body of your snowman.

Need help making the arms? Check out this YouTube tutorial: https://youtu.be/4ZEXhYbbfDY

MAKING THE HAT: 
Round 1: To begin, make a magic circle.  Place 6 sc in the MC. Do not join. Continue to work in the round. [6]
Round 2: [sc inc] in each st around. [12]
Round 3: [sc inc, sc] x 6 around. [18]
Round 4: sc x 18 in the BLO. [18]
Rounds 5-6: sc x 18 around. [18]
Round 7: hdc x 18 in the FLO. [18]

Leaving a bit of a tail, cut and tie off your yarn. You will use the tail to sew the hat onto the head of the snowman. To sew the hat, sew around the base of the hat (round 6), not the brim. This will give the hat shape. You can lightly stuff the hat as you sew, if desired.

MAKING THE SCARF:
Row 1: To begin, chain 4. Turn and working in the second ch from the hook, sc x 3 back across the row. Continue to work in rows. [3]
Rows 2-21: hdc x 3 across. Ch 1 and turn. [3]
*Continue this row until scarf is desired length. I did 20 rows and sewed my scarf to the snowman. You could also make your scarf longer and tie it on.
Row 22: sc x 3 across. [3]
Tie off yarn, weave in ends and set scarf aside. You will sew or tie scarf around neck of snowman when assembling.

MAKING THE HEAD: 
Make the head in white yarn. Switch to orange for the bobble nose in round 9.

Round 1: To begin, make a magic circle. Place 6 sc in the magic circle. Do not join. Continue to work in the round. [6]
Round 2: [sc inc] x 6 around. [12]
Round 3: [sc inc, sc] x 6 around. [18]
Round 4: [sc inc, sc x 2] x 6 around. [24]
Round 5: [sc inc, sc x 3] x 6 around. [30]
Rounds 6-8: sc x 30 around. [30]
Round 9: Add an orange bobble “nose” in this round. (in white) sc x 12, (in orange) bobble, (in white) sc x 17. [30]
Rounds 10-11: sc x 30 around. [30]
Round 12: [sc2tog, sc x 3] x 6 around. [24]
*Stop here and add safety eyes and/or rattle insert if desired. Alternatively, embroider the features after finishing the head. Begin stuffing head firmly.
Round 13: [sctog, sc x 2] x 6 around. [18]
Round 14: [sc2tog, sc] x 6 around. [12]
Round 15: [sc2tog] in each st. around. [6]

Leaving a bit of a tail, cut and tie off your yarn. Thread a needle and sew under the front loop of each remaining stitch. Cinch tightly together to close the head. Tie off and weave in your ends.

ADDING THE FEATURES:
For the Snowman, you will only need to add eyes and a mouth. The nose will already be in place from your color work in the head of the bitty buddy.

– Embroider eyes in an upside-down “V” shape across row 7. Nose should be centered between the eyes. Leave 3-4 stitches between the eyes.
– Mouth should be placed below the nose, across row 11.

Need more help? Check out this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/sH6rhUf2PUU

MAKING THE BODY: 
Stitch counts are included at the end of each round. Bobble rows include [total # stitches, # bobble stitches]. You will not join at the end of each row. You will continue to work in the round.

You will make the buttons within the body of the work. Switch to black for the bobbles in rounds 8, 12 and 16. These bobbles are bolded within the written instructions below.

Round 1: To begin, make a magic circle. Place 6 hdc stitches in the magic circle. Do not join. Continue to work in the round. [6]
Round 2: [hdc inc] x 6 around. [12]
Round 3: [hdc inc, hdc] around. [18]
Round 4: [sc x 2, bobble] x 6. [18, 6 bobbles]
Round 5: [hdc inc, hdc x 2] around. [24]
Round 6: sc x 2, bobble, [sc x 3, bobble] x 5, sc [24, 6 bobbles]
Round 7: hdc x 24 around. [24]
Round 8: sc, [bobble, sc x 3] x 4, bobble, sc x 3, bobble, sc x 2. [24, 6 bobbles]
Round 9: hdc x 24 around. [24]
Round 10: [bobble, sc x 3] x 6. [24, 6 bobbles]
Round 11: hdc x 24 around. [24]
Round 12: sc x 3, bobble] x 4, sc x 3, bobble, sc x 3, bobble. [24, 6 bobbles]
Round 13: hdc x 24 around. [24]
Round 14: sc x 2, bobble, [sc x 3, bobble] x 5, sc. [24, 6 bobbles]
Round 15: [hdc x 2, hdc2tog] x 6. [18]
Round 16: [sc, bobble, sc] x 5, sc, bobble, sc. At the end of round 16, sc x 2 to reach the side of the snowman’s body. Buttons should be centered in the middle. [18, 6 bobbles]
Round 17: hdc x 18 around. [18]
Round 18: At this point, add the arms to your snowman to avoid having to sew them to the body during assembly.

Place the first arm on the outside of the body and sc x 2 through both the top of the arm and the sts of the neck. sc2tog, sc x 3, sc2tog. In the next two sts, place the second arm on the outside of the body and sc x 2 through both the top of the arm and the sts of the neck. sc x 3, sc2tog. [15]

Round 19: [sc x 3, sc2tog] x 3 round. [12]
Round 20: sc, sc2tog, sc x 4, sc2tog. This will be a partial round. [7]

Sl st to first st and then, leaving a long tail, cut yarn and tie off. Tail will be used to attach the head to body, so be sure to leave it long enough!

ASSEMBLY OF YOUR BITTY BUDDY: 

You should have the head completed, a body with two attached arms and then a hat and a scarf.

Next, attach the body to the head. I highly recommend using pins to ensure that your head is sewn on straight and centered to the body. Aim to sew the body between rounds 12-13 on the head. I prefer starting from the back of the body/head and moving around the front. Carefully stitch through the body and head to attach. I prefer to stitch around the head twice, to make sure it is very securely fastened.

If you need help with attaching the head, check out this

YouTube tutorial at: https://youtu.be/FSDaIwLc-cY

• If you did not crochet the arms into the body, sew them on now. Arms should be attached to the side of the body, between rounds 18-19 with the buttons centered in the middle. Arms will hang down like sticks.
• Sew the hat to the top of the head of the snowman. Remember to sew around the base of the hat (round 6) rather than the brim (round 7).
• Sew the scarf around the neck or tie around the neck if you made your scarf a bit longer.

Once you have finished the features and assembly, that’s it! Enjoy your new bitty buddy!

If you liked this free crochet snowman pattern, you may also like the other bitties in the collection! Check out the free bitty patterns available here on the website or the bitty collection available on Etsy.

If you make this bitty snowman pattern, I’d love for you to share! On Instagram, use #bittybuddy and tag me @_stuckonyoucrochet_ OR share on Facebook! And remember…if you prefer the ad-free printable version, you can find it on Etsy. Use code BITTY to save on any of the bitty buddy patterns!

Thanks for checking out this bitty snowman pattern and stay tuned for more bitty buddy patterns to come!