I’ve created this free Nativity pattern to help encourage people to include Christ in their Christmas decorations. I think it’s important to remember Jesus Christ at this time of year, I also think this pattern is really cute and wanted to share it.

You will need:
4mm crochet hook
Yarn needle
Blue yarn
Grey yarn (or colour of choice for Joseph, My Joseph has 2 colours for his head piece, this is optional)
Light Brown yarn
White yarn
Card board (I used a cereal box)
Toy stuffing (you can use scraps of fabric or anything you like as stuffing)

I’m not going to do a gauge because it doesn’t really matter. I used a size 4mm hook but it’s best to use the size recommended on your yarn label. Because this is worked in different colours it’s best if you use the same thickness of yarn for each colour but it doesn’t really matter. All parts of the Nativity are worked in continuous rounds so it’s a good idea to place stitch markers at the beginning of the round.

Abbreviations
Mr - magic ring - complete 6 SC into a slip knot (you can also ch 2 and complete 6 sc in the first Ch)
Ch - chain
SL - slip stitch
SC - US single crochet, English Double crochet
Inc - 2 SC into one stitch
Dec - decrease (insert hook into next stitch yo pull through insert hook into next stitch yo pull through, pull through all 3)

Mary pattern and Joseph pattern
Body make 2 one blue, one grey (or colour of choice)
1 Mr 6
2 inc around 12
3 SC inc around 18
4 SC 2 inc around 24
5 SC 3 inc around 30
6 SC 4 inc around 36
7 SC 5 inc around 42
Insert cardboard circle same size as your crochet circle, which should lie flat if you have used the recommended hook size. This will help the character stand up
8-10 SC around 42
11 SC 5 dec around 36
12-13 SC around 36
14 SC 4 dec around 30
15-16 SC around 30
17 SC 3 dec around 24
18-19 SC around
20 SC 2 dec around 18
Stuff
21 SC dec around 12
Fasten off

Head make 2
1 Mr 6
2 inc around 12
3 SC inc around 18
4 SC around 18
5 2sc inc around 24
6 sc around 24
7 3sc inc around 30
8-10 SC around 3 rounds 30
11 3sc dec around 24
12 SC around 24
13 2sc dec around 18
14 SC around 18
15 SC dec around 12
Stuff
16 dec around 6
Fasten off

Arms make 4
1 Mr 6 with light brown yarn
2 inc around 12 SL 1 fasten off
3 make a slip knot with the colour of the character the arm is for pull the loop through the work ch1 SC 11
4 Inc in the next stitch which is the same colour as the working yarn, be careful to insert hook into the stitch and not the Ch from the previous round SC around 12
5-12 SC around
Stuff
Fasten off

Head piece make 2
1 Mr 6
2 inc around 12
3 SC inc around 18
4 SC 2 inc around 24
5 SC 3 inc around 30
For Joseph read brackets, for Mary skip brackets
(For Joseph’s head piece change colour in the same way as for the arms and complete 2 rounds, fasten off and reattach original colour, this counts as rows 6-7)
6-9 SC around 30
10 - 22 SC 15 ch1 turn
23-24 SC the full way around the edges of the head piece
Fasten off

Baby Jesus
Small head
1 mr 6
2 inc around 12
3-4 SC around 12
5 dec around 6
Fasten off

Body
1 Mr 6
2 inc around 12
3 SC 2 inc around 16
4-9 SC around 16
10 (SC dec) 4 times SC 7
11-14 ch1 turn SC 8
15 Ch 4 SC around 12
16 dec around 6
Fasten off
Stuff the body, insert the head

Sew together as seen in pictures, I like to put Jesus’s head in-between Mary and Joseph, Joseph has his arm round Mary. It’s worth checking that the Nativity still stands up when sewing characters together.

Hope your finished work looks good. Merry Christmas everyone!