Juliet the Mini Doll Free Crochet Pattern

Juliet the Mini Doll is a petite sized doll with an elegant golden dress that fits in the palm of your hand. The eponymous character from one of the “houses alike in dignity,” Juliet appears here garbed in an innocent yellow dress characteristic of her costume from the ball scene Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Kenneth Macmillan.

Juliet the Mini Doll—an easy amigurumi doll—is my newest free crochet pattern!

Read on to learn more about my design process and inspiration, or scroll to the end to get the free pattern. If you’re in a hurry and need to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here.

A Storybook Princess

I’ve been loving making so many amigurumi dolls like the Sugar Plum Fairy and Carmen, and Juliet is the next one in line! She has a chibi stature just like Carmen, and features a gorgeous yellow dress with gold accents and embroidery details.

Doll hair can be extremely complex and frustrating to create, but I love that Juliet’s hairstyle is simple and no more difficult than any other part of the doll. She has an elegant hair cap and bun that come together to form her ballerina hairstyle, with two small braid accents. Juliet is perfect for a confident beginner who has made a teddy bear or two and maybe even a doll, but she can be simplified or embellished as you wish! Of course, the best part of amigurumi dolls is that they can be customized to match anyone or any outfit you choose.

Another Musical Design!

Juliet’s outfit was inspired by the ballet of Romeo and Juliet scored by Prokofiev (and the Macmillan choreography). She has a bun because she’s a ballerina, and the two little braids on either side of her head interestingly appear to be a common theme across productions.

Romeo and Juliet (the play) was first produced by Shakespeare in 1597, but has origins in a story called Pyramus and Thisbe, related in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in 8 AD. This story in turn had roots prior to that time in an etiological myth to explain the color of mulberries. All that is to say, this is a tale nearly as old as time.

More recently, the classical composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote a score for a ballet production of Romeo and Juliet, premiering in 1940 in Soviet Russia, to which English choreographer Kenneth Macmillan later choreographed his own performance in 1964 for the Royal Ballet, resulting in a gripping, ethereal rendition of an ancient story. In this version, Juliet is commonly costumed as a young woman with her hair coiled in a bun and braids as well as a white or yellow dress with gold accents.

Here’s another version from the same choreography, where the ballerina dancing Juliet wears a slightly different dress (still white and gold), and appears to have a similar hairstyle. The version that I crocheted does not have quite as many embellishments, but the bands across the body attempt to echo the kind of finery that Juliet is wearing in this scene.

To see Juliet’s costume in action, watch the famous balcony scene (“but soft, what light through yonder window breaks?”), where Juliet and Romeo meet for the first time as themselves, rendered heartbreakingly beautiful through ballet.

Juliet often wears white or yellow either to signal her status as a young, unwed girl, or also to indicate her neutrality in the conflict between the Montagues (symbolized with blue) and Capulets (symbolized with red). To see a truly epic visual of what the Capulets may have looked like, watch the “Dance of the Knights” to see one of the fair houses in Verona strutting their stuff for all they’re worth. The pompous, grandiose melody is one of the most iconic melodies from Prokofiev’s score and simply emanates grandeur.

The low brass punctuate the haughty steps of the lords and the violins sing the curtseys of the ladies. Though characterized by different instruments, both melodies manage to convey an utter disdain that is almost palpable through the screen when coupled with an outrageously swaggering dance.

I had the opportunity to play an orchestral suite of this ballet a year ago with the Berkshire Symphony and I may have died of happiness. Funnily enough, I had to play excerpts from the notoriously difficult Tybalt’s Death scene a few years prior for a youth orchestra that I did not end up getting into, but getting to play the Dance of the Knights in orchestra definitely made up for it. But I digress.

The Pattern

  • If you want to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here!
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Description

Juliet the Mini Doll is a petite sized doll with an elegant golden dress that fits in the palm of your hand. The eponymous character from one of the “houses alike in dignity,” Juliet appears here garbed in an innocent yellow dress characteristic of her costume from the ball scene Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Kenneth Macmillan.

Yarn

  • Hobbii Amigo (sport)
    • (<1 skein) Light Peach
    • (<1 skein) Curry
    • (<1 skein) Primrose
      • light yellow
    • (<1 skein) Light Pink

Notions

  • Size D (3.25 mm) Clover Amour crochet hook
  • 6.0 mm safety eyes
  • tapestry needle
  • polyester fiberfill
  • stitch markers
  • black embroidery thread
  • (optional) hot glue gun

Abbreviations (US)

  • CC: contrast color
  • ch: chain
  • dc: double crochet
  • dc inc: double crochet increase (work 2 dcs in the same stitch)
  • dec: decrease
  • FSC: foundation single crochet (tutorial here)
  • hdc: half double crochet
  • hdc inc: half double crochet increase (work 2 hdcs in same stitch)
  • inc: increase (work 2 scs in same stitch)
  • MC: main color
  • MR: magic ring
  • rnd: round
  • sc: single crochet
  • sk: skip
  • slst: slip stitch
  • st(s): stitch(es)
  • x sc: sc x number of times
  • (x sts): x total stitches in round/row
  • (…) x: repeat stitches within brackets x times
  • *…*: work stitches within asterisks all in the same stitch

Special Stitches

Invisible finish off: click here for tutorial

Technical Notes

  • Crochet in continuous rounds unless otherwise specified
  • When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness.
  • To avoid large holes in the crochet fabric, increase tension until the holes cannot be seen, or choose a crochet hook a size down.
  • Stuff the head and the body firmly at the openings so that the neck is stable upon completion.
  • For this pattern, the MC is light peach, CC1 is primrose (light yellow), CC2 is curry, and CC3 is light pink.

Final Size

4.5″ x 2″

LEG (in MC. Watch this video tutorial for help on connecting the legs.)

  • Round 1: 5 sc in MR (5 sts)
  • Round 2: sc around (5 sts)
  • Round 3: sc, inc, 3 sc (6 sts)
  • Round 4: sc around (6 sts)
  • Round 5: 2 sc, inc, 3 sc (7 sts)
  • Round 6: sc around (7 sts)
  • Stuff very lightly. Finish off and weave in the end. Make another identically but do not finish off.
  • Chain 2 off the side of the leg, attach yarn to the remaining leg and sc 7 around the leg you just attached the yarn to. Sc 2 in the connecting chains, sc 7 around the first leg, sc 2 in the connecting chains. (18 sts)

BODY (in MC)

  • Round 1: inc x2, 7 sc, inc x2, 7 sc (22 sts)
  • Round 2: inc, sc 10, inc, sc 10 (24 sts)
  • Round 3: sc around (24 sts)
  • Round 4: (dec, 2 sc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 5-8: (4 rnds) sc around (18 sts)
  • Stuff. Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

HEAD (in MC)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 7: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 8: (6 sc, inc) x6 (48 sts)
  • Round 9-15: (7 rnds) sc around (48 sts)
  • Insert 6mm safety eyes between rounds 12 and 13, 8 stitches apart.
  • Embroider a nose using MC directly between the eyes, 2 stitches wide.
  • Round 16: (6 sc, dec) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 17: (5 sc, dec) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 18: (4 sc, dec) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 19: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 20: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 21: (sc, dec) x6 (12 sts) Stuff.
  • Round 22: dec x6 (6 sts)
  • Finish off and weave in end. Using the tail from the body, sew the head to the body.

ARMS (in MC)

  • Round 1: 5 sc in MR (5 sts)
  • Round 2: 2 sc, inc, 2 sc (6 sts)
  • Round 3: sc around (6 sts)
  • Round 4: 2 sc, dec, 2 sc (5 sts)
  • Round 5-6: (2 rnds) sc around (5 sts)
  • Do not stuff. Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically. Sew to the left and right sides of the seam between the body and the head.

DRESS (Worked in turned rows until row 6, then in joined rounds. Begin in CC1, then switch to CC2 at round 7. See Abbreviations for FSC. )

  • Row 1 FSC 14, chain and turn (14 sts)
  • Row 2 sc, hdc, 3 dc, 4 slst, 3 dc, hdc, sc, chain and turn (14 sts)
  • Row 3 inc, dc inc, 3 sk, dc inc, 2 slst, dc inc, 3 sk, dc inc, inc, chain and turn (14 sts)
  • Row 4 (6 sc, inc) x2, chain and turn (16 sts)
  • Slip stitch into the first stitch to join your work into a round. We will now work in joined rounds. Round 5 chain, (hdc, hdc inc) x8, slst (24 sts) Round 6 chain, (hdc, hdc inc) x12, slst (36 sts) Switch to CC2. Do not cut CC1.
  • Round 7-8 (2 rnds) chain, hdc around, slst (36 sts) Do not cut CC2 yarn and switch to CC1.
  • Round 9 chain, sc around, slst (36 sts)
  • Cut CC1 yarn and switch to CC2.
  • Round 10 chain, sc around, slst (36 sts)
  • Finish off and weave in end. Using CC1, embroider little crosses on the large band of CC2 on the dress. Each cross is about 2 stitches wide, with about 2 stitches between crosses. Put the dress on the doll (the back will be open). Using the tail from the top of the dress, sew the back of the dress closed. At this point the dress will not be removable.

HAIR (in CC2)

  • Round 1 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2 inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3 (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4 (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5 (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 6 (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 7 (5 sc, inc) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 8 (6 sc, inc) x6 (48 sts)
  • Round 9-13 (5 rnds) sc around (48 sts)
  • Round 14 chain 2, 23 dc, slst, 24 dc (48 sts)
  • Finish off, and weave in the end. Attach the hair cap to the head by sewing or with hot glue.

BUN (in CC2)

  • Round 1 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2 inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3 (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4 (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5-8 (4 rnds) sc all around (24 sts) Round 9 (sc4, dec) x2.
  • Working off the side of the round, we will now make the two looped braids: Chain 20 and slst in the same stitch.
  • Continue working in the round: (sc4, dec) x2.
  • Make the second looped braid: chain 20 off the side and slst in the same stitch. (20 sts)
  • Stuff firmly. Finish off and sew to the back of the hair.

BLUSH (in CC3)

  • Round 1 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically. Sew the blush directly under and to the side of both eyes.

I hope you enjoyed making Juliet the Mini Doll! If you run into any problems feel free to ask me a question in the comments section below or through email at littleworldofwhimsy@gmail.com.

These 7 easy crochet doll free patters are a delight because they are a collection of ballerina dolls anyone will enjoy making. It includes Amigurumi doll free pattern ideas with different types of clothes and hair, crochet animals like hippo, giraffe, and kitten.