Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: Zero the Ghost Dog

ByLina Morgen
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: Zero the Ghost Dog

Materials You’ll Need

Gathering your supplies is the first step to any great project. Here’s what you need to create your own Zero:

  • Yarn: Sport weight (Category 2) 100% cotton yarn in four colors:
    • White (for the head, body, ears, and cloak)
    • Black (for the eyes)
    • Red (for the body collar)
    • Orange (for the pumpkin nose)
  • Crochet Hooks: 3.00mm hook (main hook), 2.00mm hook (recommended for the small nose)
  • Stuffing: Polyester Fiberfill
  • Other Essentials:
    • Black embroidery thread (for the mouth)
    • Tapestry needle
    • Scissors
    • Stitch marker
    • Sewing pins (helpful for assembly)
  • For Poseable Ears: One pair of flexible wires or pipe cleaners, each about 3 inches long.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Finished Size

Your finished Zero the Ghost Dog will be approximately 4 inches tall—a perfectly pocket-sized phantom!

Crochet Pattern Abbreviations

This pattern is written in US crochet terminology. Here’s a handy cheat sheet:

  • MR: Magic ring
  • ch: Chain
  • sc: Single crochet
  • hdc: Half double crochet
  • inc: Increase (make 2 sc in the same stitch)
  • inc3: Make 3 sc in the same stitch
  • hdc inc: Half double crochet increase (make 2 hdc in the same stitch)
  • dec: Decrease (single crochet 2 stitches together)
  • b.l.o.: Back loops only
  • slst: Slip stitch
  • f.o.: Fasten off

A Special Note on the “Back Bump”: You’ll see instructions to work into the “back bump” or “third loop” of a stitch. This is the ridge on the back of a single crochet. Working into it creates a lovely, neat horizontal line that looks great for details like the cloak attachment.

The Crochet Pattern Instructions

Let’s break down Zero into parts. We’ll make the head and body first, then all his cute little features!

Head (Using White Yarn)

  1. Rnd 1: MR, 6 sc into MR. (6 st)
  2. Rnd 2: 6 sc. (6 st)
  3. Rnd 3: [3 sc, inc] x 3. (9 st)
  4. Rnd 4: 9 sc. (9 st)
  5. Rnd 5: [4 sc, inc] x 3, 2 sc. (12 st)
  6. Rnd 6: 12 sc. (12 st)
  7. Rnd 7: [4 sc, inc] x 5, 3 sc. (17 st)
  8. Rnd 8: 17 sc. (17 st)
  9. Rnd 9: 7 sc, [inc] x 6, 4 sc. (23 st)
  10. Rnd 10: 23 sc. (23 st)
  11. Rnd 11: 10 sc, [inc] x 7, 6 sc. (30 st)
  12. Rnd 12: 30 sc. (30 st)
  13. Rnd 13: 6 sc, [2 sc, inc] x 7, 3 sc. (37 st)
  14. Rnd 14: 7 sc, [2 sc, inc] x 9, 3 sc. (46 st)
  15. Rnd 15: 8 sc, [4 sc, inc] x 7, inc, 2 sc. (54 st)
  16. Rnd 16-23: 54 sc for 8 rounds. (54 st)
  17. Rnd 24: [7 sc, dec] x 6. (48 st)
  18. Rnd 25: [6 sc, dec] x 6. (42 st)
  19. Rnd 26: [5 sc, dec] x 6. (36 st)
  20. Now, start stuffing the head with polyfill. Continue to add stuffing as you close the head.
  21. Rnd 27: [4 sc, dec] x 6. (30 st)
  22. Rnd 28: [3 sc, dec] x 6. (24 st)
  23. Rnd 29: [2 sc, dec] x 6. (18 st)
  24. Rnd 30: [1 sc, dec] x 6. (12 st)
  25. Rnd 31: [dec] x 6. (6 st)
  26. F.O. and weave in the tail.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Body (Using White Yarn, then Red)

  1. Rnd 1: MR, 6 sc into MR. (6 st)
  2. Rnd 2: [inc] x 6. (12 st)
  3. Rnd 3: [sc, inc] x 6. (18 st)
  4. Rnd 4: [2 sc, inc] x 6. (24 st)
  5. Rnd 5: [sc, inc, 2 sc] x 6. (30 st)
  6. Rnd 6: [4 sc, inc] x 6. (36 st)
  7. Rnd 7: [1 sc, inc, 4 sc] x 6. (42 st)
  8. Rnd 8: 42 sc in the back bump of each stitch from Rnd 7. (A smaller hook can help here!). (42 st)
  9. Rnd 9: 42 sc. (42 st)
  10. Rnd 10: [5 sc, dec] x 6. (36 st)
  11. Start stuffing the body now and as you go.
  12. Rnd 11: 36 sc. (36 st)
  13. Rnd 12: [4 sc, dec] x 6. (30 st)
  14. Rnd 13: 30 sc. (30 st)
  15. Rnd 14: [3 sc, dec] x 6. (24 st)
  16. Rnd 15: 24 sc in b.l.o. (24 st)
  17. Rnd 16: 24 sc. (24 st)
  18. Change to Red Yarn.
  19. Rnd 17: 24 sc in b.l.o. (24 st)
  20. Rnd 18: 24 sc. (24 st)
  21. F.O. and leave a long tail for sewing the body to the head later.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Eyes (Make 2 with Black Yarn)

  1. Rnd 1: MR, 6 sc into MR. (6 st)
  2. Rnd 2: [inc3, inc, sc] x 2. (12 st)
  3. F.O. and leave a tail for sewing.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Nose (Use Orange Yarn & 2.00mm Hook)

  1. Rnd 1: MR, 5 sc into MR. (5 st)
  2. Rnd 2: [inc] x 5. (10 st)
  3. Rnd 3-4: 10 sc for 2 rounds. (10 st)
  4. Rnd 5: [dec] x 5. (5 st)
  5. Lightly stuff the nose with polyfill.
  6. F.O. and leave a tail for sewing.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Ears (Make 4 Pieces with White Yarn)

Note: You will make two flat pieces for each ear and join them together.

For one flat piece:

  1. ch 6.
  2. Row 1: Starting from the second chain from the hook, 5 sc. (5 st)
  3. Row 2-18: ch 1, turn your work, 5 sc. (5 st for 17 rows)
  4. Row 19: ch 1, turn, 1 sc, skip 1 st, 3 sc. (4 st)
  5. Row 20: ch 1, turn, skip 1 st, 3 sc. (3 st)
  6. Row 21: ch 1, turn, 1 sc, skip 1 st, 1 sc. (2 st)
  7. Row 22: ch 1, turn, skip 1 st, 1 sc. (1 st)
  8. F.O. and weave in the tail. Repeat to make 4 pieces total.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

Joining the Ears

  1. Take two ear pieces and place them on top of each other.
  2. Attach white yarn to the edge of one piece.
  3. Insert your hook through both layers, yarn over, and pull through to make a sc.
  4. Single crochet all around the two pieces, joining them together. Leave the flat base open.
  5. When you get to the very tip of the ear, make an inc3 (3 sc in one stitch) to help create a rounded point.
  6. F.O. and leave a tail for sewing.
  7. Insert the wire: Take a 3-inch wire and carefully slide it inside the ear. Let about 2cm of the wire poke out of the bottom. This wire will be inserted into the head to help you pose the ears! Repeat for the second ear.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

The Cloak (Using White Yarn)

*Note: We work in rows for the cloak. The beginning ch-2 of each row does NOT count as a stitch.*

  1. Find the b.l.o. rounds on the body (Rnd 15). Turn the body upside down and attach white yarn to the front loop of any stitch—this will be the center front of the cloak.
  2. Row 1: ch 2, [(3 hdc, hdc inc)] x 6. (30 st)
  3. Row 2: ch 2, turn, [(hdc, hdc inc)] x 15. (45 st)
  4. Row 3: ch 2, turn, [(hdc, hdc inc)] x 22, 1 hdc. (67 st)
  5. Row 4: ch 2, turn, [(hdc, hdc inc)] x 33, 1 hdc. (100 st)
  6. Row 5-6: ch 2, turn, 100 hdc. (100 st for 2 rows)
  7. To finish, make a round of sc all around the front edge of the cloak for a smooth look. F.O. and weave in the tail.

Cloak Tip (The Back Point)

  1. From the right side of the cloak, count 35 stitches from the right and attach white yarn at the 36th stitch.
  2. Row 1: 30 hdc.
  3. Row 2: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 26 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (26 st)
  4. Row 3: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 22 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (22 st)
  5. Row 4: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 18 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (18 st)
  6. Row 5: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 14 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (14 st)
  7. Row 6: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 10 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (10 st)
  8. Row 7: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 6 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (6 st)
  9. Row 8: ch 2, turn, skip 2 st, 2 hdc, skip 1 st, slst into the next st. (2 st)
  10. Row 9: ch 1, turn, skip 1 st, 1 sc into the next st. (1 st)
  11. F.O. For a neat finish, attach yarn to the first row of the tip and sc all around, making an inc3 at the very point.

Assembly: Bringing Zero to Life

Now for the magic! Let’s put all the pieces together.

  1. Nose: Sew the orange nose onto the head between Rnd 1 and Rnd 2.
  2. Eyes: Sew the black eyes onto the head between Rnd 11 and Rnd 15, placing them about 4 stitches apart.
  3. Ears: Sew the ears onto the head at around Rnd 21, about 6 stitches apart. Important: Before you sew them on, push the exposed wire from each ear into the head. This will let you pose them later! After sewing, gently bend the ears to give them a cute, wavy shape.
  4. Mouth: Using black embroidery thread, stitch on a sweet mouth. Start at Rnd 12 on the right side and stitch down towards Rnd 7, then back up to Rnd 12 on the left side to form a soft “V” shape.
  5. Head to Body: Place the head onto the body. Position it so the open front of the cloak is lined up directly under the nose. Use the long red tail you left on the body to neatly sew the head in place.
Crochet Your Own Spooky Pal: A Free Zero the Ghost Dog

You Did It!

Congratulations! You’ve just created your very own loyal ghost pup, Zero. He’s perfect for sitting on a shelf, guarding your desk, or being gifted to someone who loves a little spooky charm

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