Every October my craft table turns into a graveyard of half-finished spooky things. This year, I wanted something that was creepy and cute at the same time, and small enough to finish in one evening with a cup of tea. That’s how this eyeball candy was born.
I’d seen a few versions online with colorwork built into the eyeball itself. They look great, but I’m honest with you: carrying yarn around a tiny sphere makes my tension go haywire every single time. So I changed the approach. The iris is a small flat disc you sew on afterward, and the wrapper is one simple ruffle strip. No tapestry crochet, no bobbles, nothing scary except the eyeball itself.
They also make excellent party favors. I made a bowl of six in different colors and my nephew refused to let me keep any.
Confident Beginner. You need magic ring, single crochet, increases, and invisible decreases. The ruffle looks fancy, but it’s just increasing in every stitch.
Yarn (DK weight cotton, my favorite for amigurumi because it holds its shape):
Hook: 3.5 mm (US E-4)
Notions:
With Color A, 6 sc = 1 in / 2.5 cm in the round. Don’t obsess over it. What matters is a tight fabric so the fiberfill doesn’t peek through. If you can see white fluff between stitches, go down a hook size.
Work in continuous rounds unless the pattern says otherwise. Mark the first stitch of each round.
With Color A:
Don’t close yet. Leave the eyeball open until after you’ve attached the iris (next section). Start stuffing lightly now.
Here’s the trick that saved my sanity: the iris is worked flat, in rounds, and then sewn onto the eyeball.
With Color B:
Switch to Color C:
Sl st into the next stitch, FO, and leave a 12 in tail for sewing.
Attaching the eye: Push the safety eye post through the center of the iris (right through the magic ring hole), then through the eyeball fabric at about Round 9, which is the middle of the sphere. Lock the washer from the inside. Pin the iris flat, then whip stitch around the outer edge using the tail. Take small stitches and pull gently so the disc sits snug without puckering.
Finish stuffing. Make the eyeball firm and round. Then finish the closing rounds:
FO, thread the tail through the remaining 6 stitches, pull tight, and weave in the end.
Cut a length of Color E, thread your needle, and anchor it under the iris edge. Make 4 or 5 uneven straight stitches radiating outward across the white, and add a tiny forked branch to one or two of them. Messy is better here. Perfectly even veins look like sunbeams, not bloodshot eyes.
I used a single strand of embroidery floss, which gives thin, realistic lines. If you only have yarn, split a strand into plies.
This is the part that makes it look like candy. Each wrapper is worked flat, and the ruffle comes from a big jump in stitch count.
With Color A, ch 12.
FO, leaving a 10 in tail. Don’t flatten it. Let it curl and wave naturally, because the waves are the whole point.
My very first wrapper came out flat and sad, because I only increased in every other stitch. Doubling every stitch is what gives you that wavy, wrapped-candy edge. If your ruffle still looks tame, add one more inc row in Color D.
If you’re making an ornament, thread a short loop of cord through the top wrapper’s base before you sew it down.
Different monsters: Swap the iris colors for yellow with a slit-pupil in black felt and you get a snake-eye candy. Use neon green and purple for a “toxic” version.
Garland: Make 8 to 10 in mixed colors and string them on a cord, with a small loop on each wrapper. It looks amazing across a mantel.
Bigger version: Worsted weight and a 4 mm hook give you a candy you can use as a desk toy. Use a 14 mm safety eye and add one extra even round to the middle section.
Gift bags: I tuck one into every Halloween gift bag. It beats plastic candy any day.
If you make one, please share a photo. Every eyeball ends up with a little personality, and I love seeing yours. Happy hooking, and may all your candy stare back.
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