“But this has been amigurumi of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose.”

HESTER PRYNNE

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S THE SCARLET LETTER: A ROMANCE, 1850

Sin was a big deal among the Puritans of colonial America. After becoming pregnant out of wedlock, Hester Prynne was doomed to wear a mark of shame for life. Rumors about her who’s-the-baby-daddy scandal would have spread like wildfire on Facebook, so maybe modern shaming isn’t much different from the old days.

MATERIALS

• Size E and size H crochet hooks

• Worsted-weight yarn in cream, brown, and white

• 6-mm black plastic safety eyes

• Fiberfill

• Tapestry needle

• Polypellets, optional

• 5 " x 1¼" piece white felt

• White sewing thread and needle, or hot-glue gun

• Red embroidery floss and embroidery needle

NOTES

Use a size E crochet hook for all parts unless otherwise specified.

Work in continuous rounds unless otherwise specified.

HEAD

Round 1: Starting with brown yarn, sc 5 in magic ring. {5}

Round 2: [Sc 2 in one stitch] 5 times. {10}

Round 3: [Sc 2 in one stitch] 10 times. {20}

Round 4: [Sc 3, sc 2 in next stitch] 5 times. {25}

Round 5: [Sc 4, sc 2 in next stitch] 5 times. {30}

Round 6: [Sc 9, sc 2 in next stitch] 3 times, changing to cream yarn in the last stitch. {33}

Rounds 7–9: Sc 14, changing to brown yarn, sc 19, changing to cream yarn. {14 cream + 19 brown = 33}

Round 10: Sc 9, dec 1, sc 3, changing to brown yarn. Sc 6, dec 1, sc 9, dec 1, changing to cream yarn. {13 cream + 17 brown = 30}

Round 11: [Sc 4, dec 1] twice, sc 1, changing to brown yarn. Sc 3, dec 1, [sc 4, dec 1] twice, changing to cream yarn in the last stitch. {11 cream + 14 brown = 25}

Round 12: [Sc 3, dec 1] twice, sc 1, changing to brown yarn. Sc 2, dec 1, [sc 3, dec 1] twice, changing to cream yarn in the last stitch. {9 cream + 11 brown = 20}

Round 13: [Sc 2, dec 1] twice, sc 1, changing to brown yarn. Sc 1, dec 1, [sc 2, dec 1] twice. {7 cream + 8 brown = 15}

Fasten off and tuck in the end. Attach eyes between rows 8 and 9 (two rows below the hairline), approximately 6 stitches apart. Stuff head firmly with fiberfill.

HAIR BUN

Round 1: With brown yarn, sc 5 in magic ring. {5}

Round 2: [Sc 2 in one stitch] 5 times. {10}

Round 3: Sc 10. {10}

Round 4: Dec 5. {5}

Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Sew to the back of Hester’s head.

BODY

Using brown yarn, crochet a Basic Body as on here. Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing.

SKIRT

Hold the body upside down and look for the “skip” on the row of stitches in the back loops. This will be the back of Hester’s body. Using brown yarn, start 3 rows from skip and create a surface chain around the body. It will total 25 stitches. (See here for more on creating a surface chain.)

Continue to use the brown yarn to crochet the following along the surface chain:

Rows 1–3: Sc 25. {25}

Row 4: [Sc 1, sc 2 in next stitch] repeatedly until you reach the end, then fasten off.

Stuff the body firmly with fiberfill, or fill with polypellets first and then top off with fiberfill. Sew to the head using a whipstitch.

COLLAR

Using a size H hook and white yarn, loosely ch 17, then crochet the following:

Row 1: Starting in the 3rd ch from the hook, hdc 15 times across. {15}

Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing. Using the length of yarn at the end, sew on to Hester’s neck.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Thread an 8-inch length of white yarn through the base of her head, using the points where the color changes from her face to her hair as the entry and exit points (A).

Pull the yarn so the two ends are of equal length. Bring the ends to the center and tie a bow in the middle under her chin (B).

Wrap the felt rectangle over Hester’s head. Secure the short sides to the base of the head with stitches or hot glue.

Finally, using red embroidery floss, stitch a letter “A” onto Hester’s chest.