Red and white stripes are the cheapest Christmas decorating there is: two colours you already own, a few yards each, and a tree's worth of ornaments by the weekend. This roundup gathers 27 free crochet candy cane and peppermint patterns — amigurumi canes, flat appliqués for cards and garlands, peppermint swirl ornaments, coasters and granny squares, two swirl beanies, and one full-size candy cane door wreath. Every pattern is written out in full on the designer's own page, with the one PDF exception flagged where it appears.
There are really only three ways to make a stripe, and knowing which one a pattern uses tells you how hard it will be. Colour changes inside a round give the crispest stripe and demand the most attention. Two separate strands twisted together afterwards look almost as good and need no counting at all. Surface crochet — a spiral of red worked on top of a finished white disc — fakes the swirl entirely and is the easiest of the three. Beginners should start in the second or third camp. The crochet abbreviations list covers anything unfamiliar below, and skill level, yarn weight and finished size are noted on every pattern.
Easy crochet candy canes for beginners
No colour-change counting. Most of these are one row or one strip.
Easy Crochet Candy Canes — Repeat Crafter Me. Two single crochet coils twisted around each other rather than striped within one strand. Because the size is set by chain length alone, this is the one to resize for bunting, wreaths, or a tree of mixed ornaments. Beginner.
Candy Cane — PlanetJune. A short two-row striped rectangle wrapped spirally around a 12-inch pipe cleaner and stitched down. The designer notes it is simple enough to teach an eight-year-old. Beginner.
Crochet Candy Cane or Wreath Ornament — Magic Owl Studios. Increasing in every stitch of one sc row makes the strip curl on its own — hyperbolic crochet doing the shaping for you. Coil it one way for a cane, another for a wreath. Beginner and genuinely kid-friendly.
Flat Candy Cane — ChristaCoDesign. One row of double crochet worked into a starting chain, with the taper and the colour change doing all the work. About 3 by 2 inches, five yards of red and four of white, no stuffing. Beginner.
I-Cord Candy Cane Ornament — Crafting for Weeks. A three-stitch crochet i-cord alternating colours across 19 tight stripes — the narrowest, most rope-like cane here. Two yards of each colour and a few minutes. Beginner.
Candy Cane Pattern & Printable — Crochet to Play. Continuous rounds from a magic ring with the unused colour carried rather than cut, bent with a pipe cleaner at the end. Comes with a free printable "Legend of the Candy Cane" card for gifting. Beginner.
Amigurumi candy canes and ornaments
Stuffed, shaped, and built to last on the tree.
Crochet Candy Cane — Pocket Yarnlings. One continuous seamless spiral, with the hook curve built from front- and back-loop increases instead of a wire core, so there is nothing to bend afterwards. About 25g of each colour in fingering. Beginner.
Amigurumi Candy Cane — Punqa. Five red and five white stripes over continuous rounds, then stuffed, bent by hand and optionally wired to hold the curve permanently. Finishes about 15cm. Beginner to intermediate.
Crochet Candy Cane Ornament — Traverse Bay Crochet. Worked flat with a colour change every two rows; four pipe cleaners go in before seaming so they stiffen the piece and shape it at once. Five inches, under an hour. Easy.
Vintage Candy Cane Ornament — Spin a Yarn Crochet. Two tapestry-crochet panels joined around the edge for a plump retro-toy look, with an optional embroidered face. Intermediate.
Caron Candy Cane Ornament — Caron / Yarnspirations. A coiled strip that curls into stripes on its own; one ball of each colour makes about 24 of them. Note: the instructions are a direct PDF download rather than on-page text — free, no account or signup. Beginner.
Candy cane appliqués, garlands and door decor
Flat pieces for cards and strings, plus one statement project.
Candy Cane Appliqué — The Turtle Trunk. A single dc row with in-row colour changes, finishing at 3 by 2 inches — one of 13 free Christmas appliqués on the page, so you can make a matching holly and stocking while you are there. Advanced beginner.
Candy Cane Wreath — Highland Hickory Designs. Twenty-one modular strips sewn onto a wire cane-shaped frame, finished with a bow, a buckle and faux mistletoe. At 21 by 12 inches this is a door piece, not an ornament, and it sits well beside our Christmas wreath patterns. Beginner stitches, big commitment.
Peppermint swirl ornaments
The round cousin of the candy cane, and mostly faster to make.
Peppermint Spiral Christmas Bauble — Nicki's Homemade Crafts. Two striped panels folded around a plastic bauble form and whip-stitched, so the stripes read as a spiral with almost no visible seam. Beginner, with a video.
Crochet Peppermint Ornament — Maria's Blue Crayon. Two discs worked in the round, alternating colours every stitch in round two to radiate the classic peppermint pattern, then joined with small wrapper twists on each side. Beginner.
Free Peppermint Candy — Pocket Yarnlings. A flat stuffed disc in continuous rounds with frequent colour changes, nine rounds total. Small enough that a tree's worth is a weekend. Beginner.
Amigurumi Peppermint Candy — One Dog Woof. The wrapped-candy version: back-loop-only rounds angle the sides in, and a separate ruffled wrapper is sewn to each face. Safety eyes give it a character. Intermediate.
Peppermint Ornament — SASS Crochet. Two rounds of Link Stitch per side create a ridged wrapped-candy texture with no stuffing, so it hangs flat and light. Ten yards of each colour. Intermediate.
Peppermint Party Snail — Tiny Curl. A peppermint-swirl shell on a stuffed blue snail in a pompom hat — the most characterful use of the swirl on this list. Intermediate.
Peppermint Candies Wreath — DivineDebris. Tapestry-crochet discs joined and edged with a dc wrapper twist, written in three sizes so you can cluster them into a wreath, garland or centrepiece. Intermediate.
Peppermint coasters, squares and table pieces
Cotton, washable, and the easiest hostess gift on the list.
Peppermint Swirl Coasters — Petals to Picots. A plain white disc with the red spiral added afterwards in surface crochet — the swirl with none of the colour-carrying. About 4¼ inches. Easy.
Peppermint Coasters — The Purple Poncho. Three rounds of hdc, with the candy stripe coming entirely from alternating chain-5 loops around the edge. Eleven yards of white and four of red. Intermediate.
Peppermint Granny Square — Crafty Kitty Crochet. A white centre circle expanding into striped rounds, then squared off at about six inches. Stack them as coasters or join a batch into a throw. Easy.
Peppermint Candy Man Granny Square — Nana's Crafty Home. A 14-inch swirl motif squared off, then given a face, stuffed legs and wrapper twists. Works solo as a pillow front or as the centre of a Christmas blanket. Beginner.
Peppermint Pinwheel Doily — BellaCrochet. Thirteen rounds of size 10 thread from a pinwheel centre out to a scalloped shell edge. If you enjoyed the thread work in our doily roundup, this is the festive version. Intermediate.
Peppermint swirl hats
Sweet Swirl Beanie — Left in Knots. A seamed ribbed band with a tapestry-crochet crown whose 17 decrease rounds twist the stripes into a pinwheel. About 90 yards red and 70 white. Intermediate.
Peppermint Slouchy Beanie — Nicki's Homemade Crafts. Crown-down double crochet in a spiralling swirl stitch, with post-stitch ribbing at the brim so it does not curl. Easy, with a video for the swirl. Pairs with the pieces in our winter beanie roundup.
Frequently asked questions
How do you keep a crochet candy cane curved? Three options, in order of permanence: a pipe cleaner or florist wire inserted before closing, stiffening spray or a glue-and-water dip on a shaped piece, or a pattern that builds the curve into the increases so nothing extra is needed. Wire wins for ornaments that get handled.
What is the easiest way to crochet stripes? Do not stripe at all — crochet two plain strands and twist them, or surface-crochet a red spiral onto a finished white disc. Both are used in the patterns above and neither requires carrying a second colour.
How much yarn do these use? Most of the small pieces take four to twenty-five yards per colour, so a single skein of red and white makes dozens. The wreath is the exception at roughly 364 yards of each.
What else can I make in the same colours? Red and white carries straight into Christmas ornaments, a Santa hat, and a Christmas garland. Small candy canes also make good stocking stuffers tucked inside a crochet stocking, alongside the cheap crochet stocking stuffers.
Planning the whole December list? Our free Crochet Christmas Planner sets out the makes, the yarn amounts and the deadlines.
