Care Bear crochet outfit pattern

Looking for a Care Bear crochet outfit pattern for a baby? This cute costume-inspired dress comes in five sizes from 0–3 months through 18–24 months. The dress is worked from the top down in joined rounds and finished with a colorful rainbow appliqué on the front and a heart appliqué on the back.

Made with worsted weight yarn, this playful baby dress is a fun choice for Halloween costumes, photos, dress-up, or handmade gifts.

Why you’ll love this Care Bear crochet outfit

• Five baby sizes — Includes sizes from 0–3 through 18–24 months.
• Colorful costume design — Pink shades and a rainbow appliqué create the character-inspired look.
• Top-down construction — The dress is worked in joined rounds from the neckline down.
• Fun appliqué details — Add a rainbow to the front and a heart to the back.
• Great for costumes and photos — A cute handmade outfit for Halloween, dress-up, gifts, and pictures.

Care Bear crochet outfit pattern details

Here’s a quick overview of the materials, sizing, gauge, and pattern notes before you begin.

Skill level

Intermediate — This pattern includes garment shaping, color changes, multiple dress sizes, and separately crocheted appliqués.

Materials needed

• I-9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook for the dress, or size needed to match gauge
• 5 mm crochet hook for the rainbow and heart appliqués
• Worsted weight yarn (#4) in pink, dark pink, white, blue, green, orange, and yellow
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Stitch markers (optional)

Dress size guide

Size	Chest	Waist	Hips	Back Length	Crossback	Armhole Depth
0–3 months	16″	18″	19″	6″	7.25″	3.25″
3–6 months	17″	19″	20″	7″	7.75″	3.5″
6–12 months	18″	20″	20″	7.5″	8.25″	3.75″
12–18 months	19″	20.5″	21″	8″	8.5″	4″
18–24 months	20″	21″	22″	8.5″	8.75″	4.25″

Gauge

15 stitches × 11 rows = 4 inches (10 cm)

My guide to crochet gauge explains how to measure your stitches and adjust your hook size.

Crochet abbreviations

• dc = double crochet stitch
• sc = single crochet stitch
• hdc = half double crochet stitch
• tc = treble crochet
• sc2tog = single crochet decrease
• ch/chs = chain/chains
• ch-sp = chain space
• st/sts = stitch/stitches
• sl st = slip stitch
• rnd/rnds = round/rounds
• rem = remaining

Pattern notes

• The dress is crocheted from the top down in joined rounds.
• The beginning chain does not count as a stitch.
• Join each round with a slip stitch to the first stitch.
• Repeat instructions between asterisks (*) around as indicated.
• Rounds 1–9 are the same for the 0–3 and 3–6 month dresses.
• Rounds 1–12 are the same for the 12–18 and 18–24 month dresses.
• The rainbow and heart appliqués are crocheted separately and sewn onto the finished dress.
• The pattern is written in US crochet terms.

Special stitch

V-stitch: Work (dc, ch 1, dc) in the same stitch or chain space.

Care Bear crochet baby dress pattern instructions

Using dark pink yarn, make your starting chain and join in the round.

Dress Size	Starting Chain
0–3 Months & 3–6 Months	Chain 64 and join in the round
6–12 Months	Chain 72 and join in the round
12–18 Months and 18–24 Months	Chain 76 and join in the round

0–3 and 3–6 month shared rounds

Rounds 1–9 are the same for the 0–3 and 3–6 months sizes.

Rnd 1: Ch 2, dc 8, v-stitch, dc 14, v-stitch, dc 16, v-stitch, dc 14, v-stitch, dc 8, join

Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc 9, v-stitch, dc 16, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 16, v-stitch, dc 9, join

Rnd 3: Ch 2, dc 10, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 20, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 10, join

Rnd 4: Ch 2, dc 11, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 22, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 11, join (48 stitches)

Switch to pink yarn.

Rnd 5: Ch 2, dc 12, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 24, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 12, join (52 stitches)

Rnd 6: Ch 2, dc 13, 2 dc in next st, dc 25, 2 dc in next st, dc 12, join (54 stitches)

Rnd 7: Ch 2, dc 13, 2 dc in next st, dc 26, 2 dc in next st, dc 13, join (56 stitches)

Rnd 8: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in next st, dc 27, 2 dc in next st, dc 13, join (58 stitches)

Rnd 9: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in next st, dc 28, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (60 stitches)

0–3 month dress

Rnds 10–12: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (60 stitches)

Rnd 13: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (90 stitches)

Switch to dark pink yarn for rounds 25–28.

Rnd 14–28: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (90 stitches)

Rnd 29: Ch 1, sc in each st, join and fasten off (90 stitches)

3–6 month dress

Rnd 10: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 29, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (62 stitches)

Rnd 11: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 30, 2 dc in next st, dc 15, join (64 stitches)

Rnd 12: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (64 stitches)

Rnd 13: Ch 2, dc in each st, join [64 total]

Rnd 14: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (96 total)

Switch to dark pink yarn for rounds 27–30.

Rnd 15–30: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (96 total)

Rnd 31: Ch 1, sc in each st, join and fasten off [96 total]

6–12 month dress

Rnd 1: Ch 2, dc 9, v-stitch, dc 16, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 16, v-stitch, dc 9, join

Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc 10, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 20, v-stitch, dc 18, v-stitch, dc 10, join

Rnd 3: Ch 2, dc 11, v-stitch, dc 20, v-stitch, dc 22, v-stitch, dc 20, v-stitch, dc 11, join

Rnd 4: Ch 2, dc 12, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 24, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 12, join (52 stitches)

Switch to pink yarn.

Rnd 5: Ch 2, dc 13, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 26, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 13, join (56 stitches)

Rnd 6: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in next st, dc 27, 2 dc in next st, dc 13, join (58 stitches)

Rnd 7: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in next st, dc 28, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (60 stitches)

Rnd 8: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 29, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (62 stitches)

Rnd 9: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 30, 2 dc in next st, dc 15, join (64 stitches)

Rnd 10: Ch 2, dc 16, 2 dc in next st, dc 31, 2 dc in next st, dc 15, join (66 stitches)

Rnd 11: Ch 2, dc 16, 2 dc in next st, dc 32, 2 dc in next st, dc 16, join (68 stitches)

Rnds 12–14: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (68 stitches)

Rnd 15: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (102 stitches)

Switch to dark pink yarn for rounds 32–35.

Rnds 16–35: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (102 stitches)

Rnd 36: Ch 1, sc in each st, join and fasten off (102 stitches)

12–18 and 18–24 month shared rounds

Rounds 1–12 are the same for the 12–18 and 18–24 months sizes.

Rnd 1: Ch 2, dc 10, v-stitch, dc 17, v-stitch, dc 19, v-stitch, dc 17, v-stitch, dc 9, join

Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc 11, v-stitch, dc 19, v-stitch, dc 21, v-stitch, dc 19, v-stitch, dc 10, join

Rnd 3: Ch 2, dc 12, v-stitch, dc 21, v-stitch, dc 23, v-stitch, dc 21, v-stitch, dc 11, join

Rnd 4: Ch 2, dc 13, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 25, dc in v-stitch sp, ch 1 and dc in next v-stitch sp, dc 12, join (54 stitches)

Switch to pink yarn.

Rnd 5: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 27, 2 dc in ch-sp, dc 13, join (58 stitches)

Rnd 6: Ch 2, dc 14, 2 dc in next st, dc 28, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (60 stitches)

Rnd 7: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 29, 2 dc in next st, dc 14, join (62 stitches)

Rnd 8: Ch 2, dc 15, 2 dc in next st, dc 30, 2 dc in next st, dc 15, join (64 stitches)

Rnd 9: Ch 2, dc 16, 2 dc in next st, dc 31, 2 dc in next st, dc 15, join (66 stitches)

Rnd 10: Ch 2, dc 16, 2 dc in next st, dc 32, 2 dc in next st, dc 16, join (68 stitches)

Rnd 11: Ch 2, dc 17, 2 dc in next st, dc 33, 2 dc in next st, dc 16, join (70 stitches)

Rnd 12: Ch 2, dc 17, 2 dc in next st, dc 34, 2 dc in next st, dc 17, join (72 stitches)

12–18 month dress

Rnds 13–15: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (72 stitches)

Rnd 16: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (108 stitches)

Switch to dark pink yarn for rounds 37–40.

Rnds 17–40: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (108 stitches)

Rnd 41: Ch 1, sc in each st, join and fasten off (108 stitches)

18–24 month dress

Rnd 13: Ch 2, dc 18, 2 dc in next st, dc 35, 2 dc in next st, dc 17, join (74 stitches)

Rnd 14: Ch 2, dc 18, 2 dc in next st, dc 36, 2 dc in next st, dc 18, join (76 stitches)

Rnds 15–16: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (76 stitches)

Rnd 17: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, join (114 stitches)

Switch to dark pink yarn for rounds 39–42.

Rnds 18–42: Ch 2, dc in each st, join (114 stitches)

Rnd 43: Ch 1, sc in each st, join and fasten off (114 stitches)

Crochet the sleeve trim

Use dark pink yarn.

Ch 2 and make 2 hdc in each st and in between the stitches in the bottom of the armhole, join and fasten off.

Crochet the rainbow appliqué

Use an H-8 5 mm crochet hook.

Blue yarn
Row 1: Magic ring, 8 dc, turn (8 stitches)

Green yarn
Row 2: Ch 2, 2 dc in each st, turn (16 stitches)

Yellow yarn
Row 3: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next st*, turn (24 stitches)

Orange yarn
Row 4: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 2 sts*, turn (32 stitches)

Pink yarn
Row 5: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 3 sts*, fasten off leaving a long tail (40 stitches)

White yarn
Row 6: Ch 2, *2 dc, dc in next 4 sts*, when you get to the end, ch 1 (to turn) and continue to work around the bottom of the rainbow. Make 3 dc in each end of each color arc and make 3 dc in the magic ring, ch 1 (to turn) and join to the first st

Row 7: Ch 2 and loosely dc around the entire rainbow. In the two bottom corners you will make dc, ch 1, dc.

Sew the rainbow to the front of the dress.

Crochet the heart appliqué

Use an H-8 5 mm crochet hook and dark pink yarn.

Magic ring, ch 2, 4 dc, 2 tc, ch 3, sl st, ch 3, 2 tc, 4 dc, join to top of first dc, fasten off. 

Sew the heart appliqué to the lower back of the dress.

Finishing

Fasten off and weave in all remaining yarn ends. Make sure the rainbow and heart appliqués are securely sewn to the dress.

Frequently asked questions

What sizes are included in this Care Bear crochet outfit pattern?
The dress includes five baby sizes: 0–3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, 12–18 months, and 18–24 months.

Is this Care Bear crochet dress beginner-friendly?
This pattern is best for intermediate crocheters. It includes garment shaping, color changes, multiple sizes, and separately crocheted appliqués.

What pieces are included in the pattern?
The pattern includes the baby dress, a rainbow appliqué for the front, and a heart appliqué for the back.

What yarn should I use?
The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (#4) in pink, dark pink, white, blue, green, orange, and yellow.

Can I use this dress as a Halloween costume?
Yes. The character-inspired baby dress can be used for Halloween, dress-up, photos, or other costume occasionstly asked questions

More crochet baby outfits

Looking for more sweet outfits to make for little ones? Browse my favorite crochet baby dress patterns, including cute handmade dresses and baby outfits for gifts, photos, and special occasions.

You can also visit my full collection of crochet baby patterns for more baby blankets, hats, cardigans, booties, accessories, and gifts.

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Happy crocheting! 🧶
— Melissa