Tag: Christmas

Something nice and small – Still feasible before Christmas

Are you celebrating Christmas and still looking for a little something to give as a gift or decorate? These two crochet patterns, Glittery Christmas Baubles and Sparkly Stars, are really quick to make and look fantastic.
I’ve had a lot of fun crocheting them over the last few days and have found them quite addictive. The yarn you use will make them look very different, so they don’t necessarily have to look Christmassy. It all depends on your preference.

Both patterns require very little yarn, so they are great for using up any leftovers.

Glittery Christmas Baubles

The pattern is from Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love.
As the name of the pattern applies, Ana has used glittery yarn in some parts. I did not have anything with glitter on hand – so mine are made with some leftover yarn from my Legacy Blanket.

A little side note: Yes, my Legacy Blanket is finally finished! To be precise, it’s been finished for about a fortnight now, but I haven’t managed to take some nice pictures yet. The weather here is mostly pretty grey at the moment – clouds, rain, or fog. I hope it gets better in the next few days!

Back to my baubles, I think they clearly show what I meant at the beginning – they look more rustic than glittery and Christmassy.

I’m totally in love with this look!

I used

  • Drops Lima (100 m / 50 g) – colour 100, Off White
  • Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 07, Light Brown
  • Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 15, Light Greyish Green

with a 3,5 mm hook.

The bauble itself consists of two halves that are sewn together. First, you crochet the two halves, then you join them together while inserting the bauble.
Ana used a Christmas bauble for this. Unfortunately, I didn’t have one that was the right size. So I put a polystyrene ball inside mine. It’s a 7 cm (2 3/4 inch) ball. The circumference is about 22 cm, just over 8.5 inches. It fits perfectly!

Of course, you can use various decorative stitches to join the two halves. Alternatively, if you prefer not to stitch them together, a crochet join, such as a simple zipper join, works very well.

I tried different joins, and the one shown on the left is my favourite.

It is made with slip stitches worked through the back loops. On each half, I inserted the hook top down, from outside to inside. I started with a slip stitch through the back loop of a stitch on the lower half, then slip stitched through the corresponding stitch on the upper half. And so on … It creates a nice kind of braided effect.

Sparkly Stars

Sparkly Stars is a pattern by Joy Clements from Crochet Road, which I spotted on Ravelry. These five-pointed stars are as quick to make and as addictive as Ana’s baubles. They can also be used simply as winter decorations.

Here, too, the final look can be influenced by the yarn and colours used.

The pattern offers two different sizes, contains detailed pictures and also a link to a video tutorial.

I used the same yarn and colours as for the baubles, but this time with a 4 mm hook. So again, no sparkle or glitter.

My small stars are about 9 cm and the tall ones about 14 cm.

Both patterns, the Glittery Christmas Baubles and the Sparkly Stars are available on Ravelry.

Glittery Christmas Baubles on Ravelry
Sparkly Stars on Ravelry

I will definitely make some more baubles and stars using different yarns.

Have a lovely time 💕

Little Christmas Wreath

A free pattern for a simple & cozy crochet decoration

Post revised in December 2025

Back in 2023, I was looking for some easy-to-make Christmas decorations.

Although our home is furnished in a clean and simple style, I prefer my Christmas decorations to feel a bit more traditional and nostalgic. I had been looking for something like a candy cane or a classic Christmas wreath, and somehow that search sparked the idea to make my own. So I grabbed some yarn, picked up my hook, and got started…

I really like the result! And I thought I might as well write down the pattern and share it with you. Maybe you like it too…

I used Schachenmayr Catania and a 2.75mm hook to make my wreaths. They measure about 6 cm in diameter, which is between 2 1/4 and 2 1/2 inches.

I used

  • 212 Khaki – for the wreath
  • 192 Weinrot (Wine Red) – for decoration
  • 105 Natur (Off White) – also for decoration

You will need only small amounts.

Catania is 100 % mercerised cotton and has 125 m per 50 g. You can easily substitute it with any other sport weight yarn.

And, the pattern will also work with any other yarn weight. Only the size of the finished wreath might vary.

And of course you can use any other colour you like and decorate your wreath with whatever comes to your mind.

Some ideas for decoration

To decorate the little Christmas wreaths, you can simply sew on a few beads or stars, for example. Or cut out small shapes from felt and stick them on …

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of these items on hand, so I focussed on what you can do with yarn.

I immediately thought of some ribbons and bows. But you can also just embroider some French Knots, as shown in the picture below (bottom right).

Variant A – A Simple “Red Ribbon”

To symbolise a little ribbon, I simply worked a round of slip stitches around the stitches of round 1. The ends of the ribbon (made of chains) are tied to a bow.

To make the chains as small as possible, I used a crochet hook that was one size smaller (2.75 mm) than for the wreath (2.75 mm). The slip stitches were made with a 3.5 mm hook to avoid them from being too tight.

Here is how to make Variant A

  • The yarn has to be on the back side of the work for the slip stitches, but on the front to work the chain stitches.
    • Therefore, insert the hook between any two hdc of round 1 and bring the yarn from back to front
  • Start with the smaller hook size. Make a slip knot and chain 22. My chain was about 7 cm / 2 3/4 inch long.
  • Change to the bigger hook size. Start at the stitch to the left of the chain (where the thread comes in front) and slip stitch around all the stitches of round 1.
  • Change to the smaller hook again. Make another 22 chains.
  • Fasten off and secure the ends – either with some knots or just sew them away on the back side
  • It might look a bit bulky if the bow is tied, so just lay it in shape and fix it with a thread as described below (Variant B).

Variant B – A Two-coloured “Bow”

This bow is made from a chain, approximately 15 or 16 cm (about 6 inch) long.

Here is how to make Variant B

As before, it’s best to use a smaller hook size to ensure the chains are nicely small. I used my 1.75mm hook again.

The bow is made with two different colours (A and B). To get the striped effect, the colours are changed with every stitch.

Please note: You probably have to work a little more slowly and tighten the previous stitch slightly with each colour change.

  • Start with a slip knot on the hook using colour A.
  • Grab the colour B thread and make a chain.
  • Grab the colour A thread again to make the next chain
  • Continue like this until you reach the desired length

And a word about the yarn ends:

Like shown in the photo above, I simply cut off the yarn at the ends of the chain and untangled it a little. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all!

So here’s my tip: Think twice before cutting the thread. You can just as easily sew it on the back (shown in the photo on top of the page). Looks better, doesn’t it?

Variant C – A Two-coloured “Ribbon”

A two-coloured alternative to variant A

Here is how to make Variant C

  • For this two-coloured ribbon, again, the yarn is needed in the back to work the slip stitches. Start and end of the threads are needed on the front to tie the bow.
    • So, bring the yarn to the front between any two stitches of round 1. Like in Variant A, only this time, the two threads, (colour A and B) at once.
    • Leave the tails long enough to tie the bow later. Mine we’re about 20 cm long
  • On the front side: start with a slip knot in one of the threads (colour A)
    • Using colour A, slip stitch around the stitch directly to the left of the thread.
    • Work the second slip stitch around the next stitch, using colour B
    • Work the next slip stitch using colour A again – and so on

As with the two-colored chain (Variant B), you will probably have to tighten the previous stitch a bit after the color change.

At the end of the round, cut the yarn, again leaving a long tail. Bring the ends to the front and tie a bow. Then, shorten them to your desired length.

In case you want to hang your wreaths, simply attach a thread, ribbon, or cord to the backside. Ensure it’s roughly aligned with the centre of the bow (where appropriate).

If you like my little Christmas Wreath and would like to make one too, you can download the free pattern here

Little Christmas Wreath_v2- 2025Download

The pattern is not tested. So, if you spot any errors or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
And please, feel free to add your projects to my Ravelry page.

Have fun 💕

Already August

Where has this year gone? Now it’s already August and I have the feeling that I can’t really finish any of my private projects. My Seashell Dudes, my When Summer turns into Fall blanket are still WIPs. My new blog is still not completely finished, let alone that I have already decided on a hosting provider.

But I have finished the test for Pam Knighton-Haener / A Yarn of Serendipity. It was quite a new experience because this time I checked the written instructions and also the videos she made for certain rounds. But more on that later when the pattern is published.

And I am working on a really big project: I am testing the pattern for a CAL that will probably start at the end of September! It will be a blanket in Overlay Mosaic technique but I can‘t reveal more yet …

I don‘t know how it is with you, but in Germany the summer 2021 is very changeable. It almost reminds me of the summers in my childhood when the climate crisis was not felt as clearly as it is now. We have quite a lot of rain and so far the heat waves that we had in the past few years have not materialized. Last year we had between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius around this time. I remember it so well because back then I tested Mosaic Christmas for BebaBlanket. That was a crazy feeling to test a Christmas pattern at 35 degrees!

Mosaic Christmas

was my second pattern in Overlay Mosaic. My first one was a placemat made with Chevron Apache Waves.I already mentioned it in this post. Mosaic Christmas is a pattern designed by BebaBlanket. It has charts for 4 different motifs, Christmas Trees, Snowflakes, gifts and an ornament that can be used as a separation.The main repeat goes over 45 stitches so the size is easily adjustable and you can create a lot of different items.

Mine was meant to be either a wall hanging or a table runner, it became a table runner.

I used Stylecraft Special Dk in Cypress and Cream. My Christmas Decoration is mostly red, so Green and White/cream is always a perfect match.

I only worked two repeats in width using the following layout

Ornaments / Christmas Trees / Gifts 
Snowflakes 
Gifts / Christmas Trees / Ornaments 

I didn‘t work a border but crocheted over the tails. Today I would just do a double border because I think it is a great finish but since it was only my second Overlay pattern I was just scared about all the tails. :D

So, as it is already August, if you are looking for a nice Christmas project, here some more pics