day 1 of 12: crochet baubles tutorial

on the 1st day of Christmas ...

there are just 12 days until Christmas

not a partridge or a pear tree

but

how about a little look at some 

Christmas-sy decorations

that i've made

some recently & some favourites from the past?

all true loves ... 

this is the new-to-me

crochet baubles garland

that i've been working on just lately

(in-between event management!)

as mentioned, i've fallen for the 

feel of yarn through my fingers again

& am really enjoying the crochet process

think in the new year i'm

going to ask a yarn-y friend of mine

to teach me a few more crochet tricks!!!

here's a little "how to"

what means what ... or what i understand it to mean ....

chain = ch = one loop on hook, yarn over & pull through first chain

slip stitch = slst = insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through (2 loops on hook), then through the loop on your hook.

double crochet = dc = yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (3 loops on hook), yarn over & pull through the first 2 loops on the hook (2 loops remaining on hook), yarn over & pull through last 2 loops.

half double crochet = hdc = yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (3 loops on hook), yarn over & pull through all 3 loops on hook

what to do ...

chain stitch 4 & join into a ring

first round is worked into the ring

round 1 - chain (ch) 2, then double crochet (dc) x11 times

then join with a slip stitch (slst) = 12 spokes on the wheel

 

round 2 - for this round you're working into the gaps between the stitches ...

join a new colour, i just tie a knot & the ends can be short because they will just be hidden & you won't need to sew them in ... nice huh!

pull the new colour through to the front

ch 2, then half double crochet (hdc) into every space x11 times

then join with a slst = 12 sections, creates a star affect with the first colour

round 3 - again you're working into the gaps between the stitches ...

join a new colour ...

pull the new colour through

ch 2, then half double crochet (hdc) into every space x11 times

then join with a slst = 12 sections

you'll notice with this round that the outside starts to curl up ...

this is what helps to create the rounded ball effect of a bauble

(Note: if you prefer them to be less bauble-y & smaller then leave them this size & skip to joining the 2 halves together)

round 4 - again you're working into the gaps between the stitches ...

continue in 3rd colour

ch 2, then half double crochet (hdc) into every space x11 times

then join with a slst = 12 sections

this round will definitely pull the circular shape into being more 3d sphere like

you of course will need to make x2 of these half shapes ... matching colours or not ...

i have then made a set of 12 of these & joined them together as I have joined the halves together ...

join in the 4th colour (i've used an off white)

hold the two halves wrong sides together

hide all the ends, sandwiched between

with the yarn, pull through & then slst through a stitch on both halves on the edge... (2 stitches on hook)

then slst through the next stitch & repeat

continue all around the bauble shape

at the end join up the joining yarn ....

at this point you can make a loop for a single decoration

for this i have done 40 slst .... seemed like a good number at the time!!

or

if you wish to join them into a garland like i have here then you make a chain, again i did 40 slst

between & then join in the next bauble ....

 i've enjoyed making cute flowers in the past

with the help of this excellent tutorial

so i can tell you that these

Christmas baubles were also inspired by lucy's style ...

with the help of her crochet definitions too!

um ... & if any of this does not make sense then ask me as

this is the first time that i've ever tried to write down a crochet pattern!!!

stay tuned to see what crochet goodies

i've been making for the Surrey Hills market this Saturday ...