It’s cold and dark outside. So, have a happy hour with tea, a blanket, and a new little crochet project.
I've worked on Christmas bauble ornaments lately. The first pattern is now available below. Yeah!
Skills
The bauble is an intermediate/advanced project. If you are familiar with waistcoat stitches and slip stitches, the Christmas ball pattern is likely trouble-free and you can go straight to the yarn-hook suggestions and the pattern notes.
If the stitches - or the way they are used here - are fairly new to you, a little extra effort might be required to begin with. I promise you though, that getting to know the stitches better, is very well worth it.
Want more details about this way of working? Read: Tessa's Triangles - Hexagon Pattern
You should feel comfortable making uniform stitches of all kinds and it is also good to know how to adjust the tension of your work. - If not, read this one: How to Change and Control Your Tension
The Best Hook for Waistcoat Stitches
With waistcoat stitches, use a larger hook than usual for amigurumi and larger than the yarn label suggests.
A perfect hook has a head that is slightly smaller than the neck and is pointy or has a lip/nose that makes it easy to insert the hook between the legs of the previous stitch.
Read about wellformed waistcoat stitches here: Waistcoat Stitch and Stitch Patterns in Rounds.
Yarn-Hook Combos
I used:
- Scheepjes Catona (Ravelry) 125m/50gr (138 yds/1.76oz)
- hook size 4mm for the main parts plus a hook size 3mm for the final round (US G6 and D3, UK 8 and 11).
A Catona-bauble will then be almost 5cm (2") wide/tall.
Alternatively use regular cotton yarn for amigurumi with yardage 170m/50gr (186 yds/1.76oz) and hook size 3-3.5mm (US D3-E4, UK 10-9). For the final round use a slightly smaller hook for a nicer closing.
The Red Striped Bauble
The bauble is worked in rounds in a continuous spiral. (No joining with a slip stitch after each round).
Make not-tight stitches to make it easy to work with. Be thorough with the size of your chains. Adjust accordingly if needed, like when you change color.
Use the neck of the hook to determine the size of your stitches - and avoid tightening them after the loop leaves the hook. Otherwise, it might be difficult to make the following round.
Use 3-4 stitch markers or tiny stitch holders for the final round - And it's also nice to have a stitch marker or a long piece of yarn for marking the beginning of a round too.
Color changes are marked ‘-c’. Change color while pulling up the last loop of a stitch, so the new color is ready for the next stitch. For slip stitches, pick up the new color immediately.
Special stitches
Slip stitch decrease. Hook into the next two stitches in reverse order. Yarn-over and pull through all loops. For more info and a video, see Slip Stitch Tutorials - Part III.
Unfinished-ws. Insert the hook between the legs of a stitch, yarn-over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through one loop only. Keep the extra loop on the hook.
Abbreviations
ch = chain
sc = single crochet stitch
ws = waistcoat stitch
ws-c = Ws with a color change (see above)
slst/ slst-c = slip stitch / slip stitch with a color change
slst-blo = slip stitch in the Back Loop Only (blo)
slst-blo-dec = slip stitch decrease - in the back loop only
* * = Repeat instructions within * * all the way round
( ) x4 = Repeat instructions within the parentheses as many times as instructed.
[ ] = number of stitches in the round
sc = single crochet stitch
ws = waistcoat stitch
ws-c = Ws with a color change (see above)
slst/ slst-c = slip stitch / slip stitch with a color change
slst-blo = slip stitch in the Back Loop Only (blo)
slst-blo-dec = slip stitch decrease - in the back loop only
* * = Repeat instructions within * * all the way round
( ) x4 = Repeat instructions within the parentheses as many times as instructed.
[ ] = number of stitches in the round
Instructions
Start with red yarn.
Foundation
Make 6 loose sc in a Magic Ring. Pull the Magic Ring loosely together. [6]
Make 6 loose sc in a Magic Ring. Pull the Magic Ring loosely together. [6]
1st Half of the Red Ball
- * With red. 1 ws and 1 ws-c in the next sc,
ch-c 1 with the white (change color immediately). *
Repeat all the way. [18] - * With red. 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next stitch.
With white; 1 slst-blo in the chain,
1 slst-blo-c in the ws *.
Start the next repeats in the CURRENT ws. Repeat all the way [24]
(Keep changing color so all ws are done with red yarn and all slst are done in white.) - * 1 ws in the current stitch,
1 ws-c in the next stitch,
1 slst-blo in each slst,
1 slst-blo-c in the ws * [30]
- Repeat round 3. [36]
- Repeat round 3. [42]
Start filling the bauble. Depending on your tension, yarn, and more, the white part might arch inward. Use this if you like - or fill the bauble firmly in the end, if you want a very round ball.
2nd Half of the Red Ball
- Begin this round in the ‘current ws’ and make the repeats from the ‘next ws’.
* 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next ws,
1 slst-blo in the next 4 slst,
1 slst-blo-c in the last slst * [42] - Repeat the previous round.
- * 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next ws,
1 slst-blo-dec,
1 slst-blo in the next 2 slst,
1 slst-blo-c in the last slst * [36] - * 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next ws,
1 slst-blo-dec,
1 slst-blo in the next slst,
1 slst-blo-c in the last slst * [30] - * 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next ws,
1 slst-blo-dec,
1 slst-blo-c * [24] - * 1 ws in the ws,
1 ws-c in the next ws,
1 slst-blo-dec-c in the slst. * [18] - * 1 ws in each ws * (Skip all slst). [12]
Final Round
Change to a hook 1 size smaller.
Change to a hook 1 size smaller.
Make 1 ws in the first stitch and unfinished-ws the rest of the way. Every time you have 4 loops (max) on the hook, move 3 loops to a stitch marker /stitch holder (or just a piece of string). The loop you made last, keep that on the hook.
Cut a long yarn end. Pull the yarn end through all the loops on the hook and then all the loops on the stitch markers. Use a needle or a hook.
Fill the bauble - firmly for a round ball.
Tighten the yarn end and use a needle to secure it by going around in the last loops once more.
Insert the needle into the ball and let it come out from the middle of the 'star'.
Shape the Christmas bauble by hand if needed.
Have a Merry Crochet Christmas!
...Psst!
If you liked this, then try other projects using waistcoat stitches and slip stitches. You can find them under the theme Split Crochet.
The stitches are not used much with traditional patterns but are really fun to work with.
