Decorating a Christmas Tree with Crocheted Ornaments
By A Guest Writer – 11 CommentsA Guest Post by Linda Cee.
My goal for this year was to crochet enough ornaments to decorate an entire Christmas tree (even a small one would be good). I saw a picture online once of a white tree that had blue crocheted snowflakes in all different sizes and shades of blue then a silver garland crocheted from some really glittery yarn. The best part was the topper, it was a white thread angel that was incredibly lacy and must have taken forever to make. The whole thing was so gorgeous it literally took my breath away.
This year I only crocheted three ornaments (and they’re not even for me). Why? Because I didn’t start until November and with all the gift-making (and of course all the non-crafty stuff that needs to be done this time of year) I have run out of time. So my goal next year is to make one ornament a month, just one! And see if by this time next year I can decorate a tiny tree in purple, gold and silver crocheted spheres.
The point of the blue tree, if I remember correctly, was if you donated food, time or money to the food bank where it was located you got to take home one of the snowflakes and then on Christmas day the angel took a trip to the local children’s hospital to grace a tree there while Santa made his rounds. Doesn’t that sound like a great holiday tradition? I wonder if there were any crocheted toys in Santa’s bag. My guess is there probably was; certainly this gives me some ideas for next year (though I think that angel is a little out of my league).
Happy Holidays!
Linda Cee is a young adult who enjoys many crafts including crochet, jewelry making, scrap booking and learning to tat. She also enjoys traveling and learning everything she can about history and foreign cultures.
I was able to crochet about 19 ornaments this year for our tree. I used a simple pattern from Pip over at Meet at Mike’s. Basically you just make a granny circle that covers a glass ball. They work up so quick I’m going to make a bunch more for my aunts and uncles!
Here’s the pattern if anyone is interested:
http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/2010/11/pips-crocheted-christmas-baubles-as.html
I’ve had this goal for a few Christmases, and what has happened was that I became so overwhelmed with all the things I wanted to crochet for ornaments, gifts, etc. that I would fail to crochet much of anything. So, this year I decided to crochet 1 type of ornament, as few or plenty as I could, and I have about 14 mini Santa hats now … and that’s it (with one string of lights). If I have time after finishing the gifts, then maybe I’ll get to the tree topper. Is less more in this instance? Perhaps, but at least I accomplished something and wasn’t overwhelmed! =D
Linda,
Thank you for writing about this white Christmas tree with blue ornaments – your description gave so many inspirations to me! I hope you will manage to decorate your tree next year as per your plan 🙂
I LOVE crochet ornaments for holiday season. My signature piece is 3d snowflake embellished with pearls and crystals that I give as a gift to family and friends. People appreciate it a huge lot to get such unique gift. So each year I end up with none left for our tree… I too hope to change it next year 🙂
Last year I presented my older daughter with 42 crocheted snowflakes made with #10 thread for her 42nd birthday. Whew ~ they were assorted sizes and assorted degrees of difficulty. Each was different! Crocheting them didn’t take that long. The stiffening and pinning of them … well that was a whole different story. They were sprinkled with clear irridescent glitter and I must say they were beautiful. Needless to say, she was thrilled. Of course I ended up with duplicates and they were given to others. I’m guessing my mini blizzard amounted to 55-60 flakes. Do take the time to pin/stretch them out. It makes all the difference in the world for beautiful results.
That has been my goal for several years now. I knew that I would not be able to do that all in one year, and everytime I crochet ornaments, I always use them for presents and decorating packages. I have been doing this for about 4 years now, (I have a 7 ft prelit tree) and I am about 1/2 – 2/3 of the way there. I crochet something different every year, cause I want them to all be different ornaments. Makes me tired just thinking about it. I don’t think I will ever be finished cause there are so many beautiful ornamets out there. And I love the way the white Christmas tree sounds!
Sorry, forgot to add that crochet is not the only craft I do, so not all my ornaments are crocheted. But I think it would be beautiful to have a tree that has nothing but different size and colors of snowflakes!
Several years ago my mother and myself crocheted small angel ornaments. She crocheted the tree topper angels, and I crocheted snowflake and ball ornaments. The ball ornaments were crocheted, then Aleene’s Fabric Stiffener was squeezed into the fibers, a small balloon was inserted and blown up, and it was allowed to dry. Once dry the balloon was popped and pulled out by crochet hook. I still have all the patterns if you are interested. 😉
Oh wow, I forgot about the crocheted angels … I’ll betcha I made at least 200 small angel ornaments for both my mother’s bazaar and the holiday bazaar at girls’ school. They weren’t super fancy but so cute. Only about 4″ tall and I got to the point where I could crochet one in less than 20 minutes even while chatting with my older sister LOL. Ahhh the good ol’ days. The more I read about all these crocheted ornaments, I more I’m itchin’ to make some. 😉
Shannon: Thanks for sharing, those are cute!
Jamie: Less is more! And Santa hats would be so cute 🙂
Laura: Your snowflake is gorgeous ♥ (Perhaps I’ll make one for my snow-loving friend)
Kitty: WOW, I never could have that much patience but they sound lovely! (I love glitter)
Rose: I bet your tree is amazing! I do a few different crafts as well but I’m in love with the idea of all crocheted ornaments (and yes there are way to many beautiful kinds of ornaments)
Becca Johnson: Sounds nice! I love the idea of using balloons, I know I’ve seen that done but I wasn’t to sure how it worked 🙂
Kitty, I would love to get a crochet pattern for the angels, that you made if you still happen to have it available. I have had a bright idea. last week while attending the nursing home Christmas party with my mil. I think starting next yr, I will start making Christmas angels and stiffening them/decorating them and giving them to the nursing home, either for their general store to sell for the activities that they do for the residents or giving them to all of the residents. I love sharing handmade crafts, Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Lisa ~ I am sorry to say I no longer have THAT pattern any longer. I dug through my “archives” last year when making the snowflakes and came up empty handed. The angel explosion happened at least 25 yrs. ago and I had the pattern committed to memory. I do however have some other angel patterns. After the holidays I’ll take a look see and get back to you on this thread. How’s that? I’m guessing you want something small-ish and quick-ish to make? I love your idea about giving them to the nursing home…and yes, sharing is wonderful at Christmas or anytime!