Easy Ornaments 2: Crochet Snowflakes

Even though Christmas is over, it's still winter and there's still some need for last-minute presents.  I needed something fast but nice for my coworkers' stockings at work earlier this week.  I had ornaments in mind, but knew they'd already seen crocheted ice skates (something for a future post) and my go-to ornaments take a little too long.  This was Sunday evening and I needed them for Monday morning.  I'd seen snowflake ornaments and figured those couldn't take too long.  A few patterns later and I found one that was easy to follow and got me 13 snowflakes for work plus 3 larger ones for other people in just a few hours.

Coworker Snowflakes

I found the pattern at the Attic 24 blog (note it uses UK, not USA crochet terms) and altered it slightly for some of the snowflakes.  The star-like ones were the first 2 rounds as the pattern explains.  The other ones are Round 1 followed immediately by Round 3.  I wanted them all about the same size, but wanted some variation.  One is bigger because I used a larger hook by accident.  I also didn't stretch and set as the pattern suggested because I was short on time, but they still came out pretty good.  At the very least, it's clear what they're meant to be.

The pattern does not make them ornaments (it doesn't have the loop of string to hang them), but that wasn't a hard fix.  There are 2 options:
-Finish off as the pattern says, cut a piece of yarn a little longer than the loop size you want, and tie it to one of the points.
-Do not cut and finish off normally.  Instead, when the last stitch is complete, cut the yarn several inches from the last stitch.  Thread the yarn through the chains to one of the points.  Once it's through the chain at the point, tie the yarn to itself close to the point.
I like the 2nd option because it's all the same thread and it looks neater and more stable.

It's a really fun pattern, and is right around the beginner level.  You only need to know how to chain and single crochet.  Just remember that once the initial loop is formed, the first round is done in the loop as a whole, not the individual chains that make up the loop.
I'd definitely recommend this for anyone who has a basic grasp of crocheting, especially if they are strapped for time and have extra white yarn lying around.

Have fun and a belated Merry Christmas!

Easy Ornaments 1: Reindeer

Christmas is right around the corner.  Actually, at my parent's house, it's tomorrow.  We follow a lot of German traditions for holidays (as does most of America actually without even realizing it), including going to church in the evening, opening presents, and having our main Christmas celebrations all on Christmas Eve.  I've got a lot of last minute shopping to get done today, so I'll save all the German Christmas tradition stories until later when I have time.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a rather simple craft that pretty much anyone can make for a small amount of money and a little bit of effort: Reindeer ornaments.  The great thing about these is that they come out looking a lot more "effortful" than would be expected considering their cost and simplicity.  They're made of clothespins and embroidery floss!  I came across the pattern on one of those free leaflets at Michael's crafts years ago and loved it. (I tried finding it on their website, but it's not there).  So, what follows is my pattern from memory, inspired from that leaflet.

*Feel free to make this as a gift, for yourself, or to sell, but please do not sell my pattern or copy it without linking here*