Crochet Christmas Tree Ornaments

Handmade Ornaments for Your Family Christmas Tree 

A family's Christmas tree ornament collection can become, over time, an opportunity to tell a family's story. Ornaments and collections can be as varied as the family, itself. Some ornaments might be purchased at special locations, handed down over the years, or hand made by family members every Christmas. My own tree is adorned with many handmade ornaments, my favorites being my crocheted apples and re-purposed Christmas cards.

Overview of These Crocheted Ornaments - Apple

Each crocheted “apple” is made from red and burgundy multicolored chenille yarn. Inside each apple is a Styrofoam ball. The green “leaves” are made with green multicolored yarn.

Each re-purposed Christmas card needs only a hole punch, a pair of scissors, and some festive yarn to create. Use a very lightweight yarn with metallic strands for a twinkling look.

Stitches and Abbreviations

• chain (ch)
• bind off (BO)
• decrease (dec)
• increase (inc)
• single crochet (sc)
• half double crochet (hdc)
• double crochet (dc)
• triple crochet (tr)
• slip stitch (sl st)
• reverse (rev)
• crochet 2 stitches in one chain (2tog)
• loop (lp)

How to Create Crocheted Apple Ornaments

Use half-double crochet stitches for this ornament with a starting chain of four and a starting row of eight. The pattern here is for a Styrofoam ball that is 2" round. Use a "G" hook for these, or a hook that creates a tight stitch, depending on your yarn.

1. ch 4 & sl st to begin rows
2. create a row of 8 hdc
3. create a row inc to 16 hdc
4. create a row inc to 32 hdc
5. tuck in the Styrofoam ball
6. create a row dec to 16 hdc
7. create a row dec to 8 hdc
8. create a row dec to 4 hdc
9. BO leaving a lp for the ornament hanger or hook

The green leaf is shaped and attached after the completion of the apple.

1. ch 5 and leave 5 - 7" of yarn
2. rev & sc
3. dc2tog
4. tc2tog
5. dc2tog
6. sc
7. BO and leave 5 - 7" of yarn

Once you tie the apple's leaf to the loop "stem," tuck in the ends and add your hanger or hook. Your apple ornament is complete!

How to Create Re-Purposed Christmas Card Ornaments

For this ornament you first need to look through old Christmas cards and cut out the small picturesque images from your favorites. This is the most time-consuming part of the project because re-reading the cards can be a tempting and pleasant distraction.

Once you find the cards you want to use, cut out the pictures and leave a 1/4" edging around the picture. Then, punch holes around the edges of the picture leaving 1/2" - 3/4" between each hole. You will use the holes to crochet the border. This effect is a lot like Victorian icing ornaments without the sticky icing!

Once your holes are punched, you can work these around fairly quickly. The key is to add enough stitches to prevent your card from warping or bending.  You get extra "specialness" if you include some of the sender's personal notes on the reverse side of the image.

1. beg with a sl st in any punched hole so the yarn doesn't come loose
2. dc or tc 3 - 4 st(s) in the first hole
3. depending on the gauge of your yarn, you may ch 1 or 2 st(s) before beginning the following hole
4. work around the holes, adding 3 - 4 dc or tc in each hole
5. when you complete all of the holes, you can choose to create a new row or BO

Once the crocheted border is complete, you can either create a loop or simply add a hook or hanger through the border to hand this ornament on the tree.   

Want to learn more about crochet online?

Use this link to sign up for a free Udemy account and take my complete online crochet course, "Crochet for Stress Relief with Patternless Projects."

Want to read more?  Try
Crochet for Stress Relief
A Brief Introduction to Crochet Hooks
Lion Brand Ergonomic Crochet Hook Set

Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.