With a chunky Crochet Christmas Ornament Ball, paraligo will give closure to this bitter and turbulent year that is about to end in a few days. A year that apart from the rest of it’s commonly known misfortunate events, made sure to deprive me of any appetite for creative activity, by taking away my beloved father.
Still, life will go on, against all oddities and we will keep on breathing, remembering, smiling, creating, crocheting, celebrating Christmas, celebrating each moment of our existence, as we owe to ourselves.
And as I owe to all of you wonderful people who honor me by visiting this blog and watching my youtube channel, I am back with a new video. Short and hopefully sweet.
Not as a Christmas cookie but as a Christmas Ornament Ball.
A chunky really quick to make Crochet Christmas bauble, created with a variation of the single crochet stitch, that I absolutely whimsically named Rattan Single Crochet. If by any chance you happen to know the actual name please advise!
You might find the Rattan single crochet kind of unorthodox at first sight, since it requires to remove your hook from your open loops and insert it back, in every single stitch. However be sure that in the end it will compensate you with a really uniform and reach texture, that resembles rattan handicrafts. Hence the name.
So instead of allowing this quirky stitch to intimidate you, I will as promised go on and cut to the chase of this fun Christmas project.
Materials
- 1 small skein of thick T-shirt yarn
- Crochet hook – 7mm /US:10,5
- Yarn needle
- Scissors
Special stitch
Rattan single crochet — insert your hook into the chain, yarn over, and pull a loop. Release your hook and insert from the opposite direction first into the second loop and then into the first. Pull the first loop on your hook through the second. Yarn over and chain one.
Abbreviations (US terms)
- Mr– magic ring
- Ch(s) – chain(s)
- RSc – Rattan single crochet
- Yo – yarn over
- St – stitch
Instructions
Make a magic ring.
Round 1: Insert into the Mr, yarn over, and pull a loop. Release your hook hold the base of the two loops with your fingers and insert your hook from the opposite direction. Insert first into the second loop and then into the first. Pull the first loop on your hook through the second. Yarn over and chain one. This was the first RSc into the Mr.
Place 5 more RSc into the Mr. Pull tight magic loop to close.
Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning from the reverse side, insert into your open loop and pull it in. Yarn over and chain one. (6 RSc total)
Round 2:Place 2 RSc under the Ch that completes the 1st RSc of the 1st round. Repeat 5 more times. Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning of the round from the reverse side, insert into your open loop and pull it in. Insert your hook into the open loop, yarn over, and chain one. (12RSc total)
Round 3: Place 2 RSc under the Ch of the1st RSc of the 2nd round. Place 1 RSc under each of the next 2 chains. Repeat the pattern of the first 3st until the end of the round. Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning of the round from the reverse side, insert into our open loop and pull it in. Insert your hook into the open loop, yarn over, and chain one. (16RSc total).
Round 4-7: Place 1 RSc under each chain of the 4th round. Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning of the round from the reverse side, insert into our open loop, and pull it in. Insert your hook into the open loop, yarn over, and chain one (16RSc total).
Round 8:* Insert your hook under the chain of the1st RSc, of the previous round, yarn over and pull a loop. Release your hook and insert from the opposite direction first into the second loop and then into the first. Pull the first loop on your hook through the second. Do not chain one.
Insert your hook under the chain of the2nd RSc, of the previous round, yarn over, and pull a loop. Release your hook and insert from the opposite direction first into the second loop and then into the first. Pull the first loop on your hook through the second. Chain one to complete the decrease.* Repeat**:to place 5 more RSC decreases into the next 14sts.
Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning of the round from the reverse side, insert into our open loop, and pull it in. Insert your hook into the open loop, yarn over, and chain one (8RSc total).
Round 9: Place 1RSc decrease under each chain (at the end of each decrease) of the previous round. Release tour hook and insert into the 1st Ch of the beginning of the round from the reverse side, insert into our open loop and pull it in. Insert your hook into the open loop, yarn over, and chain one (4RSc total).
Release your hook and fasten off. Cut your yarn and thread the tail to your darning needle. Insert the needle into the second loops of each RSc of the 9nth round.
Pull the tail tight to shirr the gap and close the top of the ornament.
Fold the tail creating a hanging loop of 10-12 cms and weave the rest of the tail in making sure to tie a couple of knots before you cut the excess.
Tips:
- To achieve a tight woven texture it’s crucial to place each of your Rattan Single Crochet sts, by inserting your hook under the chain that completes a Rattan Single crochet and pass it through a small v that forms behind the stitch. This will make more sense once you watch the video.
- It’s important to use a sleek, soft, elastic T-shirt yarn. Otherwise, the complexity of the Rattan Single Crochet Stitch might make your life difficult. Thickness is also important if you want to avoid filling.
- You could also use different types of yarn but this will result in balls of different sizes, possibly smaller ones, and different consistency, possibly softer ones. In the latter case keep in mind that your bauble will need filling.
And with that, I will let you watch the video, take your yarn and hook and get busy because there can never be enough Christmas decorations, especially when they include your own handmade Crochet Christmas Ball.
I wish you all good health, a very merry Christmas with your loved ones, and a truly happy new year!
