Christmas Cracker Crown - free pattern

 

A few years ago I decided to make my own Christmas crackers (if you’re not familiar with these festive essentials check out the wiki page). I bought a kit with the cardboard tube and the snaps, and bought or made some little gifts to go inside. The kit did come with paper crowns, but I always find these slip off my head, and don’t fit the children in the family (or those with extra large heads), so I decided to make my own. I figured that the easiest way to make crowns that would fit everybody would be to make them very small and attach them with elastic under the chin or behind the head. You could also attach them with hair clips, like a fascinator. Here is the pattern to make your own mini crowns, about 8” in circumference, small enough to fit inside a cracker, or just to be worn for a special get-together or party, at Christmas or any other time. Or, they're just the right size for a dog, if they're patient enough to wear them!

 

Christmas Cracker Crown

For each crown you will need:

Approx 10g double knitting weight yarn in a bright colour.
Small amount of eyelash yarn in white or contrasting bright colour.
Approx 20” thin elastic.
4mm (F) hook.
Tapestry needle.

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
ss = slipstitch
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
hdc = half double crochet (US), half treble crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
FO = fasten off

Special stitch instructions:

4 dc bob: bobble stitch. YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into next stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, *YOH, insert hook into same stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, repeat twice from*, YOH, pull through all 5 loops on hook.

Front post sc (Fpsc): work stitch (sc) by putting your hook from right to left around the back of the post of the next stitch on the previous round. This will create a ridge on the other side of your work.

The front post stitches help the crown keep its circular shape, but if you want it to be stiffer you can use a pipe cleaner. Work round 1 with single crochet over a pipe cleaner, preferably the same colour as the main yarn.

 

Pattern:
Using main yarn for crown, ch 41, sc into 2^nd ch from hook, sc into next 39 ch. Making sure not to twist it, join to the first sc with a ss to make a circle.

Round 1: Ch 1, fpsc around same st, fpsc around next 39 st, ss to join to 1^st st.
Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), hdc in next 39 st, ss to join to 1^st st.
Round 3: Ch 1, fpsc around same st, fpsc around next 39 st, ss to join to 1^st st.
Round 4: Starting in next st of round after joining ss [sc, skip 2 st, 3 dc in next st, ch 2, 3 dc in same st, skip 2 st, sc, ss] 5 times.
Round 5: Ss in each st around, 4 dc bob into each ch 2 gap. FO.

Push the bobble stitches from the inside outwards. Turn crown inside out and join in eyelash yarn into back of original ch, sc around bottom into back of original ch and join to first sc with ss. FO

Sew together the point where you originally joined in a circle and weave in ends. Tie or sew a length of thin elastic on either side so it will stay on head.

Note: sorry about the quality of these photos. The light is awful at this time of year, and I had to bribe my son to use his head to model the crowns, but he refused to let me show his face. Boris, our dog, was also bribed with a treat, but you can see how thrilled he was to be modelling!