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!

 

 

Party Time!

It was my son's 9th birthday not too long ago, and although he was only having a few friends round he wanted me to decorate a bit. I've been making decorations for his and his brother's parties all their lives - in fact I think that was the first thing that got me into being more crafty. That or the fact that I'm cheap, I hate paying for rubbish party stuff that won't last.

I've made rockets out of toilet rolls, a crocodile out of egg boxes, and a Dalek pinata that I liked so much I made sure only the bottom half got destroyed, and I made a Dalek costume later with the top half.

This year my son wanted a medieval theme - he was getting Little King's Story for the Wii so it seemed to fit. I painted lots of coats of arms a few years ago for a Knights and Princesses party, so I stuck those up, but I thought it would be nice to make something that could be put up for any birthday. So I crocheted some bunting (I'm not sure what else to call it). I already did this for Christmas in green and red, so I made this one multicoloured. It's pretty easy to make, so here's the pattern:

Crochet Bunting

You will need:

Yarn (cheap acrylic is fine) in whatever colour or colours you want. How much you'll need will depend on how long you make it, but if you use two colours, 100g ball of each should get you quite a long way.

6mm hook (US J/10)

Method (using US notation):

Using just two colours is the simplest way to do this.

Work 2 strands together to start.

Ch 48

* Using only 1 strand ch 16, turn.

Miss 1st ch, [sc, hdc in next ch], [2 dc in next ch] 13 times, [hdc, sc in last ch].

Join back into the double strand by working a slipstitch with both strands.

Ch 15 *

Work from * to *, alternating which colour you use to form the spiral, as many times as necessary to fit your room.

Ch 48, Fasten off.

The lengths of chain at the beginning and end are long enough to make loops to go round the end of curtain poles (which is how I secure them), or tie around whatever is handy.

For multicoloured bunting, I changed one yarn after every 4 spirals and simply knotted the new colour to the old, crocheting over the ends.

I also decided, the day before his birthday, that it would be cool for my son to have a crown, so he could be king for a day. I didn't think I had time to make anything so I went along to a toyshop to get a plastic one. Unfortunately it was just a bit too small, so instead I grabbed some yellow felt, sew-on jewels and gold braid and made one. I just folded the felt over three times, cut some points and glued those together, to make them a bit stiffer. I sewed on the braid and the jewels, and put a bit of elastic in the back so it would fit him for longer (and fit his little brother who has a bigger head!). I will sew the points together to make them a bit stronger, but I haven't had time yet.

He loved it and wore it all day, and has worn it several times since, so I was really pleased with my last minute crown.