Each year I create Christmas ornaments to give to friends and family. I love giving small gifts that don’t add a lot of clutter to others’ homes. It’s a seasonal gift and there’s always room on the tree for another ornament. 🙂

A bowl full of celebration!

These are simple to make and relatively inexpensive. If you cover Christmas balls you already have and use scrap yarn and ribbon, they’re free!

Basic Info

Here’s how I made them.

ch – chain
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
sl st – slip stitch

I used a size F/5-3.75mm crochet hook and regular 4ply sport yarn over 3″ ornaments.

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(I also chain 2 for my first half double and double crochet stitches (I find that by the time I work around the row and connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch that it lays down nicer). Most folks chain 3. Your call.)

The First Half

The first half of your ball will take on a bowl shape as you work. It will not lay flat.

Ch 3 (first chain will be the central loop and next two chains are first hdc) and work 11 more hdc into first chain loop, sl st to join (12 hdc), finish off.

Join next color in a space between any hdc of previous round, ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc in same st, 2 dc in each stitch around, sl st to join (24 dc), finish off.

Join next color in a space between any 2 dc unit of previous round, ch 2 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in same space, 3 dc in each space around, sl st to join (36 dc), finish off.

Join next color in a space between any 3 dc unit of previous round, ch 2 (counts as first dc),2 dc in same space, 3 dc in each space around, sl st to join (36 dc), finish off.

Close up of a granny square round.

The Second Half

Make an identical second half, leaving a long tail to join the two halves.

Putting It All Together

I use plastic 3″ ornaments. They are lighter and if they break there won’t be little shards of glass everywhere (I have grandchildren).

Here’s a picture of how I sew the halves over the ornament. I put white dots around the stitches where the needle is placed so you can see how I catch the outer part of each loop as I work back and forth with a simple ladder stitch.

Catch those outer loops!

Because I am joining halves with opposite colors I left a long tail of yarn on each half to stitch in the same stitches but in the opposite direction. If you are joining two same color sides, you would only need to join with one tail (the second tail was just for looks adding the opposite color stitching).

Close up of the decorative stitches.

I pushed a bit of glue down around the base of the ornament hanger to hold the hanger in place and keep the yarn from nudging up over it.

I finished my ornaments with a bow, but you could glue a button to the center of the granny squares or use other “homespun” type items to finish them off.