This one is built like a string of beads. Crocheted balls and flat scalloped discs threaded alternately onto a single cord, with holly tucked into the gaps and a big fat tassel at the bottom weighing it all down.
There is no complicated shaping anywhere in it. Every piece is either a small ball or a flat circle, and once you have a pile of both you thread them on and it assembles itself in about fifteen minutes. That makes it a good project to keep in a bag, because you can make one component at a time without needing to remember where you were.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in dark red, deep green, olive green and cream. You want roughly equal amounts of each, about 30 g per colour, and a little extra in red and green for the tassel.
A 2.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, one wooden bead around 20 mm with a hole big enough for doubled cord, a small brass or gold bell, a long doll needle or bodkin, and about a metre and a half of strong cotton cord.
Finished length is about 55 cm including the tassel.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, inc is two stitches in one, dec is an invisible decrease, MR is magic ring.
The balls, make seven
Two in dark red, two in deep green, two in olive and one in cream. The cream one goes in the middle where it reads as a highlight.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6)
Round 2. Inc six times (12)
Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18)
Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24)
Rounds 5 to 9. Sc around (24)
Round 10. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18)
Round 11. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12). Stuff firmly, and I mean firmly. Soft balls will squash under the weight of the discs above them and the whole stack sags.
Round 12. Dec six times (6). Close and fasten off.
Make one more small ball in green and one in red for the top and bottom of the stack, working only to round 3, then straight to a decrease round and closing at 6.
The discs, make six
Three in cream, two in red, one in green. Each is a flat circle with a contrast edge that turns up slightly, which is what gives them that saucer shape rather than looking like coasters.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6)
Round 2. Inc six times (12)
Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18)
Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24)
Round 5. Sc three times, inc, repeated six times (30)
Round 6. Sc four times, inc, repeated six times (36)
Round 7. Sc five times, inc, repeated six times (42)
Round 8. Sc six times, inc, repeated six times (48)
Round 9 is the one that lifts the edge. Sc into every stitch around with no increases at all. Because the circle wants to keep growing and you are not letting it, the outer edge curls upward on its own.
Now change to a contrast colour. On the cream discs use red or green. On the red and green discs use cream. Work sc in every stitch around, then finish with a picot edge by working sl st, ch 2, sl st into the same stitch, repeated all the way round. Fasten off.
Press each disc flat under a book overnight before you assemble anything. They come off the hook cupped and they need settling.
Holly leaves, make eight
In deep green.
Ch 10. Working back along the chain, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next, hdc in the next, then ch 2 and sl st into the second ch from the hook to make a point, dc in the next ch, ch 2 and sl st into the second ch from the hook, hdc in the next, sc in the next, then 3 sc into the final chain to turn the corner.
Work back along the other side of the chain in the same sequence in reverse, so the leaf is symmetrical, and join with a sl st at the start. Fasten off.
Add three red French knots to the base of each leaf for berries.
The tassel
Cut a piece of stiff card 15 cm long. Wrap red, cream, green and olive yarn around it together, about thirty passes in total, mixing the colours as you go rather than keeping them in blocks.
Slide the bundle off, tie it tightly at one end with a doubled length of red, then cut the loops at the other end and trim the ends level.
Make a collar by chaining 20 in green, then sc back along the chain. Wrap it around the tassel about 2 cm below the tie and stitch it closed at the back.
Sew two holly leaves onto the front of the collar so they sit against the tassel skirt, and hang the small bell just below them.
Putting it together
Thread your long needle with the cord, doubled, and knot the two ends together at the bottom.
Start at the bottom. Pass the cord through the tassel tie so the tassel hangs from the knot. Then thread on, in this order, going upwards. Small green ball, small red ball, then a disc, then a large ball, then a disc, then a large ball, and keep alternating until all six discs and seven large balls are on. Finish with the small green ball at the top.
Each piece goes on by pushing the needle straight through the centre. For the balls, aim through the closed hole at the bottom and out through the magic ring at the top, and wiggle rather than force.
Once everything is on, push the whole stack down tight so there are no gaps, then thread the wooden bead on above the top ball. Tie a firm knot directly above the bead, then a second knot 15 cm higher up to make the hanging loop.
Tuck the remaining holly leaves into the gaps where a ball meets a disc, and stitch each one down with two or three small stitches so it stays put.
Notes and variations
If the stack leans, it is nearly always because one ball is understuffed. Squeeze your way down from the top, find the soft one, and unpick the closing round to add more filling. Annoying but quick.
If the discs slide around on the cord, work a small knot in the cord underneath each disc before the next piece goes on. It holds them in position and stops the stack compressing.
Cream, sage and rust makes a lovely non traditional version. So does an all white one with silver beads between the pieces instead of holly.
For a smaller version, stop at round 6 on the discs and use only four of them.
Questions I get asked
How long does it take? Around six hours, most of which is the balls. They are excellent television crochet.
Why are my discs not flat? Either your tension is too tight, which cups them, or too loose, which ruffles them. Both are fixable by blocking, so wet the disc, pin it flat and let it dry before deciding anything is wrong.
Can I use acrylic? Yes, though cotton gives crisper edges on the picot trim, which is a big part of how this looks.
Is it safe for a baby’s room? The wooden bead and the bell are choking risks if it ever comes down, so hang it high and check the knots at the start of each season.
Crochet Christmas Ball and Disc Hanging Pattern
