A little frilly Christmas tree covered in tiny bobble baubles, sitting on top of an open green spiral with a string of warm lights running through it and three ornaments hanging straight down the middle.
There are three separate things going on here and each one is easy on its own. The tree is a cone with shell edged tiers worked into the front loops. The spiral is one row of crochet worked into a long chain, which curls into a helix by itself. The centre cord is just a chain with beads on it. Nothing here is harder than a shell stitch.
The thing that makes it look expensive is the bobbles. There are about fifteen of them and they are tiny and repetitive, so put something on to watch.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in two greens, a mid grass green for the tree and a slightly lighter or more olive green for the spiral. Having the two greens differ a little is what stops the piece looking like one solid block of colour. You also want small amounts of red, cream, mustard and white.
A 2.5 mm hook, held tight so no stuffing shows through the tree.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, about a metre of 0.8 mm florist wire, a battery operated copper wire fairy light string with 20 warm white lights, white cotton cord for the hanger, and a tapestry needle.
Finished length is about 45 cm from the top of the hanging loop to the bottom bobble, and the tree itself is around 9 cm tall.
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, FLO is front loops only. Work in a continuous spiral and keep your marker moving.
Part 1. The tree cone
In mid green. Every increase round adds three stitches, with a plain round in between, which keeps the cone tall and slim rather than squat.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6)
Round 2. Sc around (6)
Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated three times (9)
Round 4. Sc around (9)
Round 5. Sc twice, inc, repeated three times (12)
Round 6. Sc around (12)
Round 7. Sc three times, inc, repeated three times (15)
Round 8. Sc around (15)
Stop here and work the first tier into round 8, following the tier instructions below. Then come back and carry on with round 9, working into the back loops that are still free.
Round 9. Sc four times, inc, repeated three times (18)
Round 10. Sc around (18)
Round 11. Sc five times, inc, repeated three times (21)
Round 12. Sc around (21)
Second tier into round 12.
Round 13. Sc six times, inc, repeated three times (24)
Round 14. Sc around (24)
Round 15. Sc seven times, inc, repeated three times (27)
Round 16. Sc around (27)
Third tier into round 16.
Round 17. Sc eight times, inc, repeated three times (30)
Round 18. Sc around (30)
Round 19. Sc nine times, inc, repeated three times (33)
Round 20. Sc around (33)
Fourth tier into round 20. Start stuffing the cone now, pushing filling right up into the point with the blunt end of your hook.
Round 21. Sc ten times, inc, repeated three times (36)
Round 22. Sc around (36)
Fifth tier into round 22. This is the widest one and it forms the bottom branches.
Now close the base flat.
Round 23. Sc four times, dec, repeated six times (30)
Round 24. Sc three times, dec, repeated six times (24)
Round 25. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18). Top up the stuffing so the tree is firm.
Round 26. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12)
Round 27. Dec six times (6). Close the hole but leave a long tail, because the spiral attaches here.
Part 2. The tiers, worked five times
Each tier is the same shell edging. The only thing that changes is how many stitches you have, and all five counts divide neatly by three, so the shells always come out even.
Join mid green at any stitch of the round you have been sent to, and work into the front loops only.
Skip one front loop, work 5 dc into the next front loop, skip one front loop, sl st into the next. Repeat that all the way around and join with a sl st at the end. Fasten off.
That gives you five stitch shells sitting in a ring, each one separated by a slip stitch, which reads as a row of drooping branches. Round 8 gives you five shells, round 12 gives seven, round 16 gives nine, round 20 gives eleven and round 22 gives twelve.
When all five tiers are done, run your finger under each one and press it downwards so the shells sit over the tier below rather than sticking out sideways.
Part 3. Bobble baubles, make fifteen
Five in red, five in cream and five in mustard. These are deliberately tiny.
Round 1. 5 sc in MR (5)
Round 2. Inc five times (10)
Round 3. Sc around (10)
Round 4. Dec five times (5). Push in a tiny pinch of stuffing and close, leaving a long tail.
Sew them onto the tree, tucked into the shells so they sit between the tiers rather than on top of them. Mix the colours as you go and do not space them evenly. Two together in one spot and a gap somewhere else looks like a decorated tree. Evenly spaced looks like a pattern.
You will also want three larger bobbles for the centre cord. Make one mustard, one red and one green using the same rounds but starting with 6 sc in a magic ring and increasing to 12, which gives you a ball roughly twice the size.
Part 4. The star
In mustard, worked as a single flat piece.
Round 1. 5 sc in MR (5)
Round 2. Inc five times (10)
Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated five times (15)
For the points, sl st in the next stitch, then work sc, hdc, dc, ch 2, sl st in the second ch from the hook, dc, hdc, sc all into the next stitch, then sl st in the following stitch. Repeat four more times. Fasten off with a long tail.
Sew it flat to the tip of the tree, facing forward rather than upward, and add a small black or dark green French knot at its centre.
Part 5. The snowflake
In white. MR, ch 1, 12 sc into the ring, sl st to join. Next round, ch 3, skip one sc, sl st in the next sc, repeated around for six loops.
For each arm, working into a ch 3 loop, ch 7, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next two ch, ch 3, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next ch, sl st back into the stem, sc in the remaining chains of the stem, then sl st into the next loop. Repeat for all six arms and fasten off.
Stiffen it in fabric stiffener or strong sugar water and pin it flat to dry, otherwise it will curl up and read as a blob rather than a snowflake.
Part 6. The spiral
In the lighter green, ch 100. Keep the chain relaxed and don’t let it twist as you count it.
Row 1. Ch 1, then work 2 hdc into the second chain from the hook and 2 hdc into every chain across. Do not fasten off.
Row 2. Turn and work sc into every stitch across the full length. The work will be coiling hard by now. Follow the curve with your hands rather than trying to flatten it. Fasten off and weave in the ends.
Two half doubles per chain gives the open, wide, evenly spaced helix in the photo. Three per chain gives a tighter spring with more turns if you prefer that.
Thread florist wire through the base of the stitches along one long edge of the coil, weaving in and out every few stitches. Fold about a centimetre over at each end and tuck it back inside so nothing can poke out. Now you can set the spacing of the turns with your fingers and it will stay that way, which matters here because the whole design depends on the coils sitting evenly.
Part 7. Putting it together
Sew the top end of the spiral to the base of the tree using the long tail you left. Go through the same spot four or five times and pull firmly, because this single join carries the entire lower half of the piece.
Make the centre cord by chaining 34 in the lighter green and slip stitching back along the chain to firm it up. Attach the top of it to the underside of the tree, right at the middle, so it hangs straight down through the open centre of the spiral without touching the coils.
Thread the mustard bobble onto the cord near the top, the stiffened snowflake in the middle and the red bobble below that, stitching each one in place so they cannot slide. Finish with the green bobble at the very bottom of the cord.
Wind the fairy lights along the spiral from the top down, tucking the copper wire under the stitches as you go. It is stiff enough to stay put without any sewing at all. Hide the battery pack behind the tree or let it hang and tie a green bow over it.
Finally, make the hanging loop from white cotton cord, about 20 cm doubled, and stitch it firmly into the top of the tree just behind the star.
Hang it up and leave it for a day before you finish off the ends. The coil spacing almost always wants one more adjustment once it has been hanging under its own weight.
Notes and variations
If the tree tips forward, the spiral is stitched slightly off centre at the base. Unpick and move it two or three stitches. It is worth doing properly because a leaning tree is the first thing the eye notices.
For a nursery version, skip the lights and the wire, embroider nothing sharp anywhere, and hang it out of reach.
A cream and gold version with white bobbles is beautiful and reads as winter rather than Christmas, so it can stay up into February.
For a car mirror version, shorten the spiral chain to 60 so it does not swing too far.
Questions I get asked
How long does it take? About seven hours. The tree is roughly three, the bobbles are two, and the rest is assembly.
Why do my tiers stick out sideways instead of drooping? Your shells are worked too tightly. Go up half a hook size for the tier rounds only, and press each tier down with your finger once it is finished.
Why is my spiral uneven? Without the wire, a cotton coil settles wherever it likes. With the wire you decide. If you have already skipped it, you can still thread it in afterwards.
Can I use acrylic yarn? Yes. The shells will be softer and less defined, but the wire does the structural work so the spiral will be fine.
Do I need the fairy lights? No, but they are most of the atmosphere in a dark room. Warm white, not cool white, and get the thin copper wire kind rather than the thick plastic sort.
Crochet Ruffled Christmas Tree with Spiral Pattern
