A small solid tree covered in overlapping scalloped tiers, sitting on a little brown trunk base, with a star on top and beads dotted through the branches. It fits in two hands and it stands up on its own.
This is one pattern with four completely different faces. Worked in one dark green it looks traditional. In three greens it looks like a real fir. In pinks and purples it becomes something for a bedroom rather than a mantelpiece. In seven rainbow colours it stops being a Christmas decoration at all and turns into a toy, which is what mine mostly get used as.
The tiers are shells worked into the front loops of the cone, so the cone keeps growing underneath while the branches stack up outside.
What you’ll need
Worsted or aran weight yarn. For the single colour version you need about 60 g of dark green. For the ombre versions, 25 g each of three shades. For the rainbow, small amounts of seven colours. Plus brown for the base and mustard for the star.
A 4 mm hook, worked tight.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, a handful of small round beads or pearl headed pins in mixed colours, a short length of ribbon for the bow, and a tapestry needle.
Finished height is about 14 cm including the star.
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, BLO is back loops only.
The cone
Work in a continuous spiral.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6) Round 2. Sc around (6) Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated three times (9) Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated three times (12) Round 5. Sc around (12)
Tier 1 into round 5.
Round 6. Sc three times, inc, repeated three times (15) Round 7. Sc four times, inc, repeated three times (18) Round 8. Sc around (18)
Tier 2 into round 8.
Round 9. Sc five times, inc, repeated three times (21) Round 10. Sc six times, inc, repeated three times (24) Round 11. Sc around (24)
Tier 3 into round 11.
Round 12. Sc seven times, inc, repeated three times (27) Round 13. Sc eight times, inc, repeated three times (30) Round 14. Sc around (30)
Tier 4 into round 14.
Round 15. Sc nine times, inc, repeated three times (33) Round 16. Sc ten times, inc, repeated three times (36) Round 17. Sc around (36)
Tier 5 into round 17. Stuff the cone firmly now, right up into the point.
Round 18. Sc eleven times, inc, repeated three times (39) Round 19. Sc twelve times, inc, repeated three times (42) Round 20. Sc around (42)
Tier 6 into round 20.
Change to brown for the base.
Round 21. Sc in BLO around (42) Rounds 22 to 24. Sc around (42) Round 25. Sc five times, dec, repeated six times (36) Round 26. Sc four times, dec, repeated six times (30) Round 27. Sc three times, dec, repeated six times (24). Top up the stuffing so the tree is solid. Round 28. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18) Round 29. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12) Round 30. Dec six times (6). Close and fasten off.
Stuff this one hard. A soft tree slumps sideways and never looks right again.
The tiers, worked six times
Every stitch count above divides by three, so the shells always come out even.
Join yarn at any stitch of the round you have been sent to, working into the front loops only. Skip one front loop, work 5 dc into the next front loop, skip one front loop, then sl st into the next. Repeat all the way round and join. Fasten off.
Round 5 gives four shells, round 8 gives six, round 11 gives eight, round 14 gives ten, round 17 gives twelve and round 20 gives fourteen.
Press each tier downwards with your finger once it is done so the shells droop over the tier below instead of sticking out sideways.
The star
In mustard. 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), then sc and 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.
Make two and sew them back to back with a wisp of stuffing between, or leave it single and flat, which is quicker and looks fine.
Sew it upright to the tip of the cone.
Colourways
For the single green version, work the whole cone in dark green and every tier in the same green.
For the green ombre, use dark green for tiers 5 and 6, mid green for tiers 3 and 4 and pale green for tiers 1 and 2, changing the cone colour to match as you climb.
For the pink and purple version, use purple for tiers 5 and 6, deep pink for tiers 3 and 4 and pale pink for tiers 1 and 2.
For the rainbow, you need seven bands rather than six, so add one more increase pair and one more tier before the brown base. Work purple at the bottom, then blue, teal, green, yellow, orange and red at the top, changing colour at each tier.
Change colour on the last pull through of the round before a tier, so the join sits hidden under the shells.
Finishing
Push small beads or pearl headed pins into the gaps between the shells, scattered unevenly. Two close together in one place and a gap somewhere else reads as a decorated tree. Evenly spaced reads as wallpaper.
If you are using pins rather than sewn beads, put a dab of glue on each point before pushing it in, and do not give that version to a small child.
Tie a small ribbon bow just below the star.
Questions I get asked
Why do my shells stick out instead of drooping? They are worked too tightly. Go up half a hook size for the tier rounds only.
Why does my tree lean? Understuffing, almost always. It should feel dense and slightly hard.
Can I make it taller? Yes. Keep adding increase pairs and tiers in the same rhythm. Each extra tier adds roughly 2 cm.
Can I use cotton? Yes, and the shells will be crisper, though the tree will be heavier and needs even firmer stuffing.