A soft sage green tree smothered in pearls, tiny flowers, snowflakes and cream bows, sitting above a coil that has beads running along both of its edges, with charms hanging into the space beneath.
This is the most decorated thing I have ever made and the crochet is the smallest part of it. The tree is a shell tiered cone and the coil is one row worked into a chain. What takes the time, and what makes it look like an heirloom rather than a craft project, is the beading.
The beads on the spiral edges are not sewn on afterwards. They are strung onto the yarn before you begin and worked in as you go, which is why they sit in a perfectly even line instead of wandering. That technique is the whole post really, and it is much easier than it sounds.
What you’ll need
Size 3 crochet cotton in sage green, cream and a soft blush pink. Small amounts of each, since everything here is tiny.
A 2 mm hook. Go smaller than you think, because loose stitches will not hold beads in line.
For beading you want around 200 white pearl beads in mixed sizes from 3 mm to 6 mm, around 80 small gold beads, and a fine gold metallic thread. Buy more beads than you think you need. Running out halfway through a strung edge means unpicking the whole row.
You’ll also want polyester fibrefill, about a metre of 0.8 mm florist wire, a fine beading needle, and a tapestry needle.
Finished length is about 40 cm.
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.
How the bead stringing works
Read this before you start the spiral, because it has to happen before the first stitch.
Thread a fine beading needle with the working end of your yarn and slide beads onto it, one at a time, in the order you want them to appear. They travel down and sit on the yarn in a long queue. Then you start crocheting normally, and whenever you want a bead, you slide one up close to the hook and work the next stitch so the bead is trapped against the front of the fabric.
Two things to know. You cannot add beads later, so string more than the pattern calls for. And the beads sit on the side facing away from you as you work, so on a coil that curls, check on your first few stitches which face they are landing on and turn the work if it is the wrong one.
Part 1. The tree cone
In sage green. 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 around (9)
Tier 1 into round 4.
Round 5. Sc twice, inc, repeated three times (12)
Round 6. Sc three times, inc, repeated three times (15)
Round 7. Sc around (15)
Tier 2 into round 7.
Round 8. Sc four times, inc, repeated three times (18)
Round 9. Sc five times, inc, repeated three times (21)
Round 10. Sc around (21)
Tier 3 into round 10.
Round 11. Sc six times, inc, repeated three times (24)
Round 12. Sc seven times, inc, repeated three times (27)
Round 13. Sc around (27)
Tier 4 into round 13.
Round 14. Sc eight times, inc, repeated three times (30)
Round 15. Sc nine times, inc, repeated three times (33)
Round 16. Sc around (33)
Tier 5 into round 16. Stuff the cone firmly now.
Round 17. Sc ten times, inc, repeated three times (36)
Round 18. Sc eleven times, inc, repeated three times (39)
Round 19. Sc around (39)
Tier 6 into round 19.
Round 20. Sc twelve times, inc, repeated three times (42)
Round 21. Sc around (42)
Tier 7 into round 21, the widest.
Then close the base. Sc five times and dec repeated six times (36), then four and dec (30), three and dec (24), two and dec (18), one and dec (12), then dec six times and close. Top up the stuffing before you finish so the tree is solid.
Part 2. The tiers
Every count above divides by three, so the shells always come out even.
Join sage 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 around and fasten off.
Press each tier down with your finger so the shells droop over the tier below.
Part 3. Decorating the tree
This is the long part. Work over several sittings and stop when it looks right rather than when you have used everything.
Pearls. Sew them into the gaps between the shells, all over the tree, mixing the sizes. Cluster three or four together in places and leave other areas emptier. Even spacing is what makes beadwork look like a machine did it.
Gold beads. Scatter maybe twenty of these among the pearls, always outnumbered by the pearls so they read as accents rather than as a second colour.
Small flowers, make five in cream and two in blush. Into a magic ring work sl st, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st, repeated five times for five petals. Sew a pearl or a gold bead into the centre of each and stitch them flat onto the tree.
Mini snowflakes, make four in cream. MR, ch 1, 12 sc into the ring, join. Then ch 4, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next 2 ch, sl st into the ring, skip one sc, and repeat for six short arms. Stiffen them flat and sew them on.
Bows, make three in cream. Ch 16, sc back along the chain. Pinch the middle, wrap tightly with cream and knot at the back. Sew a pearl to the centre of each. Place them at different heights and never two on the same tier.
Part 4. The beaded spiral
String your beads first. Onto sage green yarn, thread about 60 beads alternating pearl, pearl, gold, and push them well down out of the way.
Ch 90 with the beads sitting behind you on the yarn.
Row 1. Ch 2, then work 2 dc into the third chain from the hook and 2 dc into every chain across, with no beads yet. Do not fasten off.
Row 2. Turn and work sc into every stitch across, sliding a bead up close to the hook before every third stitch. The work will be coiling hard by now. Follow the curve rather than fighting it.
Row 3. Turn and work sc into every stitch across, again bringing up a bead before every third stitch, so the second edge matches the first. Fasten off.
If you run out of beads partway, do not improvise. Undo back to the start of the row, string more, and begin that row again. A beaded edge that stops halfway is the one mistake on this piece you will never stop noticing.
Thread florist wire through the base of the row 1 stitches along the inner edge, fold the ends over and tuck them in, then set the coil so the turns sit about 4 cm apart.
Add a running line of fine gold thread along the centre of the band with long loose running stitches, which is what gives the coil its gold glint between the two beaded edges.
Part 5. The star
In cream, make two pieces. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18). 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 into the next stitch, then sl st in the next. Repeat four more times.
Join the halves with sc through both layers, stuffing lightly, then sew a large pearl to the centre and a small pearl near each point.
Part 6. Hanging charms
Baubles, make four. Two in sage and two in cream. 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), sc for two rounds (10), dec five times, stuff and close. Sew pearls and gold beads onto each one at random.
Pine cone, make one in blush. 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), then work three rounds of bobbles, each bobble being four unfinished dc in the same stitch pulled through together. Dec to close and stuff lightly.
Flower, make one large in blush. Into a magic ring work sl st, ch 3, 3 dc, ch 3, sl st, repeated six times. Sew a pearl cluster to the centre.
Snowflakes, make three in cream using the mini snowflake instructions, stiffened flat.
Pearl drops, make four. Thread two or three pearls onto a short length of gold thread and knot beneath.
Putting it together
Sew the star to the tip of the tree and attach a cream hanging cord behind it, chained 40 and slip stitched back along itself.
Sew the top of the beaded spiral to the base of the tree, going through the same spot several times.
Sew a large cream bow with a pearl centre over that join. It hides the seam and it is the visual full stop between the tree and the coil, so do not skip it.
Now hang the charms. Attach each one to the underside of the coil on a short length of gold thread, varying the drops from 2 cm to 6 cm. Alternate sides of the coil as you work down, and alternate heavy charms with light ones, which is what stops the whole thing twisting.
Sew the blush flower directly onto the outer edge of the coil about two thirds of the way down, rather than hanging it, so it sits flat against the band and breaks up the line.
Hang it up and live with it for a day before you finish the ends. On a piece with this much on it, something always needs moving.
Notes and variations
A blush and cream version with no green at all is beautiful and reads as a Valentine’s or a wedding piece rather than Christmas.
Ice blue with silver beads instead of gold gives you a winter version that can stay up through February.
Make the tree on its own without the coil as a small standing ornament.
For a much quicker version, skip the strung beading and sew a plain gold thread line along both edges of the coil instead.
Questions I get asked
My beads are landing on the wrong side of the work. Check after your first few stitches, not after the whole row. Beads sit on the far side as you work, so if they are ending up inside the coil, turn the work over and continue.
Can I sew the beads on afterwards instead? You can, and for the tree that is exactly what you do. For the coil edges, sewn beads wander off the line in a way strung ones never do, and on a piece this size that shows.
How many beads do I actually need? About 200 pearls and 80 gold, and buy a spare packet.