A slim hanging tree made of green cone tiers with a thick white snow edge on every branch, threaded onto a brown trunk that runs right through the middle, with a gold star on top and a little pot at the base.
The trick here is that the tiers are separate. Each one is a flat ring worked as a cone and edged in white, and they all slide down a central trunk like beads on a stick. That means you can space them however you like and the tree keeps its shape without any stuffing at all.
What you’ll need
Size 3 crochet cotton or 4 ply cotton in two greens, white and brown, plus a small amount of mustard for the star.
A 2.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want a wooden skewer or a length of 2 mm craft wire for the trunk core, a scrap of fibrefill for the pot, fabric stiffener, and a tapestry needle.
Finished height is about 16 cm plus the hanging cord.
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 tiers, make six
Each tier is a shallow cone with a hole in the middle. They get bigger as they go down the tree.
Start each one with a chain ring rather than a magic ring, because you need the centre hole to stay open for the trunk.
Tier 1, the smallest. Ch 8 and join into a ring. Round 1, work 16 sc into the ring (16). Round 2, sc and inc repeated eight times (24). Round 3, sc twice and inc repeated eight times (32). Change to white. Round 4, work 3 dc into every second stitch and sl st into the stitch between, all the way around. Fasten off.
Tier 2. Same as tier 1 but work one more increase round before the white edging, giving 40 stitches.
Tier 3. Two more increase rounds, giving 48 stitches.
Tier 4. Three more, giving 56.
Tier 5. Four more, giving 64.
Tier 6, the biggest. Five more, giving 72.
Use the darker green for tiers 5 and 6, the mid green for 3 and 4 and the lighter green for 1 and 2, which is what gives the tree depth rather than looking flat.
The white edging is deliberately heavy. Three doubles in every second stitch makes it bunch up and read as snow sitting on the branch rather than as a neat trim.
The trunk
In brown, ch 6 and join into a ring. Work sc round and round in a plain tube for about 14 cm, with no increases at all. Slide the skewer or wire inside as you go, or push it in at the end.
Fasten off, leaving the tube slightly longer than your stack of tiers will be.
The pot
In brown. 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18), then sc in back loops only around (18), then sc for four rounds (18). Stuff lightly and fasten off.
The star
In mustard. 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), sc and inc repeated five times (15). For the points, sl st in the next stitch, 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. Fasten off.
Stiffening
Soak all six tiers in fabric stiffener, then pin each one out flat with the white edge stretched into a wide ruffle. Leave them until they are completely dry.
Unstiffened, the tiers droop into limp discs and the whole thing looks like a wilted lettuce. Stiffened, they hold that horizontal branch angle and the tree reads properly.
Putting it together
Push the biggest tier onto the trunk first and slide it down to about 2 cm from the bottom. Then the next biggest, and so on up to the smallest.
Space them evenly, about 2 cm apart, and stitch each one to the trunk with two or three small brown stitches so it cannot slide. Check from the side as you go that they are all sitting level.
Push the bottom of the trunk into the pot and stitch around the join.
Sew the star to the top of the trunk above the smallest tier, then make a hanging cord by chaining 30 in mustard and slip stitching back along it, and attach it behind the star.
Notes and variations
For a table version rather than a hanging one, weight the pot with a few glass beads before you stuff it and skip the cord.
A cream and gold version with no green at all is lovely and stays up well past Christmas.
Add tiny beads to the white edges if you want it to catch the light.
Make three at different heights by changing the number of tiers, and group them on a shelf.
Questions I get asked
Why is my tier not sitting flat? A cone is meant to dish slightly. If it is cupping badly you have too few stitches in the middle rounds. Add one more increase round before the white edge.
Do I have to stiffen it? Yes, unless you are using very stiff cotton thread. It is the whole structure of the piece.
Can I use yarn instead of thread? Yes, but it will be much bulkier and you should go up to a 3.5 mm hook and reduce the tiers to five.