15 Easy Crochet Christmas Ornament Ideas

US crochet terms throughout. Sizes here are worked out from gauge rather than from a finished sample, so swatch and measure as you go, and the pictures of finished pieces are illustrations. Made one? Send a photo through the contact page.

A crochet ornament has one job: hang flat enough that it does not curl into a tube by New Year. The hanging loop matters more than the color.

This page lists 15 shapes. The flat star is a full pattern. Two other shapes already have patterns on this site, and those links are the instructions. The rest are ideas for planning yarn and difficulty. They are not stitch-by-stitch tutorials, and the group picture is an illustration of the shapes. For the star that is written out, the hanging loop has to pass over the hook you will actually use. Chain it, slip stitch it to the top, and check the hook before you weave the tail. If the star cups, block it flat before it hangs. A cupped star twists on the tree.

US terms. US single crochet is UK double crochet. Abbreviations.

A group of small crochet Christmas ornaments on a table — Illustration. Ornament ideas in one photo. Only the star pattern is written in full on this page.

What every ornament needs

Worsted cotton. A flat ornament uses a small scrap. A stuffed ball uses more. Amounts have not been weighed. Yarn for Christmas covers sparkle yarn and why it behaves badly in small stitches.
US G/6 (4.0 mm) hook. Hook chart.
A hanging loop: chain 12, sew both ends to the top, weave the tail through the chain. A single unsewn strand will pull out.

Stuffing is optional and usually a mistake on a flat ornament. It makes the piece heavy for a thin branch.

The fifteen

Mini Christmas tree. The flat triangle in how to crochet a Christmas tree hangs flat. Use a smaller hook or start on 11 stitches for a smaller one, and sew the hanging loop at the tip.

Star. Full pattern below. Beginner. Flat, five points, joined rounds.

Snowflake. Use how to crochet a snowflake. That page deals with keeping points flat. This page does not repeat it.

Mini stocking. Beginner idea. A short rectangle folded and seamed, with a cuff row in a second color. The heel is the part people fake with a lump of stitches. If you want a real heel, that is a sock technique, not a one-round charm.

Candy cane. Beginner idea. A tight chain in red, then a second pass of white on one side, then a pipe cleaner or a length of wire inside if you need it to keep the hook shape. Yarn alone often uncurls. Say so if you sell them.

Bell. Beginner idea. A small cone worked in the round. The clapper is a bead on a strand, and the bead must be too wide to pull back through the stitches.

Heart. The row-by-row heart in bag charm ideas can hang as an ornament if you add the same chain loop. That pattern is a charm, not a stuffed pillow.

Gingerbread-inspired ornament. Idea only. A brown flat shape with a white embroidered edge. Do not copy a specific designer’s gingerbread set. Embroidery should stay shallow so the back is not a knot.

Mini wreath. Beginner idea. A short tube joined into a ring, with a chain bow. The ring collapses if the tube is only 4 stitches around. Plan on a firmer hook.

Snowman. Intermediate idea. Three balls stacked and sewn. The existing gnome is a different toy. A snowman needs its own counts, which are not on this page.

Gift box. Beginner idea. Six squares seamed into a cube is a lot of ends for an ornament. A flat pocket that holds a card is the Christmas gift card holder, and that one is not meant to hang.

Mini mitten. Beginner idea. Same construction warning as the stocking. A thumb added as an afterthought looks like a bump. Plan the thumb as a few stitches split off the round, or skip the thumb and call it a flat mitten shape.

Bauble. Beginner idea if you can make a ball: increase to a circle, work even, then decrease in mirror. The pumpkin gives a counted ball; work six even rounds instead of four for a round bauble and skip the grooves. Leave a loop before you close it. Do not hang a heavy stuffed ball on a weak branch.

Angel-inspired ornament. Idea only. A circle head and a triangle body read as an angel at a distance. Wings are where copied patterns usually live. Keep wings as two simple triangles you design yourself, or skip them.

Festive bow. Beginner idea. Two loops, a center wrap, a hanging chain. Pin the loops before you wrap or the bow becomes a knot. This is not a full bow pattern.

A star, a small tree, and a round ornament — Illustration. Three shapes from the list. The tree pattern is on its own page.

Flat star pattern

Joined rounds. The slip stitch that joins does not count as a stitch. Ch 1 at the start of a round does not count.

Hands crocheting a small cream star — Illustration. The points are groups of stitches worked into chain spaces.

Round 1: 5 sc in a magic ring. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (5)

Round 2: Ch 1, (sc in the next stitch, ch 5) 5 times. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (5 sc and 5 chain-5 spaces)

Each repeat uses one of the 5 stitches from Round 1.

Round 3: In each chain-5 space, work sc, hdc, dc, ch 3, sl st in the 3rd chain from the hook (a picot), dc, hdc, sc. Join to the first sc. Fasten off. (30 stitches and 5 picots)

That is 6 stitches and a picot in each of 5 spaces. They sit in the chains, not in the single crochets of Round 2. If you also stitch into those single crochets, you get extra fabric between the points and the star looks like a flower.

Stitch heights rise to the middle of each loop, and the picot sharpens the tip. Without it the points look like petals.

The picot is what makes it a star. A loop filled with sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc rises and falls in a smooth arch, which reads as a flower petal. A small chain loop at the top of the arch gives it a sharp tip.

Weave the ring tail. Chain 12, sew both ends behind one point.

A yarn loop sewn to the top of a star — Illustration. The loop is sewn. It is not a loose tail.

Hanging

Use a branch that can take the weight. A stuffed bauble needs a sturdier loop than this flat star. Space ornaments so the loops do not share one twig.

Crochet ornaments on a small tree — Illustration. Display idea. The photo is not fifteen separate patterns.

Separate five star points from the joining stitches

Round 2 makes five sc anchors and five ch-5 loops. After its join, slip stitch into the first loop before starting round 3. Work the full six-stitch point and its picot into that loop, then move directly to the next loop without adding sc into the intervening anchors. Finish all five loops and join to the first sc. Count thirty sc/hdc/dc stitches plus five picots; connecting slip stitches are not additional points. A hanger is made separately and sewn behind one point. The remaining ornament ideas need their own patterns or the explicitly linked tutorial.

Mistakes

Skipping the join count. If Round 1 has 6 stitches, you will get 6 points. The pattern asks for 5.

A wire you cannot see. If you use a pipe cleaner in a candy cane, the ends must be bent in and covered. A raw wire tip is a bad ornament.

Blocking with a hot iron on acrylic. It melts. Pin a damp cotton star and let it dry, which is the method in weaving ends and blocking.

Care

Dust them. Wash only if you must, by hand, with the hanger still secure. Dry flat. Store them where the loops cannot tangle into a knot you have to cut.

Frequently asked

Are all 15 patterns here?

No. The star is complete. The tree and the snowflake are on their own pages. The other shapes are planning notes.

Can I sell the stars?

Finished stars, yes. Do not republish the three rounds.

Will the star stay flat?

At this size, cotton and a normal tension usually lie flat because there is no stuffed center. If it cups, the ring was pulled too tight. Redo Round 1 rather than blocking a curled center into submission.

If you are making gifts that are not ornaments, the gift card holder is a flatter project with a real measurement to hit.