Crochet Christmas Tree + Tutorial
Crochet Christmas Topiary Tree
This cute Crochet Christmas Topiary Tree stands 13.5″ tall, tree top not included in height. The base diameter is nearly 10″. This is a super great gift for the elderly stuck in long term care facilities, someone at the office would like a home made Christmas tree on their desk without taking much space and for anyone who would like an artistic, homemade crochet Christmas tree for display.
This tree takes approximately 3.5 hours to crochet. The decorating of the tree you see in the photograph took me about 1.5 hours as I was strategic about hot glue gunning my felted balls and silver jewelry beads into place. I opted to not do yarn that resembled tinsel as I found it covered up a lot of my stitch work. I figured I spent 3.5 hours crocheting this, I want my stitch work to be visible and part of the obvious creativity to this little tree.
Tree Top Tip: The Tree Top is a polymer clay decoration. I simply glued a thin dowel to the back of the decoration, then slipped the dowel down through the top of the crochet project and inserted it into the Styrofoam so it stayed standing up. On a personal note: Diva Dan prefers the tree without any tree top. I like it either way.
I’ve been teaching How To Read Crochet Patterns lately. I felt it appropriate to create some pattern diagrams to help encourage people to understand how to read the diagrams as well.
Pattern Notes:
I found this project to be in three different steps.
- Create the foundation of the Christmas Tree. Spiraling from Top to Bottom.
- Create branches of the Christmas Tree from Bottom to Top, spiraling back up.
- Decorate to suit you.
Materials Needed:
- Size J or 6.0 MM Crochet Hook
- 2 Balls of Green – Caron Simply Soft Party – Spring Sparkle Green 100 g, 3.5 oz
- Substitute the yarn for any brands you prefer to make your tree customized to fit your personality.
DC = Double Crochet, Ch, SL ST = Slip Stitch, BEG = Beginning, SC = Single Crochet, V Stitch 2 DC into same Stitch,
Create Your Foundation First:
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Ch 4, SL ST to the BEG Ch to form ring.- Ch 2, 16 DC around the ring, do not SL ST at the end.
- Immediately DC 2 Times (V Stitch) into the first DC from the previous round. This creates the start of the spiraling effect. DC into the next 7 stitches, Next stitch DC twice (V Stitch) into the same stitch. DC remaining stitches around.
- To continue the spiraling effect and growing your tree into a cone, you will go over the V Stitch in the previous round, on the 2nd DC of the V Stitch, Place another V Stitch to continue the cone widening growth. Do this for every V Stitch you crochet over.
- Continue to crochet in a never ending spiral until you get the height you want. The height is determined by a Styrofoam Cone or whatever height you have in mind. You don’t need to count your revolutions.
- When you have your desired height, fasten off and weave in your ends.
Crochet Diagram Showing Stitches
- Red Lines indicate where I am showing you to immediately crochet without slip stitching. This will make one continuous row from the top of the tree all the way to the bottom of the tree.
Creating Your Branches
The picture to the right is showing you how I want you to look at your project. You will need to turn your project inside out to get this look. If right handed, the bottom of the spiral must start at the bottom and go left. For left handers, your spiral will go right.
- Fasten on yarn on the side of the first post. CH 3.
- Immediately DC 4 times on the same post. The way we are grabbing each post to DC onto is referred to as FPDC (Front Post Double Crochet). Ch 1, then FPDC 5 Times immediately on the next post directly beside it.
- *Skip 3 posts and on the 4th Post, 5 FPDC, Ch1 and 5 FPDC on the next post and repeat from * all the way to the top of the tree.
The diagram below the way the foundation looks before adding your branches. Essentially we are going to add the Crocodile Stitch to the existing posts and work our way back to the top of the tree.
The diagram below is what the branches will do to the existing foundation. The bottoms of the crocodile scales face down, it is much easier to crochet the stitches from the bottom to top of tree for easier access to the posts. Because we have worked down in a continuous spiral, this means the end of the row is at the top of the tree. We continue to work on the row (crocheting left if you are right handed or moving right if you are left handed).
- Finish the final scale at the top of the tree when you have run out of posts to crochet.
- Simply fasten off at the end on the final 5th FPDC stitch. This will allow the scale to stand up on one side to form a perfect top.
Decorate Your Tree
- I used felted balls by Handbe
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hg Felts. There are two different sizes of balls to make it appear more random. - I also used silver jewelry beads to simulate Christmas balls.
- I used a hot glue gun to fasten the balls into place onto the tree.
- I had yarn that simulated tinsel but found it hid my stitchwork too much for me to like it. That’s up to you. You can just take yarn and chain it into a large strand and wrap around your tree.
Enjoy your new tree.
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Designed by Michael Sellick, ©2012 The Crochet Crowd
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Michael u have taught me a lot with u r tutorials ex maple leave and the Christmas tree thanks
Looks like an interesting project. I’ve got to try it. I’ll add it to my to-do list. Thanks for the video tutorial. You guys are great!
Wonderful as normal Hun thank you xx from the uk xx
Oh, wow! It is really time to get started on Christmas decorations. I love this because I have cats and they can’t do to much damage to it! I absolutely love, love your diagrams Mikey-it helps me see where the stitches go -esp. when I may not quite get the written pattern. I wish all payyerns had them.
I am a little confused on how I am supposed to go back up to top of tree
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Mikey – thanks so much for this pattern. I made 6 of them to use for centerpieces for our Christmas party next month. I bought bracelets and took them apart to use the beads to decorate them. I am now in search of tree toppers to finish them. Great pattern and easy to do. Love your site and patterns. Thanks again!
This is wonderful Mikey, a little beyond my skills right now, but I am going to try hard for one next year. By the way, I LOVED your nutcracker too.
I did this pattern two time the first time I did as it was written this time I changed the starting stitch count I used 12 in ring not 16 like it said to use it fit the cone better this time.
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I made this tree in 1974, and am now in the process of redecorating it and taking it to my oldest son and family for xmas, he has asked for it and will add lights to update it to 2014 look. so cool to have found this pattern once again, thanks, anne Gibson, Vancouver island, british Columbia, Canada
fab loved this crochet tree going to print out to share with my crocher buddies and see if we can all have a go to make one ty mikey
This tutorial is great. I can totally UNDERSTAND how to do this project.
Mikey–I found a crocheted christmas tree in a thrift store about five years ago and love it. As you can imagine, it’s a little threadbare by now, what with cats, dogs and grown children playing with it. I look forward to making this and thanks a lot for the beautiful pattern. I look forward to many years of looking at and redecorating this one. You were bang on.
I love it