Yarn Ornaments

These crocheted yarn ornaments are an easy way to add a cozy, homemade touch to your Christmas tree this year. No expert crocheting skills needed, just one basic stitch and you are good to go!

I am excited to share these DIY yarn ornaments with you today! I was looking for some ornaments to make to add to my tree this year and came across some crocheted ornaments. Although they were a little more involved than I wanted to try. I figured there had to be an easier way! I was right! 😉

For these yarn ornaments, I just crocheted a long basic chain stitch and glued that onto an ornament. It reminds me of how I made this finger knitted pumpkin several years ago. The result is a super fuzzy and professional looking ornament. These DIY ornaments are something I would buy in the store for sure!

Also, this was my first time ever crocheting so if I can do it, you can do it! Like I said, it is a pretty basic stitch so I am not patting myself on the back too hard but I still feel pretty happy and proud about learning a new skill to use in my crafting. I like to tell everyone that all you have to do is try! There are so many resources available like videos and tutorials online. We have no excuses in this day and age not to learn new things. 🙂

As you can tell from the pictures, the dark red ornament looks a little different from the others, that is because I used a thinner yarn that I already had on hand for that one. You can use any kind of yarn for these homemade ornaments, however, the thinner the yarn, the longer it takes to make. Just a heads up! I think they both look great but prefer the bigger chunkier yarn look. Also because it was a super soft yarn so it feels nice too!

Make the yarn ornaments in any color!

The biggest advantage to making your own ornaments is that you can make them however you want them to be! One of my Christmas trees this year is decorated with traditional red and green colors so that is what color yarn I made my ornaments from. You can make them any color you want to coordinate with your tree!

Watch the quick video

Don’t want to read all the instructions? I have included a video in this post showing you how to make crocheted yarn ornaments. If you can’t see the video, turn off your ad blocker. Also, if you ever want to slow down the video, just click on the three dots in the lower right hand corner of the video and you can change the playback speed. If you want detailed instructions, continue reading.

Supplies to make DIY yarn ornaments

*There are links to products in this post that I use or are similar to products I use. If you buy something from one of these links, I may make a small commission (with no additional cost to you) from the purchase. I will not recommend anything that I would not buy myself.

Yarn of your choice – I used Yarn Bee True Colors yarn in Red and Emerald. The dark red and white yarns were ones I already had on hand.
Crochet Hook – I used a size J- 6mm.
Clear Ball Ornaments 3.15mm. Really you could use any colored or old ornaments you want, I just like the clear so no color would show through.
Hot glue gun
Scissors

How to crochet a chain stitch

The first step to making these yarn ornaments is to crochet a long chain stitch. If you have never crocheted before, it does take a little practice to get your fingers to cooperate. Ha! The nice thing is that the stitch is super easy to take out so you can practice all you want without wasting any yarn. I found it helpful to keep the end of the yarn in my fingers like the picture below. It was easier to control for me this way.

To start a crochet stitch, run the hook under the yarn wrapped around your index finger. Twist the crochet hook 360° so the yarn is now wrapped in a loop around the hook. Making sure to hold onto the loose end, take the crochet hook and slip it under the yarn on top of your index finger. Hook that thread and bring it down through the opening of the loop around the crochet hook. This makes a knot, pull it tight. If you have questions after reading the instructions, you can also watch the video to see how to do it.

You are able to tighten the knot by pulling on the working thread of yarn. This will pull the knot closer to the hook. Remember this as you go along, because it makes your stitches more uniform when you keep the yarn taut. To continue with your chain stitch, take your hook in front of and then wrap behind the yarn coming off your index finger to hook the yarn. Pull the hook down through the opening next to the loop on the hook. Pull the working thread taut to keep the loop right next to the hook. As you get better, you will be able to do this with your fingers as you go along.

Repeat these steps over and over

Continue repeating this pattern to make a chain.

Take notice of the two sides of the crocheted chain. One side looks like a braid with two strands showing while the other side has a raised center part and looks like three strands of yarn coming together. We will use this knowledge later.

Keep crocheting until you have a long chain. You don’t have to worry about the exact length because you can add more or take away as needed as you glue it onto the ornament.

How to make a DIY yarn ornament

Take an ornament and remove the cap from the ornament. Put it aside for later.

Add a bead of glue around the opening of the ornament. Take the end of the yarn chain and glue down the un-crocheted end around the opening. Next add more glue right under that yarn and glue down the crocheted portion. Make sure to place the braided looking side down. We want the more textured (raised) side to be up. The braided side fits more snugly against the ornament and the other side looks better facing out, it gives the ornament more dimension.

Continue gluing the crochet chain on the ornament. Make sure to fit the next row snug to the one before and use thin beads of hot glue so you don’t have extra glue oozing out from behind the yarn.

When you get towards the bottom of the ornament, you will be essentially placing the yarn chain in place next to the previous row rather than wrapping it around. If you need more crocheted chain, you can easily crochet more while the rest is glued to the ornament.

Finishing off the yarn ornament

When you get to the end of the ornament, figure out how much length you will need to fill in the rest of the opening. You can easily unravel the crocheted chain by just pulling on the working thread of the yarn. Unravel it down to the point you determined where to stop.

To tie it off, take the crochet hook and slip it through the loop at the end of the chain. Hook the working thread and bring it back through the loop. Pull it tight to make a knot. Cut off the working thread end.

Trim the end of the yarn off and add hot glue to the opening. Fill in the opening with the remainder of the chain. It should look pretty flush when you are done.

Add the cap back onto the ornament and you are done! You can paint the ornament top if you prefer to make it gold or black but I like mine silver.

Here are more DIY ornaments that you may enjoy!

Display your ornaments

You can obviously decorate your tree with these crocheted yarn ornaments, but they also look amazing just sitting in a big wooden bowl or sitting on the mantel. You could also add them to a garland or use them in a tablescape centerpiece.