I’ve been meaning to make something ‘just for me’ for ages.  With Christmas coming up, I decided to crochet some Christmas light flowers.  I had originally wanted to use every colour of the rainbow, but Christiaan was insistent that I should only use white.  I rebelled by using off-white.

You can make these flowers in one of two ways:  the quick way, or the long way.  I am going to show you the quick way, but I will also explain how to do it the longer (more durable) way.  I prefer the easy (quick) way because it takes half the time the longer way does.  It does, however, mean that you are working over an elastic band that will become less elastic over time (and eventually snap).  That having been said, I think I would rather crochet all the flowers again if this happens, rather than go through the tedium of working into a magic ring and then meticulously sewing away my tails while wrestling with a string of tangling Christmas lights!

Crochet Christmas Light Flowers

This project is perfect for using up small scraps of yarn (1 meter or more) as each flower uses a meter of yarn.  You can use as many or as few colours as you like.

Please Note:  I am using LED lights that don’t heat up.  My flowers also don’t touch the actual lights, but fit snugly behind the ‘fitting’, so they are not in contact with the lights.  I ALSO don’t leave my lights switched on unattended.

Materials

• 1/8” dental elastics (Available HERE from Amazon.com and HERE from Amazon.co.uk)
• LED Christmas Lights (like THESE ones from Amazon.com or THESE ones from Amazon.co.uk)
• 4 mm crochet hook
• Scraps of double knit yarn in white (light worsted weight/#3) – I am using Scheepjes Stonewashed (Moonstone).

Abbreviations

• Ch – Chain
• Sc – Single crochet
• Sl st – Slip stitch
• () – Repeat instructions between brackets the number of times specified

Instructions

Add this pattern to your Ravelry Queue.

The Easy Way

You will crochet your flower over a dental elastic instead of into a magic ring.

Start with a slip knot on your hook and place a dental elastic over the tip of your hook {Photo 1}.  Pull the elastic to give you some space to work into {Photo 2} and make a standing single crochet over the dental elastic in the same way that you would when working into a chain-ring or a magic ring {Photo 3}.

(Ch 6 {Photo 4}, sc over the elastic {Photos 5 and 6}) 5 times.  Ch 6 {Photo 7}, cut your yarn and pull it through the loop on your hook to fasten off {Photo 8}.

Line the two yarn ends up so that the initial slip knot and the last ch are next to each other {Photo 9}.  Make an overhand knot to secure the two tails to each other, using a large needle to move the knot right up against the slip knot and the last chain {Photos 10 – 12}.  Cut your yarn close to the knot {Photo 13}.  This knot will be behind your flower and shouldn’t be visible from the front.

You should now have a small 6-petaled flower.

Opening up the elastic center, slip the flower over your Christmas light.

Repeat the whole process for each light on the string of lights.

The Longer (More Durable) Way

If you decide that you do want to eliminate the chance that your flower will ‘break’ when the elastic band disintegrates, start with a magic ring instead.  Into the magic ring:  (Sc, ch 6) 6 times.  Join to the first sc with a sl st.  Don’t close the magic ring yet!

Place your flower over the Christmas light, then pull the magic ring closed.  Fasten off and work away your tails of yarn, making sure that you work them away tightly so that the magic ring won’t open up and slide over the light.

I have made 40 (of 100) flowers so far (okay…Jenny made 15 of them), and I love the whimsy!  While I make the rest of the flowers, I have strung my lights up on the shelf that houses a (small) part of my yarn stash.

As I type this, the boys are in bed and Christiaan is out, so I am enjoying the comforting glow of my way-too-early-Christmas-lights in blissful solitude.

Just as an aside, I had braces when I was 13.  I can still remember opening and closing my mouth in English class until the elastics eventually snapped with a satisfying little ping (I was odd).  I can also remember the burning humiliation of being teased as ‘train tracks’, and the constant fear that I had food stuck in my braces.  Using these elastics for something creative has helped me dilute the bad memories a little bit.  And that is why I craft :)

I think I might be the only person ‘crazy’ enough to crochet 100 flowers for her Chrismas lights, but if you do decide to join me, I would love to see some photos or hear your tips for making it easier.

This post is part of the 2016 Holiday Blog Hop hosted by American Crochet.

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