Make it! Gingerbread House ornament !!!

In this last couple of weeks I feel unstoppable!!!!

I really love to create decorations for Christmas : a lot of fun !!!!

Today, I'm showing you how to crochet some gingerbread houses to hang on your Christmas tree or to use for a bunting, a wreath or just to add as a decorative element on the table or on a parcel ...

WHAT YOU NEED :

4mm hook
some colourful DK yarns from your stash
yarn needle
scissors
mini bells
baker's twine

Please note I follow the US crochet terminology, thank you !!!

You can work your ornament with different weight of yarns, if you like !

The pattern for the house takes inspiration from an "old" photo tutorial of mine : Make it! Granny House!!! There are slight differences with the pattern of today, but you can choose the one you prefer!

Let's start !!! ;oD


CANDY CANES (make two)

You can decide to crochet white candy canes or colourful ones (for example : all red) and add the extra colour (slant line) when sewing the sweets along the house sides.
I prefer to crochet candy canes using two colours (like in tapestry crochet), starting the foundation chain with the darkest colour, never with white.

As you can see from the above picture, you need to crochet two candy canes, one with a right bending and one with a left bending !

right bending : (red & white candy cane) Make a slip knot on your hook with red yarn and chain 23.
Wrap yarn around the hook and insert its tip in 3rd chain from hook and work your first double crochet (=DC). Work another DC in next chain. Change colour (=white) and crochet 2 DC in next 2 chains. Change colour (red) and work 5 DC in same chain (bending). *Change colour (white) : work 2 DC in next 2 chains / change colour (red) : work 2 DC in next 2 chains *. Repeat pattern in between ** other 3 times, reaching the end. Chain 2 (with red) and slip stitch in last DC.
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.

left bending : (green & white candy cane) Make a slip knot on your hook with green yarn and chain 23. Wrap yarn around the hook and insert its tip in 3rd chain from hook and work your first DC. Work another DC in next chain. Change colour (white) and crochet 2 DC in next 2 chains. [change colour (green) : work 2 DC in next 2 chains / change colour (white) : work 2 DC in next 2 chains)] 3 times . Change colour (green) and work 5 DC in same chain (bending). Change colour (white) and crochet 2 DC in next 2 chains. Change colour (green) and work your last 2 DC in last 2 chains. Chain 2 and slip stitch in last DC.
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew in ends.

If you have problems in crocheting your candy canes using two colours separately, you can try to use two strands together and follow the same patterns !!! Remember that your personal touch is a must in any of your works, ok ? ;oD


PEPPERMINTS (two sizes)

It depends on the size of your gingerbread house : big house ? Big peppermint !!! Small house? Small peppermint !!!! ;oD

Even in this case, you need to confident with the basics of tapestry crochet ( if you need some help, have a look here), as you need to know how to carry 2 threads along the same row/round !

small peppermint

Choose a colour (yellow, for example) and make a slip knot on your hook. Chain 4 and slip stitch in the first chain to make a ring.
first round : chain 2 and work 12 DC into the ring. Slip stitch in top of first DC to complete the round.
second round : chain 2 and work 2 DC in same stitch. Change colour (white) and work 2 DC in next stitch. [Change colour (yellow) and work 2DC in next stitch) / change colour (white) and work 2 DC in next stitch] 5 times. Slip stitch in top of first DC. (total stitches : 24)
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.


big peppermint : this time we choose green as the main colour. Make a slip knot on your hook, chain 4 and slip stitch in the first chain to make a ring.
first round : as small peppermint
second round : as small peppermint, but remember to NOT CUT THE YARN !!!
third round : chain 2 and work 1 DC in same stitch. Work 2 DC in next stitch. Change colour (white) and work 1 DC in next stitch, then 2 DC in next stitch. [Change colour (green) and work 1 DC in next stitch and 2 DC in next stitch / change colour (white) and work 1 DC in next stitch and 2 DC in next stitch] 5 times. Slip stitch in top of first DC. (total stitches : 36)
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.

If the "big peppermint" is to big for your gingerbread house, try to crochet half double crochet stitches, instead, in the third round ! ;oD


GINGERBREAD HOUSE pattern

As written at the beginning of this post, this pattern origins from a previous one, that you can easily find HERE !!!

....You can crochet even a rounded version of it (HERE) if you like...

Anyway, today I'm giving you the updated version of the "Granny House" and we are going to work the granny square and the roof together, with no interruption in the pattern!


Choose the colour you prefer (I've been really traditional : caramel is my choice, buy you can work with any colour!) and make a slip knot on your hook, slip stitch in the first stitch to form a ring.

first round : chain 2 and work 3 DC into the ring, then chain 3. Repeat (3 DC into ring + chain 3) other 3 times. Slip stitch in top of first DC.

second round : slip stitch in following 2 DC tops and 1 slip stitch in corner. Chain 2 and in same corner : 3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC, chain 1. Repeat (3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC, chain 1) for each corner. Slip stitch in top of first DC.

third round : slip stitch in following 2 DC tops and 1 slip stitch in corner. Chain 2 and in same corner : 3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC, chain 1. In next chain-1 space : 3 DC, chain 1. Repeat [(3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC, chain 1 in each corner) + (3 DC, chain 1 in each chain-1 space)] 3 times.  Slip stitch in top of first DC.

fourth round : slip stitch in following 2 DC tops and 1 slip stitch in corner.  Chain 2 and in the same corner : 3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC, chain 1. In first chain-1 space and in next chain-1 space : 3 DC, chain 1. Repeat (3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC. chain 1) in each corner, while repeat (3 DC, chain 1) for every chain-1 space! Slip stitch in top of first DC.

Above you can see your 4 rounds granny square done !

Now, 2 slip stitches in the tops of the following DC and 1 slip stitch in the first corner on the left ...

... and let's start the ROOF : 

first row : chain 2, work 1 DC, chain 4 and in same corner work 3 DC (see above pics) and chain 1.
Repeat (3 DC in chain-1 space, chain 1) 3 times. Then in corner : work 3 DC, chain 4 and work 1 DC,  TURN

second row : work 4 single crochet (=SC) around last "chain 4" . Chain 3 and repeat (3 DC in chain-1 space, chain 1) 3 times. Work 3 DC in last chain-1 space, but no chain 1 : in fact, work 1 DC in next space. TURN

third row : chain 3 and repeat (3 DC in chain-1 space, chain 1) twice. Work 3 DC in last chain-1 space and 1 DC in last space. TURN

fourth row : chain 3 and in following chain-1 space : 3 DC, chain 1. Work 3 DC in last chain-1 space and 1 DC in last space. TURN

fifth row : chain 3. Work 3 DC in chain-1 space, chain 3 and slip stitch in last space. In this same space you work the chimney : chain 3 and work 3 treble stitches.

Cut yarn, fasten off and sew in ends.

This picture shows you the house made following the "old pattern".

The first picture of this section, instead, shows you the house made following the new instructions !


JOINING CANDY CANES and PEPPERMINT to the gingerbread house

There is not a specific order to follow : you can choose to sew on first the peppermint, then the candy canes, or the candy canes first, then the peppermint .... or 1 candy cane, then peppermint, then second candy cane .... it's up to you, my dears!!! ;oD


I suggest you to sew your candy canes along the sides of the house, using a yarn needle with some yarn (matching the main colours of the candy canes, in my case) and simple stitches.

The peppermint is placed in correspondence of the house' s center. With some yarn matching the main colour (and the help of a yarn needle), pass this yarn in the back of the house and make some knots. Done!!

If you look the back of the house, you will notice how neat it is ... !!! ...

.... and in this pic you have even the "icing " on the roof!!!! ;oD


"ICING" on the roof!

Do you know any gingerbread house without icing ??? I think it's quite impossible, right ???

You need different colours to make a happy roof and some patience ....

.... the stitches used (slip stitches and single crochets and picots!) are not difficult to crochet, but it takes some time to do that, as you need to crochet  (1 SC, 1 SC, chain 3 and slip stitch in first chain, 1 SC ) in the top of each shell ..

... and 3 slip stitches along the bottom wraps of each shell ...

I usually start to crochet the first row of icing at the base of first roof row.

You start with slip stitches, which are worked along couples of bottom wraps of each shell. The pictures above are showing these properly, I think !

After the first slip stitches, you work 3 single crochets (+ 1 picot) in the tops of the DC of each shell.

To make all this work easier, please remember to keep the roof folded backward !

The pattern repeats itself along each row, so you can easily manage that, even every next row becomes shorter .... ;oD

.... and to complete this beauty, just cut a lenght of baker's twine to form a loop to hang your ornament anywhere ....

... but if you desire a smaller version of the gingerbread house ???

No worries, because you can crochet a ...


MINI GINGERBREAD HOUSE

This time, you need to crochet a 2 rounds granny square . Once done, slip stitch in the following 2 tops of the DC and 1 slip stitch in the corner.
You can start the roof :

first row : in the same corner : chain 2, 1 DC, chain 4 and 3 DC, chain 1. In the chain-1 space : 3 DC and chain 1. In last corner : 3 DC, chain 4, 1 DC , TURN

second row : 4 slip stitches along previous "chain 4" , then chain 3. In chain-1 space : 3 DC, chain 1. In next chain-1 space : just 3 DC. Work 1 DC in last space, TURN

third row : chain 3 and work 3 DC in chain-1 space. Chain 3 and slip stitch in next space. In this space chain 3 and work 3 DC : chimney done !

Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in .


In this specific case. you simply need to sew on a small peppermint, no candy canes needed !!!

... oh yes, what about the icing on the roof ???


Make a slip knot on your hook with a sweet colour (!!!) and starting (from right to left) along the first space of the roof :

3 SC
chain 3
3 SC (along 2nd space)
chain 3
3 SC (along 3rd space)
chain 3
1 SC, chain 3, 1 SC, chain 3, 1 SC, chain 3 (along shell in top of roof)
3 SC (along next space)
3 slip stitches along chimney bottom wraps
3 SC in last space!

Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.


Cut some baker's twine, add a mini bell and knot a loop ....

... not bad, right ?

have fun, xxxx Alessandra

Make it ! Full-lenght Rudi ornament !!!

Yes, today I'm sharing a whole Rudi, not just its head!!! ;oD

Both my boys were not completely satisfied (do you believe that???) with the first Rudi outcome and they described to me what they were wishing for.... I tell you, they wanted something more realistic, but I told them that was not my intention....

So, our shared brainstorming session gave birth to the following ornament ...

... both Matteo and Tobia like most the grey Rudi, as it has a better defined tummy !!!

They were even asking for hooves, but I said that suggestion time was expired, so .... ;oD

WHAT DO YOU NEED :

4mm hook
some DK yarns
yarn needle
scissors
buttons (eyes)
thread and needle to sew buttons and bells on
mini bells
pompom maker (optional)
baker's twine

Remember : I follow the US crochet terminology ! Thank you !!!


RUDI'S BODY

You can choose if you prefer a monochrome tummy or a bicoloured one : it's up to you!!!

In any case, pick up a colour of your choice and make a slip knot on your hook, then chain 12

first round : wrap yarn around your hook and insert tip in 3rd chain from hook and crochet your first double crochet (=DC). Work other 8 DC in the next chains. In last chain, instead, crochet 5 DC. Crochet 8 DC at the base of the previous ones, while in the last chain work 4 DC, then slip stitch in the top of first DC done.

second round : chain 2 and work 2 DC in same stitch, then crochet 8 DC in next stitches, while make 2 DC in each stitch (they are five) of the semicircle (tot : 10 stitches). Crochet 8 DC along the straight side, then work 2 DC in each stitch (they are four) of the other semicircle (tot : 8 stitches). Slip stitch in the top of the first DC made.

third round : chain 2 and work 1 DC in the same stitch, 2 DC in next stitch, 8 DC along the straight side, [1 DC+ 2 DC] 5 times along the first semicircle (tot : 15 stitches), 8 DC along the straight side and end with [1 DC + 2 DC] 4 times along the last semicircle (tot : 12 stitches). Slip stitch in the top of first DC done.
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.

If you like the tummy in a different colour from the rest of the body, remember to change colour in the last stitch of first round, as done HERE !!!

You can even sew on a mini bell on the tummy!!!

RUDI'S HEAD

Do you remember seeing this same face somewhere else ????? ;oD

Well, it was in my LAST POST that I gave you all the instructions needed to crochet one, right?

This time you don't need a pin, but some baker's twine to make a loop between Rudi's antlers and some yarn (and needle) to sew your head on top of Rudi's body, ok???

RUDI'S LEGS (make two)

You have to work along the other semicircle, the one opposed the head.

In our case, the semicircle is made of 15 DC. Counting from first stitch (red dot) on both sides, find the 7th stitch (twice!) and in each of them, follow these instructions :

Join yarn in the top of the 7th stitch and chain 18. Wrap yarn around hook and push the hook tip in the 3rd chain from hook, where you work your first half double crochet (= hDC). Crochet other 15 hDC along the foundation chain and slip stitch in the same stitch you've joined the yarn.
Cut yarn, fasten off and sew ends in.

Repeat the same pattern in the other 7th stitch !!! ;oD


RUDI'S ARMS (make two)

Luckily, nothing different from the legs' pattern, apart from :

you work in the 4th stitch, counting from the "neck" (valid for both sides)
the foundation chain is made of 12 stitches, not 18!!!


Both my ornaments (antlers not included) reach 23 cm in lenght !

xxxx, Alessandra

Make it! Rudi the Rainbowdeer !!!

Happy start of the week!!!

Here in Maputo, this morning, we are having a lot of rain, so outside is grey and a bit humid...

To brighten my day and yours I'm posting a new colourful pattern to add to the ones I'm linking on my Instagram feed, just to give you ideas for your Christmas crafts : ready ???

They put a smile on E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E face, right ???
It's all the weekend I'm smiling just making them !!!

WHAT DO YOU NEED ?

some colourful DK yarns
4mm hook
a pair of scissors
some buttons
a pompom maker : if you don't have it, note that the pompoms are 2,5cm in diameter
a yarn needle
thread + needle to sew buttons on
some safety pins
mini bells
baker's twine

Please remember I follow the US crochet terminology, thank you !!!


This is the first Rudi I made ...

FIRST STEP : CROCHET 2 CIRCLES

Choose a colour and make a slip knot on your hook.
chain 4 and insert hook in first chain to obtain a ring.

first round : chain 2 (if you prefer, chain 3), work 12 double crochet stitches into the ring, slip stitch in top of first DC (= double crochet stitch) to end first round. (12 stitches)

second round : chain 2 (or 3! ;oD) and work 2 DC in same stitch. Crochet 2 DC in every next stitch and slip stitch in top of first DC to close second round. (24 stitches)

third round : chain 2 (or 3) and work 1 DC in same stitch and 2 DC in next stitch. Repeat [1 DC + 2 DC] other 11 times, slip stitch in top of first DC to end this round. (36 stitches) Cut yarn, fasten off.

You need to crochet a second circle in the same way and this time leave a long end, to use it to sew together, back to back, the 2 circles!!!! ;oD


SECOND STEP : POMPOMS as noses

Well, to make a lot of pompoms of same size I find very useful to use the pompom makers by Clover.
I've been using the smallest one, which allows you to have pompoms with a diameter of 2,5cm.
If you don't have it, just use traditional methods (as HERE), or a fork (as HERE) or your fingers (as HERE) !!!

Once you have done, pass the tails (with the help of the yarn needle) through the hole in the center of one of the circle and pull them to make the pompom adhere well on the surface. Make some knots on the back and cut the excess of yarn.


THIRD STEP: BUTTONS as eyes

Simply choose a couple of buttons and the right needle and thread. Just position the buttons over the nose and decide the right spot to sew them on! Easy-peasy !!!


FOURTH STEP : MOUTH

You need to choose a new contrasting colour and just under the nose, between rounds 2 and 3, make some slip stitches (12 in my case) to shape a big smile !

When done, cut yarn and leave a tail to fix the yarn in the back, but mostly to add the vertical line in the middle of the mouth !
When you reach the middle of the mouth, let the yarn needl pass from back to front...

... and pull the all the yarn and make the needle enter a space just under the pompom and go to the back again, where you complete the sewing !!!

FIFH STEP : ANTLERS

In any top stitch (just above the eyes) insert the tip of your hook, where you have just made a slip knot with a new colourful yarn!
In this stitch make a single crochet stitch (=SC) and chain 3 (or more if you like). Chain 5 extra stitches and insert hook in 2nd stitch from hook and make 1 slip stitch. Work other 3 slip stitches in the next 3 chains. Chain 5 again, insert hook in 2nd stitch from hook and work other 4 slip stitches. You will have something like in the following picture ...

... then, slip stich again in the same chain of 4th slip stitch of first point made, work 3 SC in last 3 chains. Slip stitch in same stitch of starting SC.
Make 4 slip stitches along the top of the circle (or more, or less : it depends how wide you will love the gap between the 2 antlers!) and in the same top stitch of last slip stitch made work 1 SC.
Repeat the same pattern given for the first antler and when completed (just after the last 3 SC), slip stitch in same starting stitch, cut yarn and fasten off ! Antlers done!!!

LAST STEP : SEWING and PIN


Sew in all the ends of both circles and put them back on back. Using the yarn needle with the long tail left on the second circle, sew them together with simple stitches. Cut all the excess of yarn.

Then add the safety pin on the back ...

Open the pin and push the head in one of the stitches between rounds 2 and 3, from right to left, and let it come out when the pin is covered enough, see ?? ...

Not difficult at all !!!


So, if you are crocheting a lot of  Rudis, you will be surrounded by a happy group of rainbowdeers, like myself ...

Would you love a complete Rudi, instead ???

... Next time, maybe ????? ;oD


xxxx Alessandra