I created these dinky little stars for a Festive Garland to hang on my fireplace, some bright sparks of colour to sit between some bigger crochet decorations. The stars are made in two simple rounds and really are teeny tiny, measuring just 3 cm across.
I used Ricorumi DK cotton yarn with a 3.5mm hook for my stars, although any DK weight yarn will work well (including Stylecraft Special DK).
As well as the gorgeous collection of cotton colours, Ricorumi comes in gold and silver Lamé, and it's so shiny and sparkly! I couldn't resist trying it out with my teeny tiny star pattern....
.....Awwww!! They turned out so tiny and cute! The lamé is a little tricky to work with at first, but you soon get used to it and the results are really lovely.
So before we begin, a little summary of the basic stitches. I'm writing using UK crochet terms ::
sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook.
dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch)
To Begin : Chain 4; slip stitch into first chain to form a ring.
Round 1 : work into the ring for this round.
Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc); work 9 dc into the ring;
Slip stitch into the 2nd chain of the beginning chain-2 (shown with my needle in the above photo) to close the round. Do not fasten off. [10 stitches]
Round 2 :
Begin in first stitch directly to the left of your last slip stitch (shown by my needle in the above photo).
1 dc; chain 2;
Slip stitch into the 2nd chain from the hook (shown by my needle in the above photo) - this makes a little "picot point". Try and keep your stitches nice and neat (don't let the chains pull too loose).
Work 1 dc and 1 slip stitch into the next stitch (shown by my needle in the above photo)
In the photo above, this shows the first star point worked across two stitches (you will make five in total).
In the next stitch, work (1 dc; chain 2; slip stitch in 2nd chain from hook (picot point));
In the next stitch, work (1 dc; slip stitch).
This is your second star point made, as shown above.
*In the next stitch, work (1 dc; chain 2; slip stitch in 2nd chain from hook (picot point));
In the next stitch, work (1 dc; slip stitch)*
Repeat between ** twice more.
You should now have five star points in total, and be back to where you started.
Snip the yarn leaving a 15cm tail end. Use your hook to pull up a loop (as shown above) - keep pulling up until the tail end comes right through from the back of the star and pops out at the front.
Thread the tail end onto a darning needle, and insert the needle at the base of the first dc of this round. Take the yarn end down through the star from the front to the back (as shown above). This will create a very neat finish with no bulky knot.
Cute eh? Now turn your teeny tiny star over and darn your end around under the stitches that form round 1, pulling firmnly as you go. This will close up the central hole and pull the star into a nice neat shape.
You can give your little star some steam treatment if you like? Puff some steam onto it from a cool steam iron, and while the crochet is still warm and damp, give each point a little squeeze and a tug to make the points extra pointy.
These teeny tiny stars are ridiculously quick to make, they honestly fly off the hook and look so lovely once you begin to gather a small cluster.
You can use your stars to add a decorative element to pretty much anything you fancy, although I think they do look especially effective when strung together.
I found some fine gold thread in my cupboard to create a very delicate garland.....
....perfect to string along a fireplace or shelf.
However, I'm currently making a whole load of stars using a bright palette of Stylecraft Special DK to make a more robust festive garland for my fireplace. I'll add a link here once my garland is finished.
More soon!
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TEENY TINY STARS
To begin:
ch 4; sl st in 1st ch to form a ring.
Round 1 :
ch 2 (counts as 1 dc); 9 dc into the ring; sl st in 2nd ch of beginnign ch-2 to close round [10 sts]
Round 2 :
*In next st work (1 dc; ch 2; sl st in 2nd ch from hook (picot point);
(1 dc; sl st) in next st;
Repeat from * four more times to make five star points in total.
Cut yarn leaving a tail end for darning and pull end through to front of work. Thread onto darning needle and insert needle into the base of the first dc, taking the yarn end right through to the back to create a neat finish. Darn needle under stitches of round 1 and pull firmly to close the central hole.
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