Winter Crochet and Cool Christmas Crafts




We actually had our last warm day on Halloween which was rather odd because we were strolling around in T-Shirts during a time of year when thick coats are the norm. Since then, the weather has been back to bite with a vengeance and I've been hastily working on those winter season crafts.

My first task was to get started on the crochet pennant banner bunting which is a quick way to decorate for Christmas around the walls of our main living space. The great thing about these crocheted banners, especially when working in the round as I have, is that you can use up all your spare bits of yarn.

I picked out loads of oddments of yarn, not even the exact weights and thicknesses I have to admit, and have been using those instead of buying new. So making yarn banners hasn't cost anything extra to make.

Note: This post contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. 

I have made lots of yarn banners before but the basic one shown in the article below is a different pattern. It is very easy to make since it only uses one stitch which is double crochet, or treble UK. It's a stitch that even most crochet newbies know and very quick to work up too.

The basic triangle banner pattern works in the round and actually starts off as a circle. Don't be put off if you're not sure how to do that because I added a really helpful video to the page which walks you through that process as well.

Come See How to Make Different Yarn Banners and Bunting Here

Every year we have a theme for Christmas with the tree and the decorations. Last year it was The Chonicles of Narnia which we are just a little obsessed with in this house. And this year, my young daughter chose (surprise, surprise!) Disney's Frozen as our Christmas decorating theme.

We're going for the icy blues and whites inspired by the character of Elsa with a touch of cool lilac thrown in to warm it up a notch.



Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

The main difference with these crochet triangles is that I've given them just a bit of extra swagger with the matching yarn tassels. I wanted a quick and easy way to stop the finished banner from looking too flat against the wall so decided the tassels would make a difference there as well as making more of a feature of these hanging decorations.

See How to Make These Yarn Tassels Here

I'm almost finished on the banner and am furiously working on the last few triangles that need to be made before I string them up. I'm also wondering whether to add any beads between the triangles as well since I really want them to look more eye-catching than my normal ones.


In case you're wondering, yes these triangles are different to the ones I made previously for my daughter's birthday. Those were a solid granny pattern with some fancy edging which are nice but take longer to make. The ones I've opted for here are super fast and easy to whip up which is good because I have a lot of Christmas crafting to get through.



Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

A while back, I made these Fall season fingerless gloves which I haven't shown on the blog. These were my first attempt at making gloves - luckily the free pattern I found was pretty good. I only actually got stuck when I got to the thumb area but managed to work it out in the end.

These gloves were crocheted from a beautiful fingering 4 ply yarn by Lang Yarns in a peacock green which changes color as you can see. It was very thin and quite fiddly to work with but I love the end result. I tried quite hard to match up the color change pattern on both gloves and was off by a small amount.

The green looks quite festive for the Holiday season and I added some sparkle by sewing on some small beads. Honestly, I prefer making decorations for the home than garments but I did enjoy the challenge and I would consider making gloves again.

Ravelry Project Notes on Fancy Cuff Fingerless Gloves

If you're a Ravelry member, you should be able to read my project details with the link below. It contains all my notes on making these as well as having a link to the free pattern that I used in case you are interested in these fancy cuff gloves as well.



Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

Lastly, I'm moving on to starting some papercrafts for Christmas and card making is now well under way. I don't make cards for everyone because it is time consuming and, actually, there are many people who really don't appreciate receiving them.

So I make sure now to only to make special cards for friends and family who really love to receive handmade greeting cards. This paper craft uses 3D decoupage sheets or papier tole which you can discover more about here:

Discover How to Do 3D Paper Tole Tutorial

You should be able to see how Santa has been built up in layers so the central picture on the card is raised up. This is a fun paper craft and one I find relaxing because I love cutting and sticking. I use the foam squares to raise up the different parts.

If you haven't started on any festive crafts yet then now is a great time to start since the days can seem really hectic once we hit December. I've put together a Christmas resource page right on this blog for you which lists my Holiday themed articles that you can get cracking on with. You can find the link at the top of the page.

Have fun on whatever you are working on right now and do let me know in the comments if you're making anything similar or you plan to make something I've showcased. I hope you've enjoyed reading my craftymarie article today, thanks for your visit. Look forward to your next visit.


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Articles are accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.