Monday, 18 November 2013

Free Tutorial - Christmas Star Jar Covers


Well, you wanted it... here it is!  I'm publishing this tutorial as part of Lupin's Christmas Tutorial Link Up (click on the link to see the other tutorials).

Christmas Star Jar Cover Tutorial

What you need:
Yarn in two colours
Crochet hook in the appropriate size to match your yarn
Tapestry needle
Clean jar - (I used jars with lid diameters of 9cm and 7.5cm - adjust hook size depending on your jar size, and also the tension of your crochet)


Stitches used:
(Don't be put off by some of the less common stitches - they are easy to do, and you don't need to do many of them)
(I use US terms but the conversions are shown below)
ch - chain
sl st - slip stich
sc - single crochet (conversion for UK: double crochet)
dc - double crochet (conversion for UK: treble crochet)
hdc - half double crochet (conversion for UK: half treble crochet)
tr - treble crochet (conversion for UK: double treble)
htr - half treble crochet (conversion for UK: no idea!  But it's easy, see description below)

As these are less common stitches, here is how to do the treble and the half treble:

Treble (double treble - UK):
yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn around hook and pull loop through the stitch - 4 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 3 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 2 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through both loops on hook - 1 loop on hook (stitch finished)

Half treble (no idea of UK stitch name - I may have made this stitch up!)
yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn around hook and pull loop through the stitch - 4 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 3 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through the three loops on hook - 1 loop on hook (stitch finished)

The Star:


Rnd 1: (Right Side) Starting at center, ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring; ch 1 (loosely), 15 dc in ring; join with sl st to first dc. (15 dc)
Rnd 2: * Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, skip next 2 dc (on Rnd 1), sl st in next dc; rep from * around. (5 points)
Finish off and weave in ends.

(Pattern found on Pinterest here, which links to the pattern here)
This is not my pattern, I used the description from the pin, which is what I have copied above.

Turning the star into a jar cover:



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If you like, you can go to the end to see the quick, less waffley, straight to the point instructions

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Look at your star - you should see that there are four stitches down the side of each point (2,3,4,5 in picture below) plus a point at the top (1), plus a stitch at the bottom between each point and the next one (6).


When your star is finished you need to attach a new colour by sl st to the point (1).  Then stitch into the back loop of the stitches numbered in the picture above, as listed below:

2) sc
3) dc
4) htr
5) htr
6) tr
5) htr
4) htr
3) dc
2) sc
1) sl st

Repeat the above until you complete that round and are back where you started.  (It can be quite tricky when working on the righthand side of each point to find the correct loops to work into (or maybe my stars weren't that great!) - as long as you are doing the right number of stitches down the side, it should work out).

Your final sl st above, would have been into the starting point (1) which starts your next round.  That sl st and the following stitches should be through both loops of each stitch as normal (rather than the back loops as with the previous round) as follows:

2) sc
3) sc
4) hdc
5) dc
6) dc
5) dc
4) hdc
3) sc
2) sc
1) sl st

Repeat the above until you complete that round and are back where you started and have finished the round.


The tricky bit is now over!!  You should have 50 stitches in your round.

(As you continue, it may seem as though your cover is pulling into a 'bowl' shape too soon, but when you pull it over your jar it should flatten out nicely over the top, creating a good fit.)

ch 3 (to count as first dc) then dc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (50 st)
Repeat as many times as necessary.

Try your cover on your jar to see how many rounds of dc you need to do.  On my larger jar I did 4 rounds, on my smaller jar I did 3 rounds.  (I used a slightly smaller hook for my smaller jar too).

When you are happy with the length of your cover in the main colour, finish with that colour.

The Ruffle:


Attach the colour you used to make the star.
ch 1 (to count as first sc) then sc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (50 st)
ch 3 (to count as first dc) then 2 dc in same stitch and 3 dc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (150 st)

Finish off and weave in all ends using your tapestry needle.

The Pompom Ties

Create two pompoms in the colour of your star and ruffle.

Cut three lengths of yarn in the same colour, long enough to be plaited, fit round your jar and be tied in a knot or bow, as you prefer.

Plait them together and tie each end to the middle of one of your pompoms.

Tie round the jar cover and you are done!



Quick Instructions

Star:
Colour A
Rnd 1: Starting at center, ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring; ch 1 (loosely), 15 dc in ring; join with sl st to first dc. (15 dc)
Rnd 2: * Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, skip next 2 dc (on Rnd 1), sl st in next dc; rep from * around. (5 points)

Cover:
Colour B
Rnd 3: In back loops only: Starting at tip of point, sl st, * sc, dc, htr, htr, tr, htr, htr, dc, sc, sl st; rep from * around (50 st)
Rnd 4: (sl st on 1st point was completed at end of last round) In both loops, not just back loops: * sc, sc, hdc, dc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sc, sl st; rep from * around (50 st)
Rnd 5: ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) dc in every stitch around; join with sl st to 1st dc (50 st)
Rnd 6, 7, 8 (if required): repeat Rnd 5.  (Do as many rounds of dc as required to get the length you desire for your jar)

Ruffle:
Colour A
Rnd 9: ch 1 (counts as 1st sc) sc in every stitch around; join with sl st to 1st sc (50 st)
Rnd 10: ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) 2 dc in same st as ch 3; 3 dc in each stitch all the way round; join with sl st to first dc (150 st)

Finish and weave in ends.


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If you have any problems with this, or any questions, please let me know - writing a tutorial/pattern is quite tricky!!

I'd love to see what you make using this pattern, so please let me know if you do make something!



Check out my completed crochet projects here and for more tutorials/patterns see here.



5 comments:

  1. Oh yippee! Thank you so, so much for posting such a thorough tutorial! I have six more jars of quince jelly just made, all needing some jolly toppers! You're a star (no pun intended!), Chrissie x

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  2. Yaaay so lovely to see your pattern Maria! And part of Laura's Christmas Linkup too, co-contributor ;)

    I have a confession however. Crochet patterns that have an intricate detail in the centre usually terrify me. I could never get my head around how to work around the pattern to make a completely new shape - like what you did (star in the centre of a circle), but your instructions are so clear I actually was able to get my head around it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

    And I know what you mean about how tricky writing tutorials are. Bane of my life. I get tangled in all the frufee, descriptive words ... Can't wait to link up to your post later :) Woo! xx A

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing your pattern with us. The jar covers are so cute! They will make gorgeous gifts. x

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  4. I love these! Going to use them for Christmas treats with handmade goodies inside. Thank you. Your blog is amazing! Lezelle

    ReplyDelete

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