Christmas bauble

A beautiful Christmas Bauble, quick and easy, to add to your Christmas Handmade bauble collection.  Hope your decorations will look Tree-mendous! 

Materials
Cotton or yarn in 4ply/sports weight, small amounts in desired colours
Narrow ribbon, optional
4mm hook, or hook appropriate for yarn
Darning Needle
Scissors
75mm polystyrene bauble, or size of choice


Notes
Pattern is in US terms
Crochet 2 sections
Ensure your loose threads are securely tied off.


Tension and Bauble Size
I have quite an even tension .. not too tight or too loose. It's a good idea to fit your crochet  as you go along, you want a nice snug fit with a little gap in between the halves on the bauble, which you will pull together as you stitch the two sections together at the end. 
Also ensure you have the same number of stitches on each half when you finish.  

Stitches and abbreviations used
Sp~ space
St ~ stitch
Sl st ~ slip stitch
Ch-3 ~ stands for 1st or beginning dc
Dc ~ double crochet (US) treble crochet (UK)

Special stitches
2dc cluster ~ Yarn over, insert hook in sp, yarn over, pull through st, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, insert hook in same sp, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through all 3 loops on hook, ch 1.

Fp3dctog cluster US / Fp3trctog UK ~ 1dc/trc into space indicated pulling yarn through first 2 loops only (2 loops on hook), yarn over, insert your hook front-to-back through your work, so that the 2dc/trc cluster you want to crochet around is in front of your hook. Yarn over again and pull through yarn, yarn over and pull yarn through 2 loops ~ three loops on your hook. 1dc/trc in next space, pulling yarn through first 2 loops only ~ 4 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull yarn through all 4 sts on hook, ch-1 to close.

Fpsc / Fpdc ~ Front post single/double crochet. Insert your hook front-to-back through your work, so that the Fp3dctog/Fp3trctog cluster you want to crochet around is in front of your hook.  Yarn over, draw loop through both spaces.  Yarn over and draw loop through both remaining 2 loops on hook

Here we go!

Row 1
Magic circle or ch-4, 15 dc into 1st chain st, sl st into 4th chain, cut thread about 10cm long and secure well ~ 16 dc

Row 2

Join new colour yarn to any space between dcs. Starting cluster - Ch-3, 1dc into same space, Ch-1 to close. 2dc cluster (refer to special stitches above) into following 15 spaces between dcs from Row 1. Sl st into 3rd of ch-3 ~ 16 x 2dc clusters

Row 3

Join new colour yarn to any closing ch-1 space, ch-3, Fpdc (see Special Stitches above) around 2dc cluster from Row 2 and keeping last stitch on hook, 1dc into next space keeping stitch on hook. You should have three stitches on your hook. Yarn over and pull loop through all three stitches.  Ch-1 to close.  *Working over last and next spaces, crochet Fp3dctog cluster* Rpt * to * 14 times more.   Sl St into closing ch-1 of 1st Fpdc cluster ~ 16 x Fpdctog clusters.

First Fp3dctog cluster completed, and second cluster completed as far as 3 loops on hook plus closing chain from first cluster. 

Row 3 complete

Row 4

Repeat Row 3

Row 4 showing closing chain loop and three loops of Fp3dctog on hook

Continue repeating Row 3, until you have sufficient rows to cover half the bauble minus about 1cm.

  Finishing Row ~ sc into each stitch around

 First half complete. Make the second half

Joining the two halves

Tread a long length of yarn into your

darning needle. Sew through a few 

stitches on the wrong side of first 

section, making sure your joining 

thread is secure.  

Whip stitch two sections together 

neatly, pulling your work over the 

bauble as your go. 

When you have stitched both sections 

together, secure the end of the join 

with a two or three back stitches. 

Insert your hook under the back 

stitches and pull a loop of yarn

through. 

Now chain a length of stitches, 

long enough to double back to form a

string of chains to hang the bauble.  

Secure the finished chain neatly to the

starting point.

Some more baubles!  I used 12 dc into the magic ring for a small white bauble of 50mm. and I made it up in one piece, although it was a bit tricky for the last two rows, decreasing the number of dc.

And the pattern as is, but with a 5mm hook for two baubles of 75mm, with white ribbon threaded through joining whip stitches instead of making a loop of chains.

Hope you have as much fun as I did, 
warning,
Handmade Christmas Baubles are
ADDICTIVE!!!