Winter Pastels Ball – New Pattern

They are finally here and I am very pleased with them! The pattern of my new Christmas design is back from testers. And I am very happy to introduce Winter Pastels Ball! The pattern is available on Ravelry.

I have been experimenting with the shapes recently. When I started to use overlay crochet, I was mainly designing flat projects. But suddenly a feeling came that the possibilities are much bigger. Using overlay crochet you can create any image you like (you just need to figure out how to place overlaid stitches). But when different forms are added – then the possibilities are endless.

First time I stepped away from flat shape when I was designing a Starry Dream Hanging Ornament – 3D stuffed Christmas star. My favourite shape is circle, that’s why I mainly design mandalas, I guess. And then comes sphere. And I thought of designing a ball in overlay crochet technique. I used Sport weight cotton yarn (Catania by Schachenmayr) but you can use any yarn in any colours you like. The thickness of yarn and hook size will influence the finished size of the ball. Mine turned out to be 8 cm (3 ½ inches) in diameter, but yours can be smaller or bigger. That’s why I decided to stuff it instead of using plastic balls. When you use stuffing, you should not really care about the actual size of the finished ball. You can make it softer, or harder. You can also fill it will herbs and spices :)

TIP: You can fill a small plastic box (left from Kinder Surprise egg, for example) with dry rice or other grains, and put it inside the ball together with stuffing. And you will get a nice rattle for a baby.

Winter Pastels Balls can be used in a variety of ways. They are ideal as separate hanging decorations for a wall or Christmas tree. They can also be joined into a garland and decorate your home on different occasions and parties. To be honest it took me long time to select colors for this design, I ripped and redid it many times. And I stopped with winter pastels – which gave the name to the pattern. But these balls can be made in any colors (bright or calm) to suite your interior in the best way.

I tried to make the pattern easy to follow and included lots of progress pictures which explain the most difficult and tricky places. There are only common and not intricate stitches used in this pattern, but sometimes it might be tricky to figure out where to place them. It is not a good idea to leave this project for a bed time :) But if you follow the instructions carefully, attach new yarn in right places and keep the stitch count correct – your crocheting will be smooth and pleasant. And you will for sure learn lots of new things!

And this set of six balls is available in my Etsy shop.

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