Crochet Snowflake

Technique: Crochet

Materials:
10 weight crochet cotton

Tools:
Size 3 (1.25mm) Steel Crochet Hook
Tapestry Needle

Chain 7, join

Round 1: *Chain 3, Single Crochet in the loop, Repeat 8 times total from *.

Round 2: Ch 3, Work 2 DC in the same loop, CH 2, *Work 3 DC, CH 2, complete 7 times total from *, join with the beginning chain.

Round 3: *Chain 4, Work a cluster through the top of the 3 previous DC. CH 4, SC in the CH 2 space. Complete 8 times total from *. Work a Triple Crochet at the base of the beginning chain, instead of the last chain 4. You will want to end at the top by the cluster. Slip stitch back in to the top of the cluster.

Round 4: ** Chain 6, join, slip stitch in to the chain 6 * CH 4 SC in the loop, complete 5 times total from * (5 chain 4 loops), CH 3, SC in the next loop, CH 3 SC in the next loop, CH 3, SL ST in the center of the next cluster, Complete 8 times total from**

Using the tapestry needle, weave in the loose ends.

Soak in a mixture of 50% pva glue and 50% water until completely saturated. Squeeze out by hand and blot with a paper towel. Using stainless steel pins, pin out onto a board. This is called blocking and ensures that the pattern is set evenly. Sprinkle with glitter and allow to dry. If you have a disaster like I did and realize after the fact that your pins were not stainless steel and they left horrid rust marks on your snowflake, all is not lost! Make a smooth paste of cream of tartar and water and cover snowflake. Let sit overnight and rinse clean in the morning, all signs of rust should be gone.

This pattern sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, this was one of my first completed crochet patterns and I ended up with a snowflake looking collection of thread! If you are a rank beginner and struggle to understand the pattern and terms, this video has an excellent step by step tutorial of each round, stitch by stitch.

Trans-continental crochet can be a little confusing as our hook sizes are labelled very differently. In Australia they are sold by metric size, and when I put this one together I realized afterwards that the conversion chart I used was off, and so it's a little 'off'. Not to worry, I think most people are quite taken by shiny objects, a sprinkle of glitter and people will go oooohhh ahhhhh and not notice any flaws.

Quilled Snowflake

Technique Used: Quilling

Materials:
white quilling paper strips
quilling tool
pva glue
adhesive spray
fine glitter

Tools:
quilling tool

From the strips, cut the following:
one 6-inch-long strip (center round);
eight 3-inch-long strips (arms);
four 6-inch-long strips (scrolls);
four 3-inch-long strips (teardrops);
four 2-inch-long strips (marquise shapes)

For the centre round: Using a quilling tool, begin rolling a 6-inch strip from one end. Roll strip into a tight circle. Finished center round should be 1/2 inch wide. Use a dot of glue to secure end; let glue set.

For arms: Roll one end of a 3-inch strip around quilling tool twice. At opposite end, roll strip around tool until finished arm is 1 inch long, with a small scroll at one end and a larger scroll at the other. Make eight of these. Glue arms together in pairs so that the they are mirror images of each other and allow a few minutes to dry. Glue the large scrolls of the arms in place around the center circle.

For scrolls: Fold a 6-inch strip in half. Roll each end to the center so that it resembles a heart shape. Make four of these. Glue the bottoms of scrolls to bottoms of arms near the center round, awhat you are doing here is lining up the middle section where you creased with the large scrolls of the arms. Let glue set. Gently extend the heart shaped scrolls open and ahere these to the arm sides of scrolls to arms.

For teardrops: Using a 3-inch strip, make a 1/2-inch round. The length of paper used here is pretty short, and when allowed to unwind naturally it will be much smaller than 1/2 inch. What i did here was to wind up a tight coil from the strip, then open it up fully and rewind it loosely by hand. Place the loose coil into the 1/2" circle on the quilling board and glue end down. Allow a few minutes to set, then recoil the centre with the quilling tool. Pinch one side into a point. Make four.

Glue the teardrops between rolled ends of scrolls.

For marquise shapes: Using a 2-inch strip, make a 1/4-inch round. Pinch opposite sides into points. I used the same technique here as previous for the 3" strips. Coil, unwind to relax the paper, recoil loosely with your fingers and then place in the quilling board to set into the correct size.

This is the working sketch I used to help with the placement of the pieces.

Let ornament dry overnight. Spray one side of ornament with adhesive and sprinkle with glitter; let dry. Turn over ornament and repeat on opposite side.

Whilst making this ornament I reminded myself that the only woman capable of creating a perfect snowflake was Mother Nature!