Ornaments of Christmas on Hands Occupied

Scandinavian Advent Calendar - free crochet pattern -- An advent calendar is a great way to make your own keepsake Christmas decoration and build a family tradition for years to come. The Scandinavian Advent Calendar is great for crocheters at almost any skill level and is inspired by beautiful holiday decor found in Scandinavia. This pattern features basic embroidery stitches for added texture and a handmade look.

The Scandinavian Advent Calendar was designed to coordinate with the ornaments of Christmas.

The Ornaments of Christmas were published between 2015-2018 on the Hands Occupied Blog. All of them are available for free on the blog (thanks to Lion Brand Yarn) and available as ad-free, printer-friendly PDFs for $1 each in the Hands Occupied Shop.

For folks new to the series, here’s a bit about how where the series got started and evolved over time. Read on for a mini-archive of links to the TWENTY-FOUR knit & crochet ornament patterns that we created.

ORNAMENTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Originally back in 2015, I did a series featuring knit & crochet ornaments called the 12 Ornaments of Christmas. But it was so well-received, that it made sense to bring it back again… and again… and now again in 2018! As of the end of last year, there were 20 knit and crochet ornament patterns in all, and I just started calling the series the Ornaments of Christmas (since the whole stopping at 12 thing was way out the window at that point). So for this year, I decided that yes, we’d bring back the Ornaments of Christmas, but this will be the last leg of the series. I want to leave room in the future for a wider range of festive ideas that aren’t bound by the size limits of a Christmas tree ornament. (Who knows – an ornament or two might even squeak in come next December!)

Knit or crochet some adorable ornaments to trim your tree! Join Hands Occupied this holiday season to make Christmas ornaments with free patterns all season along. Each ornament doubles as a great gift topper & stocking stuffer!

Knit or crochet some adorable ornaments to trim your tree! Get your hands on 12 free knit and crochet patterns for Christmas ornaments. Each ornament doubles as a great gift topper & stocking stuffer!

For now, let’s kick off the 2018 Ornaments of Christmas with our first of FOUR ornaments designed in the style of the 20 that have come before. Just like in past years, all ornaments are knit or crochet using Lion Brand Yarn’s Bonbons, which come in packs of 8 mini skeins. The Bon Bons pack that we’re using is Beach, which is a cotton yarn that comes in bright, contemporary colors (and no browns!). I loved challenging myself to create a collection that still feels very Christmasy, but without the bounds of super-traditional colors. In addition to the colors, the cotton yarn results in some really fantastic stitch definition that helps make it clear that these guys are handmade, which is something that I think all makers can appreciate!

PAST ORNAMENTS

Here are links to all of our ornaments so far! If you make any of these, have made any of these, or are making any of the new ones coming out this year, please share the cheer! Use #handsoccupiedhohoho on Instagram & Twitter (there’s already some great contributions from makers from the last few years!).

1. Knit Star / 2. Knit Heart / 3. Knit Gift Box / 4. Knit Stocking Cap / 5. Crochet Bell / 6. Crochet Mug / 7. Crochet Peppermint / 8. Crochet Christmas Tree / 9. Crochet Milk / 10. Crochet Cookies / 11. Knit Mitten / 12. Knit Sweater / 13. Crochet Cracker Candy / 14. Crochet Meringue / 15. Knit Bauble / 16. Crochet Santa Hat / 17. Crochet Snowman / 18. Knit Candy Cane / 19. Crochet Holly / 20. Crochet Lump of Coal / 21. Knit Poinsettia / 22. Knit Candle / 23. Crochet Orange / 24. Knit Stocking