The personal touch to autumn gift giving

22nd September


I love beautifully wrapped presents and there was a time I spent ages on making sure my gifts looked oh so beautiful.  Then children arrived and I became a harassed and hurried gift wrapper.  But no
more, I feel the need to make my life and gifts that I given once more beautiful and here is where my love of crochet comes in, follow me if you will...





We have lots of birthdays in this season, so I thought it apt to wrap with autumn in mind.

Bowls are always awkward to wrap for me,
so this would be a challenge

Let's make the ribbon and embellishments...

Crochet ribbon
I decided to use just orange and green and keep it seasonal.  To work out the length of crocheted ribbon needed, I kept the bowls close to hand.  I began to chain stitch and when I felt it was about the correct length actually tried it around the bowls to see, I was a bi short so needed to crochet more.  remember that the chain stitch and subsequent ribbon will 'give' a little so better to be a tad short than too long.

Checking the chain ribbon length on the gift itself

Dc around the chain loop

Once happy with the length, slip stich into the first chain to create a loop.

We will now begin to double crochet into each chain.  (I am using UK stitches, so for my American friends this would be single crochet.) 

 

 

 

How to double crochet for beginners ~skip this if familiar

 

Put the yarn over (YO) the hook

 

Place hook into the next stitch

YO hook

Pull the yarn through the stitch, you should now how three loops on your hook

YO hook

Pull the yarn through two of the loops on the hook, leaving you now with two remaining loops on the hook

Again YO hook

Finally pull the yarn through the last two remaining loops, leaving you with just one loop

This is a completed UK double crochet
This needs to be done into each chain of the loop.
Once you have reached the end slip stitch into the first chain to complete the ribbon and fasten off.

 

 

To adorn the ribbon, I used a simple increase decrease leaf...

 

 

Chain 12



 

 

 

Into the second chain from the hook slip stich then into each next stitch complete the following:

sc

hdc

dc

tr

dtr

tr

dc

hdc

sc

and finally at the end of the chain slip stich.  this completes one side of the leaf and you should be able to see a very obvious increase and decrease on the side you have crocheted on.

 



One completed increase decrease side of leaf

Working along the opposite side the process needs to be repeated.  Stitch definition is not always so clear on this side, just try to find a space to crochet into, trust your judgement, it should work fine.  So again...

sc
hdc
dc
tr
dtr
tr
dc
hdc

and  finally slip stitch.  To create the stem of the leaf, chain four.  then slip stich into each stitch back up towards he leaf itself.  Pull yarn through and  fasten off.  You have one autumn leaf.

I fancy making lots of shades of red and browns now

Gift wrapping option 2

An even quicker ribbon for a smaller gift could even be as simple as chain stitch, it is rather effective, I think.

For this, I chained again all the way round the box and when I met the other end, just slip stitched into the first chain.  This was the bottom side of the box and  completed one whole wrap around the box.  To add ribbon on the other side of the box, I just continued to chain whilst the box was already crocheted wrapped, does that make sense?  See below photograph for clarification...

Continuing along the other side of
the box with chain stitch

I continued to chain until I met the perpendicular chain ribbon on the top side of the box and to secure it in place so it would not slip off slip stitched here at the cross junction.

Meeting up on the top side of the box

At the cross junction, slip stitch to hold it all in place

On arriving back on the bottom of the box,
again slip stitch and fasten off.

Now I think the box looked good as it was, but decided to make some little acorns to embellish it. However, this is perhaps not for the beginner, but the box can be embellished with all sorts from hearts, flowers, sail boats or bought little trinkets even.  

Autumnal gift wrapping

To make an acorn:

Colour A: green
Colour B: orange

With colour A:  Leaving a very long tail, (we will be using this to make the stem later) Chain 5 and slip stich into the first chain to make a loop.

Chain one.  Into the loop dc x7 Close the round by slip stich into the chain one.

Chain one
Into next stich dc x2, then next stich dc, continue till the end of the round. Slip stich onto chain one.

The crochet should want to curl up a little into a tiny cup shape, let it.

Chain one.  Dc into each stitch. Slip stich onto first chain one.

The cup of the acorn

This is the fiddly part...

Using colour B

Hold the acorn cup with its bottom facing you and the opening away from you.  We are going to be crocheting in the round in the opposite direction to how the cup was crocheted.  I know, this sounds bonkers and you may have to read this sentence a couple of times, but if you have the cup bottom close to you we will be working on the outer edge facing you.  Working into the BACK LOOPS ONLY.  See below photographs.

This photograph is to show you that each stich
has two loops.  for the acorn itself we will
be only going into the back loop only. 
In this picture that is the loop closest to
the hook and in the middle of the acorn cup.

Going into the BACK LOOP ONLY

 So lets start, using colour B, insert hook into the back loop and chain four.

♥ Into the next stitch tr crochet, but do not pull through the last two loops, keep them on the hook as we are decreasing.
Into the next stich tr crochet and as before do not pull through last two loop, keep them on your hook.  I know it's getting crowded but stick with it.
Finally in the third stitch tr crochet and on the last pull through pull yarn through all remaining loops.  ♥

We have now decreased and you should look like the below photograph.

Repeat between ♥ twice more. 

You should then have completed all the way around the cup.  Slip stich into the top and fasten off.

 

Then is a treble crochet decrease

 Making the stem.
Hopefully you did leave a long tail as requested.  Put your hook into the bottom of the cup as in the below photograph and pull the tail through to allow you to begin to chain stitch.


Chain 10.
Into second chain from the hook, slip stich and slip stich in each chain until you reach the cup.  Fasten and neaten off.

One completed acorn ready for sewing onto your crocheted ribbon.

Acorns as adornments

♥  Hope you are surrounded by gifts

both in giving and receiving  ♥