The Midnight Star Petal Ornament is a lacy, open five-petal star worked in deep navy blue with tiny gold bobbles at the tips of the two lower petals. Each petal is an empty, pointed loop. Together they read as a star outline with a small open ring at the center and a teardrop hanging loop rising from the top petal.
The look is simple and a little classic, much like a tatted or thread-lace ornament but made fully with a crochet hook. The navy cord looks dense and rope-like because every petal is a chain loop packed tightly with single crochet. The six gold balls give it a gentle shine and some weight at the bottom, which helps it hang straight on a tree branch.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished star measures about 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide and 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall. With the hanging loop it is about 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tall in total.
The construction is quick. You crochet a small center ring, chain five long loops that come out from it, and cover each loop with single crochet, adding a pointed tip and working the hanging loop into the top petal. Last, you add three gold bobbles to the tip of each lower petal. Everything is one piece, and the only sewing is weaving in ends.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide x 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall; 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tall including the hanging loop
- Skill level: Easy+ (you should be comfortable working stitches into a chain space)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Fingering weight (size 3 crochet thread), mercerized cotton
- Hook: 2.5 mm (US B/1 or C/2, depending on brand)
- Number of pieces: 1 (a single ornament; there is no joining)
- Layout: Five pointed petal loops around a center ring, with a hanging loop above the top petal
- Petal size: 1.75 in (4.4 cm) from the outer edge of the ring to the tip
- Size before border: 3.75 in (9.5 cm) x 3.3 in (8.4 cm), before the gold bobbles
- Border depth: The gold bobble tips add about 0.2 in (0.5 cm) below each lower petal
Materials
Choose a smooth, tightly plied mercerized cotton. It gives the crisp, glossy cord shown and keeps the petals from going limp. Soft acrylic or fuzzy yarns hide the stitch texture and make loops that droop.
- Color A, Navy blue: about 8 g / 32 m (35 yd)
- Color B, Gold (cotton or soft metallic thread of similar weight): about 2 g / 8 m (9 yd)
Both amounts include a safety margin of about 25 percent. One ornament really uses about 6 g of navy and less than 2 g of gold.
Tools:
- 2.5 mm crochet hook
- Tapestry needle with a small eye
- Scissors
- Stitch marker
- Blocking board or foam mat and rustproof pins
- Spray bottle with water, or liquid fabric stiffener (optional)
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch chain
- sc single crochet
- sl st slip stitch
- dc double crochet
- st(s) stitch(es)
- sp space
- rep repeat
Special stitch: Gold Ball. Ch 3. [Yarn over, insert the hook in the 3rd ch from the hook, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops] 3 times. You have 4 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops, then ch 1 to close. The three unfinished dc pull together into a small round ball about 0.2 in (0.5 cm) across.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge matters less than for clothing, but it still decides whether the petals lie flat or curl. Make one full star before you make a set.
Cord gauge: 15 sc worked over a chain loop = 2 in (5.1 cm), measured along the outer edge of the cord.
Checkpoints:
- After Round 1: the ring is about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) across on the outside, with a hole about 0.25 in (0.6 cm) wide.
- After Round 2: each ch-22 loop, laid out flat into a narrow oval, is about 1.75 in (4.4 cm) long.
- After Round 3: each covered petal is 1.75 in (4.4 cm) from the ring to the tip, and the star is about 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide.
- After the gold tips: the star is about 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall without the hanger.
If your star is too big or the petals wave and ruffle, go down to a 2.25 mm hook, or work 28 sc per petal (14 on each side of the tip) instead of 30.
If your star is too small or the petals cup and curl inward, go up to a 2.75 mm hook. If the cord twists, the sc are packed too tightly. Push them along the chain as you go so they sit side by side, not on top of each other.
Pattern
Round 1: Center Ring
With Color A, ch 6 and sl st to the first ch to make a ring.
Round 1: Ch 1, work 15 sc into the ring. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (15 sc)
Put a marker in the first sc. Number the sts 1 to 15 in your head, going around the ring. Check: the ring should lie flat. If it cups, your ch-6 ring was too small, so try ch 7.
Round 2: Petal Loops
This round builds the five chain frames for the petals. Each loop starts and ends on the ring and skips 2 sts, so the five petals share their anchor sts and touch at the base, as in the finished star.
Round 2: You are at st 1. Ch 22, skip the next 2 sc, sl st in the next sc. Rep from * 4 more times. The last sl st goes into st 1, the marked st. (5 ch-22 loops)
The loops are anchored at sts 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13, and those anchors go back to st 1. That accounts for 5 loops x 3 sts = 15 sts, which matches Round 1.
Name the petals before you go on. Loop 1 (from st 1 to st 4) is the top petal. Going on around: loop 2 is the right petal, loop 3 the lower right petal, loop 4 the lower left petal, and loop 5 the left petal. Turn the ring so loop 1 points up.
Check: the loops are not twisted. Each one should make a plain oval before you cover it.
Round 3: Covering the Petals and the Hanging Loop
You will work sc into the loop space around the chain, not into each ch. This covers the chain completely and makes the smooth, rope-like cord.
Top petal (loop 1) with hanging loop:
– Work 15 sc into loop 1.
– Hanger: Ch 18, sl st into the last sc you made to form a loop. Work 26 sc into this ch-18 loop. Sl st into the same sc where the hanger started.
– Work 15 sc more into loop 1.
– Sl st into the anchor sc on the ring (st 4).
The hanging loop sits right above the petal tip. It takes the place of the pointed ch-2 tip on this petal only. The hanger is a teardrop about 1 in (2.5 cm) tall.
Right, lower right, lower left, and left petals (loops 2 to 5):
– Work 15 sc into the next loop, ch 2 for the pointed tip, work 15 sc into the same loop, sl st into the next anchor sc on the ring. Rep from * 3 more times. The last sl st goes into st 1.
Fasten off and leave a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
Stitch counts for Round 3:
– Top petal: 15 + 15 = 30 sc, plus the hanger (ch 18 covered with 26 sc)
– Each other petal: 15 + 15 = 30 sc + 1 ch-2 tip
– Total around the petals: 5 x 30 = 150 sc, plus 4 ch-2 tips, 5 sl sts at the anchors, and 26 sc on the hanger
At 15 sc per 2 in (5.1 cm), the 30 sc on each petal give an outer edge of 4 in (10.2 cm). Fold that in half around the tip and you get two sides of about 2 in (5.1 cm) each. That covers the 1.75 in (4.4 cm) petal length, plus the curve of its rounded shoulders.
Checkpoint: Lay the star flat. Pinch each tip with your fingers so it comes to a point. Each petal should be 1.75 in (4.4 cm) long, and the left and right tips should be about 3.75 in (9.5 cm) apart.
Border: Gold Bobble Tips
The only border on this ornament is the gold trim on the two lower petals. Each tip gets exactly three Gold Balls. Do not add them to the top, right, or left petals.
Border gauge: One Gold Ball is about 0.2 in (0.5 cm) across. Three balls set side by side take up about 0.6 in (1.5 cm) of the tip.
Lower right petal (loop 3):
1. With Color B, join with a sl st in the last sc before the ch-2 tip.
2. Make 1 Gold Ball, then sl st into the same sc. (1 ball)
3. Sl st into the ch-2 tip sp. Make 1 Gold Ball, then sl st into the same tip sp. (2 balls)
4. Sl st into the first sc after the tip. Make 1 Gold Ball, then sl st into the same sc. (3 balls)
5. Fasten off and leave a 4 in (10.2 cm) tail.
Lower left petal (loop 4): Work the same as the lower right petal. (3 balls)
Total: 2 tips x 3 balls = 6 Gold Balls.
Why the math works: The three anchors are the sc just before the tip, the tip sp itself, and the sc just after the tip. That makes them symmetric around the point, so the middle ball hangs straight down from the tip and the other two sit on either side. Each anchor is one cord stitch wide, about 0.13 in (0.3 cm). The balls are wider than their anchors, so they press against each other and sit in a snug, curved row along the tip, as in the finished piece. This is also why the tip needs a ch-2 sp and not a plain sc: it gives the middle ball a firm center to sit in.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all the ends. Run each one through the inside of the sc cord for about 1 in (2.5 cm), go back the other way, and trim it close.
- Mist the star lightly with water until it is damp but not wet. If you want a stiffer ornament, dip it in diluted fabric stiffener and squeeze out the extra.
- Lay it face up on the blocking board. Pin the center ring first so the hole stays round.
- Pin each petal tip so the tips are evenly spaced, about 72 degrees apart. The left and right tips should be 3.75 in (9.5 cm) apart.
- Pin the lower right and lower left tips so the bottom of the star is about 3.3 in (8.4 cm) below the top petal tip, measured before the gold balls.
- Shape each petal with your fingers into a smooth almond shape with a sharp point. Pin the hanging loop straight up into a tidy teardrop.
- Let it dry completely, which takes about 6 to 12 hours. Unpin it and check that it is 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tall including the hanger.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- The center ring is round, flat, and has 15 sc.
- All five petals start and end on shared anchor sts and touch at the base.
- Each petal has 30 sc, and the chain inside is fully hidden.
- Four petals have a sharp ch-2 point. The top petal has the hanging loop.
- The hanger is covered with 26 sc and is not twisted.
- Each lower petal tip has exactly 3 Gold Balls, centered on the tip.
- The star is 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide and 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall, or 4.5 in (11.4 cm) with the hanger.
- All ends are woven in and nothing shows from the front.
- The ornament hangs straight from its loop.
Troubleshooting
The chain shows between the sc. You have too few sc for your tension. Add 1 sc on each side of the tip, or pack the sts more tightly.
The petals ruffle. You have too many sc, or your sts are too loose. Work 14 sc on each side, or go down a hook size.
The petals twist out of the plane. A ch-22 loop was twisted before you covered it. Undo that petal, untwist the loop, and work it again.
The petal tips are round, not pointed. Make sure you worked the ch 2 at the tip. Pinch the tip firmly when blocking.
The Gold Balls are flat or lopsided. Pull each dc loop to the same height before you close the ball, and don’t skip the ch 1 that closes it.
The ornament tips sideways when hung. The balls may be uneven, or the hanger is off center. Check that the hanger starts exactly at the 15th sc of the top petal.
The center hole closed up. Your starting ring was too tight. Use ch 7 for the next one.
Care
Hand wash gently in cool water with mild soap, press out the water in a towel, and reshape it flat to dry. If you used stiffener, you will need to apply it again after washing.
Final Notes
The measurements build on each other. A 0.5 in (1.3 cm) ring of 15 sc holds five ch-22 loops. Each loop is covered with 30 sc at 15 sc per 2 in (5.1 cm), which gives petals 1.75 in (4.4 cm) long. Together they make a star 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide and 3.3 in (8.4 cm) tall. Six Gold Balls add 0.2 in (0.5 cm) below the lower tips, so the star is 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall, and the 1 in (2.5 cm) hanger brings the full ornament to 4.5 in (11.4 cm). If your first star hits each checkpoint, every star after it will match.
Happy crocheting!