This little angel is light, lacy and quick. A solid round head sits above a narrow bodice. A pair of heart-shaped shell wings opens at the shoulders, and an airy filet mesh skirt flares out to a crisp, straight hem.
The sample uses one soft powder blue, which gives it a frosty, winter-morning look. It also works well in white, cream, silver-gray or pale gold. With only one color, the texture does all the work: solid stitches in the head, open boxes in the skirt and rounded shells on the wings.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished angel measures 3.75 in (9.5 cm) tall and 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide. It also has a 1.5 in (3.8 cm) hanging loop, so the total hanging height is 5.25 in (13.3 cm).
Construction is simple. You work the head in the round. Then you work the bodice and five mesh rows straight down from the bottom of the head. The wings go around the ends of the bodice row. A single crochet edging outlines the wings and skirt, and a chain loop finishes the top.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 3.75 in tall x 3.75 in wide (9.5 x 9.5 cm), without loop
- Hanging loop: 1.5 in (3.8 cm) drop
- Skill level: Easy / advanced beginner
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Sport weight (#2) cotton
- Hook: 3.25 mm (US D-3)
- Number of pieces: 1 (worked as one connected piece, no sewing)
- Layout: Head on top, wings at the shoulders, skirt below
- Head size: 1.25 in (3.2 cm) diameter
- Size before border: 3.65 in tall x 3.5 in wide (9.3 x 8.9 cm)
- Border depth: 1/8 in (0.3 cm), one round of single crochet
Materials
Yarn: Choose a smooth mercerized or combed cotton in sport weight, about 150 m per 50 g. Cotton keeps the open mesh crisp and blocks flat. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns, because they blur the boxes and make the wings droop.
- Powder blue: 10 g (30 m) for one angel
This quantity includes a generous margin for your test piece and tails. One angel uses about 6 g (18 m).
Tools:
- 3.25 mm (US D-3) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- 2 locking stitch markers
- Ruler or tape measure
- Blocking mat and rustproof pins
- Spray starch or fabric stiffener (optional)
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sp – space
- RS – right side
Special stitches:
- V-st: (dc, ch 1, dc) in the same stitch.
- Shell: 7 dc in the same space.
- Around the post: insert the hook around the side of a stitch instead of into its top. You use this for the wings and the side edging.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 24 dc and 10 dc rows = 4 in (10.2 cm). One dc row is 0.4 in (1.0 cm) tall. One dc or one chain is about 1/6 in (0.4 cm) wide.
Because this is a single small piece, the angel itself is your swatch. Make one, measure at each checkpoint, and adjust before you make a batch.
Checkpoints:
- Head after Round 2: 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across.
- Bodice (Row 1): 0.83 in (2.1 cm) wide.
- Skirt Row 2 lower edge: 1.83 in (4.6 cm) wide.
- Skirt Row 4 lower edge: 2.67 in (6.8 cm) wide.
- Skirt Row 6 lower edge: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide.
- Body length, bottom of head to Row 6: 2.4 in (6.1 cm).
- After edging: 3.75 in (9.5 cm) tall and wide.
Too big? Go down to a 3.0 mm hook, or check whether your chains are loose. Oversized chains are the most common reason the mesh grows.
Too small? Go up to a 3.5 mm hook (US E-4). Tight chains also make the skirt cup instead of lying flat.
Pattern
Head
Round 1: Make a magic ring. Ch 3 (counts as dc), then work 11 dc into the ring. Pull the ring closed. Sl st to the top of the ch-3. (12 dc)
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. Sl st to the first sc. (24 sc)
Fasten off and weave in the center tail. Measure: 1.25 in (3.2 cm).
Number the stitches of Round 2 from 1 to 24, starting with the first sc. Place a marker in st 1. This is the top of the head. St 13 sits directly opposite, at the bottom center.
Bodice and Skirt
The skirt is worked in rows straight down from the bottom of the head. Every row has 6 posts. The posts fan outward because the chain spaces between them grow from 1 to 2 to 3 chains.
Row 1 (bodice): With RS facing, join yarn in st 11 of the head. Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in sts 12, 13, 14 and 15. Turn. (5 dc)
Width check: 0.83 in (2.1 cm). The bodice is centered under the head, with sts 11–15 on either side of st 13.
Row 2 (fan row): Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), dc in next dc, ch 1, V-st in center dc, ch 1, dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in top of turning ch. Turn. (6 dc posts, 5 ch-1 sps)
The V-st in the center adds the sixth post and keeps the row symmetrical. This row fans out from 0.83 in (2.1 cm) at the top to 1.83 in (4.6 cm) at the lower edge: 6 posts + 5 chains = 11 stitch widths.
Row 3: Ch 5 (counts as dc + ch 2), dc in next dc, [ch 2, dc in next dc] 3 times, ch 2, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch-4. Turn. (6 dc posts, 5 ch-2 sps)
Row 4: Ch 5 (counts as dc + ch 2), dc in next dc, [ch 2, dc in next dc] 3 times, ch 2, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch-5. Turn. (6 dc posts, 5 ch-2 sps)
Width check: 6 posts + 10 chains = 16 stitch widths, or 2.67 in (6.8 cm).
Row 5: Ch 6 (counts as dc + ch 3), dc in next dc, [ch 3, dc in next dc] 3 times, ch 3, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch-5. Turn. (6 dc posts, 5 ch-3 sps)
Row 6 (hem): Ch 6 (counts as dc + ch 3), dc in next dc, [ch 3, dc in next dc] 3 times, ch 3, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch-6. (6 dc posts, 5 ch-3 sps)
Width check: 6 posts + 15 chains = 21 stitch widths, or 3.5 in (8.9 cm). Body length from the head to this row is 6 rows x 0.4 in (1.0 cm) = 2.4 in (6.1 cm). Fasten off.
Wings (make 2)
Each wing is worked around one end post of the bodice row (Row 1), right under the head. Work the first wing on the turning-chain end and the second on the dc in st 15.
Row 1: With RS facing, join yarn around the end post of Row 1. Ch 3 (counts as dc), then work 4 dc around the same post. Turn. (5 dc)
These 5 dc fan out sideways, away from the body.
Row 2: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), dc in same st to finish the first V-st. Ch 1, [V-st in next dc, ch 1] 3 times, V-st in top of turning ch. Turn. (5 V-sts = 10 dc, 9 ch-1 sps)
The open V-sts give the wing its lacy spokes. Of the 9 spaces, 5 are inside the V-sts and 4 are between them.
Row 3 (heart edge): Ch 1, sc in the ch-1 sp of the first V-st, shell in the next V-st sp, sc in the center V-st sp, shell in the next V-st sp, sc in the last V-st sp (the ch-1 sp of the turning ch). Skip all the ch-1 sps between V-sts. (17 sts: 3 sc + 14 dc)
The two shells make the two rounded lobes. The single sc in the center V-st pulls in the small notch that gives the heart shape. Fasten off.
Repeat on the other end of the bodice for the second wing. Each wing reaches about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) out from the body. Before edging, the wingtips sit roughly 3.5 in (8.9 cm) apart.
Border
The border is one round of sc, worked in three separate passes: one around each wing and one around the skirt. The border gauge matches the body, about 6 sc per 1 in (2.5 cm). Two sc fit along the side of one dc row.
Wing Edging (each wing)
Join yarn in the bodice at the top edge of the wing, where wing Row 1 meets the body.
- Upper side: 2 sc around the end post of wing Row 1, 2 sc around the end post of wing Row 2. (4 sc)
- Outer edge: sc in the first sc of Row 3. On the first shell, sc in next 3 dc, 3 sc in the 4th (center) dc, sc in next 3 dc. Sc in the center sc. Repeat the shell edging on the second shell, then sc in the last sc. (21 sc: 1 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 1)
- Lower side: 2 sc around the end post of Row 2, 2 sc around the end post of Row 1. (4 sc)
Sl st into the bodice and fasten off. Total per wing: 4 + 21 + 4 = 29 sc.
Skirt Edging
Join yarn around the end post of skirt Row 2 on the left side, directly below the wing.
- Left side: 2 sc around the end post of each of Rows 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. (10 sc)
- Hem: 3 sc in the top of the first post of Row 6 (corner), [3 sc in next ch-3 sp, sc in next dc] 4 times, 3 sc in last ch-3 sp, 3 sc in the top of the last post (corner). (25 sc)
- Right side: 2 sc around the end post of each of Rows 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. (10 sc)
Sl st into the bodice under the second wing and fasten off. Total: 10 + 25 + 10 = 45 sc.
The hem count of 25 includes both 3-sc corner groups. Without the corners, it is 15 sc in the spaces + 4 sc on the inner posts = 19 sc.
Why the math works:
- Each ch-3 space holds exactly 3 sc, one per chain, so the hem keeps its 3.5 in (8.9 cm) width without ruffling or pulling in.
- Each dc row end is 0.4 in (1.0 cm) tall, and 2 sc lie flat along it without stretching or bunching.
- The 3-sc corners turn the hem corners neatly. The extra 1/8 in (0.3 cm) on each side brings the hem to 3.75 in (9.5 cm).
- On the wings, 9 sc over each 7-dc shell, with 3 sc at the center, gives the outer curve enough room to stay round and flat.
Hanging Loop
Join yarn in st 1 of the head (the marked top stitch). Ch 16, then sl st in the same st. Fasten off and weave in all ends. The loop drops about 1.5 in (3.8 cm).
Final Blocking
- Soak the angel in cool water or mist it thoroughly. Press out the extra water in a towel. Do not wring it.
- Lay it RS up on a blocking mat.
- Pin the head into a 1.25 in (3.2 cm) circle.
- Pin the hem straight at 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide, with a pin at each corner.
- Pin each of the 6 skirt posts so they fan evenly from the bodice to the hem. Check that the total height is 3.75 in (9.5 cm).
- Pin each wing lobe into a round curve, and press the center notch inward with a pin.
- Lay the loop straight up from the head.
- For a stiffer ornament, spray with starch or brush on diluted fabric stiffener now.
- Let it dry completely, at least 12 hours, before unpinning.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Head is flat and round, 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across.
- Bodice has 5 dc, centered under the head.
- Every skirt row has 6 posts and 5 spaces.
- Chain spaces go 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 from Row 2 to Row 6.
- Hem is straight and 3.75 in (9.5 cm) wide after edging.
- Each wing has 5 V-sts and 2 shells, with a visible center notch.
- Each wing edging has 29 sc, and the skirt edging has 45 sc.
- Both wings sit at the same height and angle.
- Loop is centered at st 1.
- All ends are woven in and can’t be seen from the RS.
Troubleshooting
Skirt ruffles at the hem. Your chains are too loose, or you put more than 3 sc in a ch-3 space. Tighten your chains and recount the hem (25 sc).
Skirt cups or curls. Your chains are too tight. Go up a hook size for the chains only, or block firmly with extra pins.
Bodice is off-center. Recount the head from the marked top stitch. Row 1 must start in st 11 and end in st 15.
Wings flop forward. Use stiffener. Also check that wing Row 1 dc are worked around the post, not through a single loop.
No heart notch on the wing. Make sure the center of Row 3 is a single sc. On the edging, work only 1 sc into it, not 3.
Head ripples. Round 2 has too many stitches. You need exactly 24 sc.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, press dry in a towel and reshape it flat. If you used stiffener, block and stiffen it again after washing.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is short and easy to follow. The head grows to 1.25 in (3.2 cm), and the 5-dc bodice is 0.83 in (2.1 cm) wide. The skirt widens to 1.83 in (4.6 cm), then 2.67 in (6.8 cm), then 3.5 in (8.9 cm), over a body length of 2.4 in (6.1 cm). The single round of edging adds 1/8 in (0.3 cm) per side. The finished angel is 3.75 x 3.75 in (9.5 x 9.5 cm), plus a 1.5 in (3.8 cm) loop.
If your checkpoints match, every angel you make will come out the same size and shape. Make one in powder blue for the tree, or a few in white and silver for gift tags.
Happy crocheting!