This Frosted Petal Snowflake is a light, open ornament made of six pointed petals around a small center ring. Each petal outline is a firm, raised cord of single crochet worked along a chain. The cord gives the snowflake a braided look and keeps its shape on the tree.
The main color is a soft sky blue. Five petal tips each get a tiny cream trefoil of three picots, which look like little snow crystals. The sixth petal, at the top, ends in a corded hanging loop, so you don’t need a separate ribbon.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished snowflake is about 4.5 in (11.4 cm) from one petal point to the opposite point and 5 in (12.7 cm) across when you include the trefoils. It is 6 in (15.2 cm) tall from the bottom trefoil to the top of the hanging loop.
Construction is simple. You crochet a center ring, then make each petal right off the ring: chain out, anchor the chain back on the ring, and cover the chain with single crochet on the way back. The cream trefoils are added at the end, and blocking sets the points.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 4.5 in (11.4 cm) from petal tip to petal tip; 5 in (12.7 cm) across including trefoils; 6 in (15.2 cm) tall including the hanging loop
- Skill level: Easy–Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: DK (light worsted, #3) cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 3.5 mm (E-4)
- Number of pieces: 1 (single motif, no joining)
- Layout: six petals radiating from one center ring; hanging loop on the top petal
- Center ring size: 0.75 in (1.9 cm) outer diameter
- Size before trim: 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tip to tip
- Trim (trefoil) depth: 0.25 in (0.6 cm) beyond each of 5 tips
Materials
A smooth, tightly plied cotton works best because it shows the corded texture clearly and holds a crisp point after blocking. Avoid fuzzy yarns, which blur the braided look.
- Color A – Light Sky Blue: 8 g, about 18 m (20 yd)
- Color B – Cream: 2 g, about 5 m (5.5 yd)
Both amounts include a safety margin of about 25%, so you have yarn left over for a gauge test or for weaving in ends comfortably.
Tools:
– 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– Scissors
– Stitch marker
– Blocking board or foam mat with a grid
– 6 rustproof pins (glass-head or pearl-head)
– Spray bottle of water or a light fabric stiffener (optional)
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sc – single crochet
- sl st – slip stitch
- sk – skip
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sp – space
- rnd – round
Special stitch – Trefoil Tip: In the same stitch, work [ch 3, sl st] 3 times. This makes three small picot loops that sit together like a tiny snow crystal.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge for this project is measured along the cord, not in rows. 5 sc worked into a chain = 1 in (2.5 cm).
Before you start the ornament, make a gauge test: ch 11, then sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each ch across (10 sc). Lay it flat without stretching. It should measure 2 in (5.1 cm). This is the length of one petal side.
Checkpoints:
– After Rnd 1: the ring is 0.75 in (1.9 cm) across, with a hole about 0.25 in (0.6 cm) wide.
– After the first petal: measured from where it leaves the ring to its tip, the petal is about 1.9 in (4.8 cm) long.
– After all six petals: tip to opposite tip is 4.5 in (11.4 cm) when laid flat.
– After the trim: the trefoils add 0.25 in (0.6 cm) at each of the five tips.
If your snowflake is too big, go down to a 3.25 mm (D-3) hook or switch to a slightly thinner yarn. If it is too small or the cord feels stiff and curls, go up to a 3.75 mm (F-5) hook. Don’t change stitch counts. The petal shape relies on 10 sc per side and 3 sc at the tip.
Center Ring
With Color A:
Ch 8, sl st in the first ch to form a ring.
Rnd 1: Ch 1 (does not count as a st). Work 24 sc into the ring. Join with sl st to the first sc. (24 sc)
Pack the sc tightly together around the ring so that they cover the chain completely. Put a marker in the first sc. That is ring st 1.
The 24 stitches are split into 6 groups of 4. Each petal uses 4 ring stitches: it starts in st 1 of its group and is anchored in st 4.
Petals
All six petals are worked in one continuous round without fastening off. Each petal is a chain loop anchored at both ends on the ring. You cover it with sc on the way back, which turns the loop into a raised cord with an open center.
The hook is now in ring st 1, at the top of the snowflake. The first petal you make is the top petal, which carries the hanging loop.
Petal 1 (Top Petal with Hanging Loop)
- Ch 21.
- Sk the next 2 sc on the ring, then sl st in the following sc (ring st 4). This anchors the chain and forms a long chain loop.
- Work back along the chain toward the tip. Sc in each of the next 10 ch.
- Hanging loop: In the next ch (the 11th, the tip ch), work sc, then ch 15. Sl st in the same tip ch to close the loop. Work 20 sc over the ch-15 loop, then sl st in the same tip ch again. Sc once more in the same tip ch.
- Sc in each of the remaining 10 ch.
- Sl st in ring st 1, where this petal began.
- Sl st in each of the next 4 ring sc. You now sit in ring st 5, ready for Petal 2.
Petal 1 count: 10 + 2 + 10 = 22 sc on the petal outline, plus 20 sc covering the hanging loop.
The 20 sc over the 15-ch loop are deliberate. Working them over the chain packs the stitches together and gives the loop the same thick, braided look as the petals. The loop should measure about 1.25 in (3.2 cm) tall.
Petals 2–6 (Standard Petals)
Repeat for each of the next five petals. Each one starts in the ring st where the previous petal finished.
- Ch 21.
- Sk the next 2 sc on the ring, sl st in the following sc.
- Working back along the chain: sc in each of the next 10 ch, 3 sc in the next ch (tip), sc in each of the remaining 10 ch.
- Sl st in the ring st where this petal began.
- For Petals 2–5: sl st in each of the next 4 ring sc to move to the next petal’s starting st.
For Petal 6: sl st in each of the next 3 ring sc, then sl st in the first sl st of the round (ring st 1).
Standard petal count: the 21 chains are worked 1 sc per ch (21 sc), plus 2 extra sc in the tip ch to make the point, for 23 sc per petal.
Ring check: each petal uses 4 ring stitches: the start st, 2 skipped sts and the anchor st. 6 petals × 4 sts = 24, which matches Rnd 1 exactly. That is why the petal bases meet neatly around the ring with no gaps or bunching.
Fasten off Color A and leave a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
The 3 sc in the tip ch turn the corner sharply, which makes the pointed leaf shape. The two 10-sc sides curve gently outward because the sc row is longer on its outer edge than on the chain edge. This curve opens the center of the petal.
Trim: Cream Trefoil Tips
The trim takes the place of a border on this single motif. It is worked only on the five standard petals (Petals 2–6). The top petal already ends in the hanging loop.
Trim gauge: each ch-3 picot stands about 0.25 in (0.6 cm) tall in DK cotton.
For each of Petals 2–6:
- With Color B, join with sl st in the center sc of the 3-sc tip group (the 2nd of the 3).
- Work a Trefoil Tip: [ch 3, sl st in the same st] 3 times.
- Fasten off and leave a 4 in (10.2 cm) tail.
Trim count per tip: you work into 1 existing stitch (the center tip sc) and add 3 picots. Each picot is 3 chains, so each tip gets 9 ch in total.
Total trim: 5 tips × 3 picots = 15 picots.
Why the math works: the 3-sc tip group has a single center stitch at the exact point. Anchoring all three picots in that stitch keeps the trefoil centered on the tip instead of pulling to one side. Because nothing is added to the petal sides, the 4.5 in (11.4 cm) tip-to-tip size stays the same. The trefoils only add 0.25 in (0.6 cm) beyond each tip, for 5 in (12.7 cm) across the trimmed points.
Pinch each trefoil with your fingers so the three picots spread into a small clover: one picot pointing straight out and two angled slightly to the sides.
Weaving In Ends
Weave each Color B tail back through the tip sc and up one side of the petal cord for 0.5 in (1.3 cm), then trim. Weave the Color A tail through the back of the ring sc. Hide all tails inside the cord stitches so they don’t show through the open petals.
Final Blocking
- Lightly mist the snowflake with water, or dip it in a diluted fabric stiffener and squeeze out the extra.
- Lay it face up on the grid board. Center the ring on a grid intersection.
- Pin the top petal tip straight up, just below the hanging loop.
- Pin the bottom petal tip straight down, 4.5 in (11.4 cm) from the top tip.
- Pin the remaining four tips so that all six tips are spaced 60 degrees apart, with each tip 2.25 in (5.7 cm) from the center of the ring.
- Use your fingertip to open the center of each petal into a symmetrical leaf shape. The two cord sides should bow evenly.
- Shape the hanging loop into a neat teardrop. You don’t need to pin it.
- Fluff the trefoils so the picots stand up.
- Let it dry completely, at least 6 hours, before unpinning.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Center ring is 0.75 in (1.9 cm) across, with a clear round hole.
- Rnd 1 has exactly 24 sc and the chain ring doesn’t show.
- Each petal base uses exactly 4 ring stitches, and the petals meet around the ring.
- Standard petals have 23 sc: 10 + 3 + 10.
- Top petal has 22 sc on its outline plus 20 sc covering the hanging loop.
- All six petal centers are open and evenly leaf-shaped.
- Five cream trefoils, each with 3 picots, are centered on the tips.
- Tip to tip measures 4.5 in (11.4 cm); total height is 6 in (15.2 cm).
- All ends are hidden inside the cord.
- The snowflake lies flat and hangs straight from its loop.
Troubleshooting
Petals look skinny with no open center. You may be pulling the sc too tight along the chain. Loosen your tension on the sc, or chain slightly more loosely. Blocking will also open the petals.
Petals ruffle or twist. Your chain is too loose compared with your sc. Chain a bit more firmly or go down a hook size for the ch 21 only.
Gaps between petal bases. Check that you skipped exactly 2 ring sts and slipped across exactly 4 between petals. If you used 3 or 5 sts per petal, the ring count won’t come out to 24.
Tips are rounded instead of pointed. Make sure all 3 tip sc go into the single tip ch. Pin the tip firmly while blocking.
Snowflake hangs crooked. The hanging loop must sit at the exact tip of Petal 1. Recheck that you worked 10 sc before it and 10 after it.
Trefoils drift to one side. Join Color B in the center tip sc, not in the first or third.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, press out the water in a towel, and reblock flat to dry. Store the snowflake flat between sheets of tissue paper to protect the points and picots.
Final Notes
The whole snowflake depends on a short chain of measurements. Five sc along a chain make 1 in (2.5 cm). A 24-sc ring is 0.75 in (1.9 cm) across. Ten sc give each petal side 2 in (5.1 cm) of curved cord, so each petal is about 1.9 in (4.8 cm) long. Six petals bring the tip-to-tip size to 4.5 in (11.4 cm). The cream trefoils add 0.25 in (0.6 cm) at five tips, and the 1.25 in (3.2 cm) hanging loop brings the total height to 6 in (15.2 cm). Check your gauge once, count the ring stitches carefully, and the rest of the snowflake will come out to these sizes.
Happy crocheting!