Frosted Tiers Christmas Tree Ornament Crochet Pattern

This little tree is built from stacked rows of crocodile-style scales. Each tier sits half a scale inward from the one below it, so the piece narrows into a neat triangle and ends with a single red scale at the tip. A short brown trunk and a gold hanging loop finish the ornament.

The scale tiers alternate between forest green, cream, and Christmas red, with green showing between each colored tier. From the bottom up, the scale colors are green, cream, green, red, green, cream, and red. The look is classic and cozy.

The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished ornament measures about 4 1/4 in (10.8 cm) wide at the bottom scales and 4 3/4 in (12.1 cm) tall from tip to trunk, not counting the hanging loop.

You start with one foundation row of single crochet. After that, you alternate two kinds of rows: a green “V-row” of treble pairs, and a scale row worked around those treble posts. The trunk is worked down from the foundation chain and finished with a one-round edging.

Finished Size and Construction

• Finished size: 4 1/4 in (10.8 cm) wide x 4 3/4 in (12.1 cm) tall
• Skill level: Intermediate
• Terminology: US
• Yarn weight: Sport (weight 2), cotton or cotton blend
• Hook: 2.5 mm (US B/1 or C/2)
• Number of pieces: 1
• Layout: Single flat piece; no joining
• Piece size: Tree body 3 7/8 in (9.8 cm) tall from tip to bottom scale points; trunk 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm) wide x 1 in (2.5 cm) long
• Size before border: Trunk 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm) wide x 1 in (2.5 cm) long
• Border depth: One sc edging round on the trunk, about 1/8 in (0.3 cm). This brings the trunk to 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm) wide x 1 1/8 in (2.9 cm) long.

Materials

Choose a smooth, tightly plied sport-weight cotton. Mercerized cotton shows the scale texture clearly and keeps the scales crisp. Avoid fuzzy or splitty yarn, because you will work around stitch posts many times.

• Green: 7 g / 20 m (foundation, all V-rows, and three green scale tiers)
• Cream: 3 g / 8 m (two scale tiers)
• Red: 2 g / 6 m (two scale tiers, including the tip)
• Brown: 2 g / 5 m (trunk and trunk edging)
• Gold metallic cord: 8 in (20.3 cm), for the hanging loop

Tools:

• 2.5 mm crochet hook
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors
• Stitch marker
• Rustproof pins and a foam blocking mat
• Spray bottle with water

All quantities include a small margin for a gauge test and for weaving in ends.

Abbreviations (US Terms)

• ch – chain
• sc – single crochet
• dc – double crochet
• tr – treble crochet
• sl st – slip stitch
• sk – skip
• sp – space
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• RS / WS – right side / wrong side

Special stitch – Scale: With RS facing, turn the work so the treble pair lies sideways.
1. Working around the post of the first tr, from the top of the post down to the base, work 5 dc.
2. Ch 1.
3. Turn the work again. Working around the post of the second tr, from the base up to the top, work 5 dc.

One scale = 11 sts (5 dc, 1 ch, 5 dc). The finished scale fans out and hangs down over the rows below.

Gauge and Checkpoints

Gauge: 7 sc and 8 rows = 1 in (2.5 cm) in sc. One V-row of treble pairs is about 1/2 in (1.3 cm) tall.

Test the start of the piece before going further: work Row 1 and Tier 1 (Rows 2 and 3), then measure.

• After Row 1: The 29 sc should measure 4 1/8 in (10.5 cm) wide and about 1/8 in (0.3 cm) tall.
• After Row 3 (Tier 1): The bottom scales should spread to about 4 1/4 in (10.8 cm). The piece should be 5/8 in (1.6 cm) tall from the foundation edge to the top of the V-row.
• After Row 9 (Tier 4): The top V-row should be about 2 3/8 in (6.0 cm) wide, and 2 1/8 in (5.4 cm) above the foundation edge.
• After Row 15 (Tier 7): The top V-row should be about 3/4 in (1.9 cm) wide, and 3 5/8 in (9.2 cm) above the foundation edge.

If Row 1 is wider than 4 1/8 in (10.5 cm), go down a hook size. If it is narrower, go up a hook size. If the width is right but your tiers are taller than 1/2 in (1.3 cm), make your trebles shorter by pulling up the first loop less.

Pattern

Notes

• Don’t cut the green yarn between tiers. Drop it at the end of each V-row and pick it up again after the scale row.
• Work every scale row with RS facing, starting at the right-hand edge. Join the scale color with a sl st. At the end of the row, fasten off and leave 4 in (10.2 cm) tails.
• The green yarn waits at whichever edge the last V-row ended, so V-rows alternate between RS and WS. The scales still always sit on the RS.
• A V-row with m treble pairs always has 3m + 1 sts: 2m tr plus m + 1 sc.

Foundation

Row 1 (green): Ch 30. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (29 sc)

Mark the foundation chain. You will work the trunk into its free loops later.

Tier 1 – Green Scales (7 scales)

Row 2 (RS, green V-row): Ch 1, sc in first sc. Sk 1 sc, 2 tr in next sc, sk 1 sc, sc in next sc. Repeat from * to * 6 more times. (7 tr pairs + 8 sc = 22 sts)

Each repeat uses 4 base stitches, and 1 + (7 x 4) = 29, so the row ends exactly in the last sc. Don’t turn. Drop green at the left edge.

Row 3 (RS, green scale row): Join a separate length of green with a sl st in the sc at the right-hand edge. Work 1 scale over the next tr pair, then sl st in the next sc. Repeat from * to * 6 more times. (7 scales, 8 sl sts) Fasten off.

Tier 2 – Cream Scales (6 scales)

From here on, you work each V-row into the previous V-row, behind the scales:
– The new treble pairs go into the sl sts between the scales below.
– The new sc go into the center of each treble pair below.

This moves every tier inward by half a scale on each side.

Row 4 (WS, green V-row): Pick up green and turn. Ch 1, sk first sc, sc in the sp between the 2 tr of the next pair. 2 tr in next sl st, sc in the sp between the 2 tr of the next pair. Repeat from * to * 5 more times. (6 tr pairs + 7 sc = 19 sts)

Leave the last sc of the previous V-row unworked. Drop green.

Row 5 (RS, cream scale row): Join cream with a sl st in the sc at the right-hand edge. Work 1 scale over the next tr pair, then sl st in the next sc. Repeat from * to * 5 more times. (6 scales, 7 sl sts) Fasten off.

Tiers 3 to 7

Work each of these tiers the same way as Tier 2:
1. V-row: Pick up green and turn. Ch 1, sk first sc, sc in the center of the first pair, then continue as in Row 4.
2. Scale row: Work the scales in the color listed for that tier.

Each tier has one fewer pair than the tier below it.

Tier 3 – green scales
– Row 6 (RS, V-row): 5 tr pairs + 6 sc (16 sts)
– Row 7 (green scales): (5 scales, 6 sl sts)

Tier 4 – red scales
– Row 8 (WS, V-row): 4 tr pairs + 5 sc (13 sts)
– Row 9 (red scales): (4 scales, 5 sl sts)

Check your work against the Tier 4 checkpoint now.

Tier 5 – green scales
– Row 10 (RS, V-row): 3 tr pairs + 4 sc (10 sts)
– Row 11 (green scales): (3 scales, 4 sl sts)

Tier 6 – cream scales
– Row 12 (WS, V-row): 2 tr pairs + 3 sc (7 sts)
– Row 13 (cream scales): (2 scales, 3 sl sts)

Tier 7 – red tip
– Row 14 (RS, V-row): Ch 1, sk first sc, sc in the center of the first pair, 2 tr in next sl st, sc in the center of the last pair. (1 tr pair + 2 sc = 4 sts) Fasten off green, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
– Row 15 (red scales): Join red with a sl st in the right-hand sc. Work 1 scale over the tr pair, then sl st in the last sc. (1 scale, 2 sl sts) Fasten off, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.

Pull the red tail to the back through the center of the tip scale. Tighten it a little so the top gathers into a small red point.

Trunk

Turn the tree upside down so the foundation chain is on top. The chain has 29 free loops.

Row T1 (brown): Sk the first 10 free loops. Join brown with a sl st in the 11th loop. Ch 1, then sc in the same loop and in each of the next 8 loops. Turn. (9 sc)

This leaves 10 loops unworked on each side, so the trunk is centered: 10 + 9 + 10 = 29.

Rows T2–T8: Ch 1, sc in each sc across. Turn. (9 sc)

The trunk should now measure 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm) wide and 1 in (2.5 cm) long. Fasten off.

Border

The tree body doesn’t need a border. The bottom green scales already form a scalloped edge, and the scale ends cover the sides. Only the trunk gets one round of edging, to straighten its row ends.

Border gauge: Same as the main gauge: 7 sc and 8 rows = 1 in (2.5 cm).

In this edging, the bottom count includes both corner groups. The side counts do not include corners.

Edging (brown, RS): Join brown with a sl st in the foundation chain, right next to the trunk on the right side.

• Right side: Work 1 sc in each row end, down to the bottom. (8 sc)
• Bottom: 3 sc in the first st of Row T8, sc in each of the next 7 sts, 3 sc in the last st. (13 sc: 3 + 7 + 3)
• Left side: Work 1 sc in each row end, up to the body. (8 sc)

Sl st into the foundation chain next to the trunk. Fasten off. (29 sc total: 8 + 13 + 8)

Why the math works:
– The trunk has 8 rows, so 1 sc per row end gives exactly 8 sc per side. At 8 rows and 7 sc per inch, this lies flat with almost no gathering.
– The bottom works into each of the 9 sts once (7 single sc plus the 2 corner sts). The 2 extra sts in each corner turn the corner without cupping.
– The edging adds about 1/8 in (0.3 cm) on each side, so the trunk ends up 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm) wide.

Hanging Loop

Fold the 8 in (20.3 cm) gold cord in half. With the tapestry needle, thread both cut ends from front to back through the top of Row 14, just under the red tip. Knot the ends on the back and trim them to 1/4 in (0.6 cm). The loop stands about 3 in (7.6 cm) above the tip.

Final Blocking

1. Weave in all ends on the back. Run each scale-row tail behind the nearest green V-row so no color shows through.
2. Mist the ornament with water until it is damp, not soaked.
3. Lay it RS up on the blocking mat.
4. Pin the foundation row to 4 1/8 in (10.5 cm) wide.
5. Pin the tip so the body is 3 7/8 in (9.8 cm) tall from the tip to the bottom scale points.
6. Use your fingers to fan each scale flat so it points straight down.
7. Square the trunk to 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm) wide and pin its two bottom corners.
8. Let it dry completely before unpinning, usually 4 to 6 hours.

Final Quality-Control Checklist

• Row 1 has 29 sc and measures 4 1/8 in (10.5 cm).
• V-row counts are 22, 19, 16, 13, 10, 7, and 4.
• Scale counts by tier are 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.
• Scale colors from the bottom are green, cream, green, red, green, cream, red.
• Every tier sits half a scale inward on both sides.
• The trunk is centered, with 10 free loops on each side.
• The trunk edging totals 29 sc.
• The ornament measures 4 1/4 in (10.8 cm) x 4 3/4 in (12.1 cm).
• All ends are hidden and the loop is secure.

Troubleshooting

Scales curl upward: Your dc around the posts are too tight. Loosen up, or use a hook one size larger for scale rows only.

Scales crowd or overlap: Sl st into the sc between pairs after every scale, and never add extra dc to a scale.

Tree leans to one side: A sc was probably skipped or added in a V-row. Check each count against 3 x pairs + 1.

Green shows through the scales: Your trebles are too tall. Make them shorter, or use a smaller hook for V-rows.

Trunk edging ruffles: Work exactly 1 sc per row end and only 3 sc in each corner.

Care

Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, gently press out the water, and dry flat with the scales smoothed downward. Store flat or hanging, where nothing heavy can crush the scales.

Final Notes

Every measurement in this ornament builds from the one before:
– Row 1 sets the width: 29 sc, or 4 1/8 in (10.5 cm).
– Each tier loses one pair, steps inward half a scale per side, and adds about 1/2 in (1.3 cm) of height.
– Seven tiers take the tree from 7 scales down to one red tip, 3 5/8 in (9.2 cm) above the foundation.
– The 9-stitch trunk and its 29-stitch edging finish the ornament at 4 1/4 in (10.8 cm) wide and 4 3/4 in (12.1 cm) tall.

Happy crocheting!