Easy Star Ornament Tutorial from Upcycled Sweater
Aren’t these star ornaments the most fluffy and joyful Christmas ornaments you have ever seen! They are easy to make from an old sweater and simple crochet stitches. You can add any wording you like to your up-cycled sweater ornament or leave it plain for patterned sweaters.
You can buy the ad-free printable PDF for this Star Ornament Crochet Pattern on Etsy. Thank you for your support!
I have so many old sweaters that have brought me through many winters. Now that I live in Florida, I don’t really need most of them anymore and they started to have holes and other imperfections. I love to reuse, recycle and upcycle and knew I needed to make something for the holidays with my old sweaters.
It is best to use sweaters that are 100% wool or 100% cashmere. Wash them at a high temperature so they felt. This will make them shrink but also creates sort of a fabric. This way you can cut them without the yarn coming apart on you.
You can also make my Macrame Christmas Tree Ornament for another beautiful Christmas Decoration.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through my link, I will make a small commission with no extra cost to you. “
Star Ornament Materials
- Old Sweater 100% wool or Cashmere is best
- I used Hobby Lobby Yarn Bee Fur-Ever Style Yarn in White, but you can also use Bernat Pipsqueak Yarn in Whitey White
- Paintbox Yarns in Rose Red or Lion Brand Yarn 24-7 Cotton in Red
- 2mm Crochet Hook
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Needle
Crochet Terms (US):
- Ch- Chain
- Sp – Space
- St – Stitch
- Sl St – Slip Stitch
- Surface Crochet – insert your hook from the top, pull up a loop, insert hook in between the next stitch, yarn over and pull through. Now you have 2 loops on the hook. Pull the second loop on the left through the first loop.
- Twisted Single Crochet – This is a sc worked backwards by placing your sc in the right st and going backwards
Star Ornament Crochet Pattern
You can make several stars from an old sweater. With a solid color like my grey sweater, you can add surface crochet. Short words such as joy, merry or love are best. Or even monograms or short names of family members. These make great Christmas gifts to hang from the Christmas Tree or the fireplace mantel.
Once you have your felted sweater, lay it out nicely and select the best area. You need the front and the back for the star.
Trace the paper star cutout and cut 2 star pieces from the sweater.
If you have a patterned sweater and don’t want to add surface crochet to it, skip to the section on how to finish the star ornament with a twisted crochet stitch.
Creating the surface crochet
Take the top star and trace a word on it lightly. I used joy, but you can also use a monogram or love. Whatever will fit on your star.
With your small crochet hook, poke through the sweater star from top to bottom at the start of the letter. Then pull up a loop of the yarn with your hook. This creates a small loop on the front. Now, with your hook still through the yarn, poke through the sweater again about 1/8″ along your letter and pull up the yarn again. This way you create the chain stitch tracing the letter. You can watch this in detail in my video.
To move over to the next letter, pull the last loop through the sweater to the other side and take out the hook. Now catch the loop with your hook from the other side and chain 1 to reach the next letter.
To start the next letter, poke your hook through the sweater from the top at the start of the next letter and pull up the chain 1 loop from the end of the previous letter.
Finishing the Star Ornament
If you are using a patterned sweater, you can go ahead with the twisted single crochet along the edge. Essentially, that is a single crochet but worked backwards so you get a nice braided effect along the top.
It can be hard at first to get your hook in between the layers of sweater. Just try to use a smaller hook and wiggle your way in.
When you have only 1 corner of star left to crochet, fill it with the leftover scraps from cutting out the star. You might need a little more from the sweater to make it nice and puffy.
Then, complete the twisted crochet all the way around.Do not cut the yarn.
Use your crochet hook and come in from the top of the star to the end of your crochet where the yarn hangs. Pull the yarn through the body of the star to the top. Pull up a loop long enough for a hanger. Add a knot at the top of the star and cut the yarn.
I hope you will enjoy this Star Ornament tutorial as much as I do. Comment below if you have any questions and show off your own star ornaments here and on Instagram #kaileacrafts
More Free Crochet Patterns
Want to make even more crochet accessories? Check out these Crafting on the Fly creations!
- Velvet Crochet Scrunchies – These scrunchies are a quick project that will brighten up any outfit.
- Crochet Felted Aztec Bag – Need a large carry-all bag? This felted crochet bag is all you need.
- Crochet Flip Flop Sandals – Add some stylish sandals to your summer wardrobe with this flip flop crochet pattern.
- Crochet Statement Earrings – These crochet earrings are quickly made with some leftover yarn and will complete your summer outfits.