Little Fir Christmas Tree

Designed By Julie A. Bolduc

This Little Fir Christmas Tree resembles the fir trees that are usually used for Christmas trees. It actually has a center trunk and the "branches" are actually worked on the trunk after the trunk is made.

Materials Needed
3oz Green Worsted weight acrylic yarn. Red Heart Super Saver was used use your favorite green shade!
Scrap yellow Red Heart Sport acrylic yarn
2oz Red Heart Super Saver Multicolor in ArtE300 Color: 0967 Holly & Ivy
113 Gold metallic pony beads or some other festive large pony beads
1 piece CPVC pipe ½" diam by 10" long
Gold or green craft spray paint
1 ½" CPVC coupler
Yarn Needle for Weaving in Ends
2 pieces corrugated cardboard, 5½" x 5½"
1 piece of cereal box type cardboard 3" x 17½" long*
1.88" wide Shipping Tape
Double Sided Tape
Pebbles or ¾" crushed rock, about 2 cups, for weight inside your base
5" long ¼" diameter dowel.

Yarn Thickness: 4mm
Gauge: 9dc = 2"
Finished Size: 6" x 13½"
Skill Level: Advanced

Instructions

Step 1: Spray paint your CPVC pipe and allow to dry. I spray painted it gold because I used gold beads and I did not want the ugly yellowish color of the CPVC pipe to show through the stitches. You might want to spray paint it a green color that is close to the yarn you are using.

Step 2:Prepare Your Base then set it aside.

1. Cut out 2 5 1/8" circles from the corrugated Cardboard
2. Cut a 7/8" hole in the center of one circle only. The way I did this is I found the center and then with a sharp box cutter, I cut 6 pizza style slices with out cutting all the way through the wide end of each slice so the wedges can fold in when the coupler is pushed through the hole later. You need the friction of the wedges to help hold the coupler in straight. Set the circles aside for now.
3. Cut a 3" x 17" piece of cardboard from the pizza box.
4. Draw 2 dashed lines down the length of the cardboard on the printed side one inch apart from each other so you have 2 long sides that are about 1" wide.
5. Score the dashed lines you just marked from one end to the other. These scores will be fold lines. Make sure to score it on the printed side.
6. Cut wedges from each side up to the scored, dashed lines down the whole length of the long piece of cardboard. This will make it easier to curl the strip around your cardboard circles to form the side of your base.

7. Pick up your solid circle, the one without the hole and put some double stick tape around the perimeter, no more than 1" in from the edge.
8. Join the circle to the long strip securing the wedges to the taped edge to form the wall of your base. The strip will be too long so you will need to cut some of the wedges off of one end. Leave the center 1" wide section in tact to overlap your seam. Use shipping tape to tape your circle to the cardboard strip on the outside. I would put a piece of tape on, cut slits in the tape then secure the tape down on the bottom from the side. I used short pieces of tape all the way around instead of one long piece of tape.
9. At this point, you should have the bottom of your base complete. At this point, fill with rocks leaving the center empty. You may need to put a few pieces of cardboard on the bottom center to build up the height a little. The coupler is going to be used in the center of the base through the hole you cut in the other circle and I had to put a rock under the coupler to lift it up a bit so it would not fall completely in the base. You might want to build up 2 or 3 layers of corrugated cardboard at the bottom center before adding your rocks so the coupler will stick through the top circle of your base.

10. Fold down the top wedges to prepare them for placing the top cardboard circle on them.
11. Apply double faced tape on the other circle, on the same side as the wedges sticking up which is the bottom of the top circle. Apply it the same way you applied it for the bottom circle.

12. Push the top circle down onto your rock filled base and tape as you did for the bottom all the way around with the shipping tape to secure it in place.
13. Put some hot glue down in the center of the hole and apply it to the bottom half of coupler on the outside. Push the coupler down into the hole and make sure it is straight. There will be hot glue that oozes out of the sides of the hole. That is ok. It will help to hold the coupler in place. In fact, you might want to add more just in case. This coupler will not show once the tree is finished. You are now done with the base. You can set it aside and start crocheting! Allow the hot glue to cool completely before touching it again.

Tree Trunk

RND 1: Starting at top of tree trunk with green. Ch4. Join w/slst to first ch to form ring. Ch1. 8sc in ring. Join w/slst to first sc. (8sts)

RND 2: Work in back loops only. Ch3. Dc in each st around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 3: Work through both loops. Ch3. Dc in each st around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 4-13: Repeat RNDs 2 & 3 consecutively.

RND 14 & 15: Repeat RND 3. Fasten off and weave ends into work.

Branches of Tree
Branch 1

RND 1:String on 8 beads. Join yarn onto front loop at top of tree on base of RND 2. Work with RND 1 facing you at all times for each branch. Ch3. Dc in same front loop as joining. 2dc in each front loop around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 2: Ch1. Sc in same st as slst. 2dc, pull up a bead, 2dc in next st. *Sc in next st. 2dc, pull up a bead, 2 dc in next st. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to first sc. Fasten off and weave ends into work. Branch 1 is now done.

Branch 2

RND 1: String on 12 beads. Join yarn to next RND of front loops then repeat RND 1 of Branch 1.

RND 2: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in next st. *2dc in next st. Dc in next st. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 3: Rep RND 2 of Branch 1.

Branch 3

RND 1:String on 16 beads. Join yarn to next RND of front loops then repeat RND 1 of Branch 1.

RND 2: Rep RND 2 of Branch 2.

RND 3: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in each of the next 2 sts. *2dc in next st. Dc in each of the next 2 sts. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 4: Rep RND 2 of Branch 1.

Branch 4

RND 1: String on 20 beads. Join yarn to next RND of front loops then repeat RND 1 of Branch 1.

RND 2: Rep RND 2 of Branch 2.

RND 3: Rep RND 3 of Branch 3.

RND 4: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in each of the next 3 sts. *2dc in next st. Dc in each of the next 3 sts. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 5: Rep RND 2 of Branch 1.

Branch 5

RND 1: String on 24 beads. Join yarn to next RND of front loops then Rep RND 1 of Branch 1.

RND 2: Rep RND 2 of Branch 2.

RND 3: Rep RND 3 of Branch 3.

RND 4: Rep RND 4 of Branch 4.

RND 5: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in each of the next 4 sts. *2dc in next st. Dc in each of the next 4 sts. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 6: Rep RND 2 of Branch 1.

Branch 6

RND : String on 28 beads. Join yarn to next RND of front loops then Rep RND 1 of Branch 1.

RND 2: Rep RND 2 of Branch 2.

RND 3: Rep RND 3 of Branch 3.

RND 4: Rep RND 4 of Branch 4.

RND 5: Rep RND 5 of Branch 5.

RND 6: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in each of the next 5 sts. *2dc in next st. Dc in each of the next 5 sts. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 7: Rep RND 2 of Branch 1.

Tree top Star

Back of Star

RND 1: With Yellow Sport Weight. Ch5. Join w/slst to first ch to form ring. Ch1. 10sc in ring. Join w/slst to first sc. fasten off and weave both ends into back of work.

Front of Star

RND 1: String on 5 beads. Repeat as for back. Do not fasten off.

RND 2: Ch1. Sc in same st as slst. 2dc, pull up a bead, 2dc in next st. *Sc in next st. 2dc, pull up a bead, 2 dc in next st. Rep from * around. Do not Join!. Fasten off and weave ends into work. The next thing is you need to poke a hole in the bottom center of the star.

The way to do this is to use the 5" dowel. Sharpen one end of the dowel to a sharp point and sharpen the other end just so it is beveled enough to poke through RND 1 of the tree trunk when you are done assembling the tree. Poke the hole with the sharp end of the dowel to form a hole. Make sure you are going between the front and back circles. Once you have your hole, take the dowel out, apply hot glue to the sharp end and stick it back into the hole you just made. Hold it there until the hot glue cools a bit. Set the star aside for now.

Crochet Cover for Base of Tree

Top of Cover

RND 1:With Multicolor. Ch10. Join w/slst to first ch to form ring. Ch3. 19dc in ring. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (20sts)

RND 2: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. 2dc in each st around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (40sts)

RND 3: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in next st. *2dc in next st. Dc in next st. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (60 sts)

RND 4: Ch3. In back loops only. Dc in each dc around. Join w/slst to top of ch3.

RND 5: Ch3. Through both loops. Dc in each dc around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. Fasten off and weave ends into back of work.

Bottom of Cover

RND 1: Ch5. Join w/slst to first ch to form ring. Ch3. 19dc in ring. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (20sts)

RND 2: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. 2dc in each st around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (40sts)

RND 3: Ch3. Dc in same st as slst. Dc in next st. *2dc in next st. Dc in next st. Rep from * around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. (60sts)

RND 4: Ch3. Dc in each dc around. Join w/slst to top of ch3. Fasten off and weave ends into back of work.

Final Assembly of Base

Join the top and bottom together by putting them together wrong sides facing each other so the top is facing you. Work a sc in each st around working through both layers. When you get a little bit more than half way around, slip the cardboard base into work making sure the coupler is poking through the center hole of RND 1 of the top. Finish stitching around. to close. Fasten off and weave end into work.

Final Assembly of Little Fir Christmas Tree!

Step 1: Set the crochet covered base in front of you.

Step 2: Slip Trunk of tree over prepared cPVC pipe.

Step 3: Insert tree covered pipe into coupler in center of base.

Step 4: Insert prepared star in top of tree.

Step 5: Now stand back and enjoy your work!

*I used cardboard from a frozen self rising crust pizza box, opened up all the way. There were folds in the piece I used but it did not make any difference in the final base.

In case you did not know, there are two types of PVC pipe you can use. CPVC and regular PVC. The ½" cPVC pipe is the one that I used. It is smaller than the white ½" PVC pipe. I believe the c in CPVC stands for Copper sizing and the other PVC pipe sizing is the same as steel pipes.

Design written on Saturday, November 16, 2013. Copyright ©2013 By Julie A. Bolduc p115029