For years and years and YEARS I have been trying to learn crochet. I have always admiring my crafty friends who could whip up the most adorable crochet projects. I’ve take at least three in-person classes and watched countless youtube videos, but I just never got the hang of it.
That was UNTIL recently I signed up to take Kim Werker’s “Crochet: basics & beyond” on Craftsy. She went so slowly and explained WHY you need to do certain stitches and what they all mean. For some reason, a light just went on!
And now I’m OBSESSED. (Seriously.. On craft store trips I’ve been hanging around the yarn aisle for way too long!)
My mom was a casual crocheter and one of the projects I remember her making when I was a kid were these little six-pack soda ring wreaths. She would add bells and hang them on door knobs and they would jingle. I knew I wanted to make them too.
I scoured the internet and couldn’t find anyone who had the pattern. There were crocheted wreaths, but none on soda can rings. The closet thing I could find was Whiskers and Wool’s ring wreath ornament:
So I used her pattern and made my own version on up cycled soda can rings.
I love this project since you don’t really have to buy anything as long as you have green yarn in your stash. Plus it is a pretty easy pattern. Using only single and double crochet.
The key to using the plastic rings is cutting any of the protrusions off. You need a pretty clean circle or else you will have bumps on your wreath.
Since I’m a beginner I like patterns that walk me though step by step, which is what I’ve included below. If you are a pro at reading a pattern, here is the original.
To begin, cast on with a slip stitch and chain one.
Single crochet around the entire ring. (I needed 36 stitches to cover my ring) You can use any multiple of 4. So you could use 32 or 40.
Slip stitch the ring closed and chain 1 to begin the next row.
Single crochet one (in the same stitch), chain three (skipping a stitch) and single crochet one. You are forming “holes” that you will crochet into in the next row.
Now you being the repeats. Chain 2 (skipping a stitch), single crochet 1, Chain 2 (skipping a stitch) single crochet 1. Do this all the way around and end the circle with a slip stitch.
Finally, (this is my favorite part) you add the “petals” along the wreath.
Stitch 5 double crochets in the little “hole” that was formed under the first chain 2, then slip stitch into the next chain 2 hole (skipping the single crocheted stitch between the chains.) Try are only crocheting into the holes.. not into any of the stitches themselves.
Repeat this pattern (double crochet 5, single crochet 1) until you complete the circle. Slip stitch in the final chain-2 hole to finish the pattern.
Tie off and weave your ends.
Now you can add a little bow, or seed beads or even bells like my mom used to do.
Doni’s original pattern called for weaving red yarn into the chain-2 holes and tying with a bow, which is super adorable too.
It is quite the transformation, from trash to treasure!
If you haven't mastered crochet.. I can't recommend this class enough! It was a game changer for me!
