Star of Bethlehem Hanging Ornament by Stephanie Mclntosh
This simple geometric star looks great as a hanging ornament, or with a little adaptation it could be made into a tree-topper. First designed for a Christmas window display at my LYS, the fabulous baa ram ewe (www.baaramewe.co.uk), accompanying a Jean Greenhowe knitted nativity set made by the baa ram ewe knit night crew.
Materials:
Star: British Breeds Yarns Blue Faced Leicester DK, shade 629 (yellow), 1x 50g ball. Optional decoration: Twilleys of Stamford Goldfingering, shade 64 (orange), 1x 25g ball. 3.25mm circular needle, 60cm or longer Stitch markers (optional). Yarn needle. Toy stuffing. Waste yarn.
Abbreviations:
k = knit p = purl kfb = k into front and back of the stitch sl = slip next stitch with yarn held on wrong side - slipped stitches are worked purlwise unless otherwise stated k2tog = knit 2 stitches together triple dec = slip 2 stitches together as if to k2tog, knit next stitch, then pass the slipped stitches over (2 stitches decreased) Gauge is not critical to this project, and it's easy to substitute another yarn, just remember that as with any stuffed item you'll need a needle size a little smaller than usual so the fabric is nice and dense. I used a circular needle and the Magic Loop method, but a set of 5 dpns would also work well, particularly for the smallest rounds at the points and centres of the star.
Instructions:
Small Point (make 3)
Cast on 4 stitches and slip them to the other end of the needle. Start knitting the next row from the first cast on stitch as if making an i-cord, and continue knitting in the round throughout. Round 1: place marker if required to mark start of round. kfb, repeat to end of round (8 stitches). Round 2: [sl, k] x4. Round 3: k all. Round 4: [sl, k] x4. Round 5: [k, kfb] x4 (12 stitches). Round 6: [sl, k2] x4. Round 7: k all. Round 8: [sl, k2] x4. Round 9: [k2, kfb] x4 (16 stitches). Round 10: [sl, k3] x4. Round ll: k all. Round 12: [sl, k3] x4. Round 13: [k3, kfb] x4 (20 stitches). Round 14: [sl, k4] x4. Round 15: k all. Round 16: [sl, k4] x4. Round 17: [k4, kfb] x4 (24 stitches). Round 18: [sl, k5] x4. Round 19: k all. Round 20: [sl, k5] x4. Round 21: [k5, kfb] x4 (28 stitches). Round 22: [sl, k6] x4. Round 23: k all. Round 24: [sl, k6] x4. Round 25: [k6, kfb] x4 (32 stitches). Round 26: [sl, k7] x4. Round 27: k all. Round 28: [sl, k7] x4. Break yarn and thread stitches onto waste yarn.
Large Point (make 1)
Rounds 1-8: Same as on Small Points (12 stitches). Round 9: k all. Round 10: [sl, k2] x4. Rounds 11-12: repeat Rounds 9-10. Round 13: [k2, kfb] x4 (16 stitches). Round 14: [sl, k3] x4. Round 15: k all. Rounds 16-19: repeat Rounds 14-15 x2. Round 20: [sl, k3] x4. Round 21: [k3, kfb] x4 (20 stitches). Round 22: [sl, k4] x4. Round 23: k all. Rounds 24-27: repeat Rounds 22-23 x2. Round 28: [sl, k4] x4. Round 29: [k4, kfb] x4 (24 stitches). Round 30: [sl, k5] x4. Round 3l: k all. Rounds 32-25: repeat Rounds 30-31 x2. Round 36: [sl, k5] x4. Round 37: [k5, kfb] x4 (28 stitches). Round 38: [sl, k6] x4. Round 39: k all. Rounds 40-43: repeat Rounds 38-39 x2. Round 44: [sl, k6] x4. Round 45: [k6, kfb] x4 (32 stitches). Round 46: [sl, k7] x4. Round 47: k all. Rounds 48-51: repeat Rounds 46-47 x2. Round 52: [sl, k7] x4. Thread the last 15 stitches worked onto waste yarn without breaking the working yarn.
Centre 1 (can be either back or front):
Assemble points of star as follows: Working across the Large Point, sl first stitch, \*\* k15, sl next stitch knitwise. Take one of the Small Points, and slide 17 stitches onto your left needle point, starting and ending with one of the slipped (corner) stitches of the points. Sl first stitch knitwise, then insert left needle point into the front of the first 2 stitches on the right needle and knit them together.\*\* Repeat from \*\* to \*\* 3 more times. The final time you will be joining the 3rd Small Point back to the Large Point (64 stitches in round). K7 to the new start of the round - place marker if necessary to mark new start of round. Round 1: [sl, k6, triple dec, k6] x4 (56 Stitches). Round 2: k all. Round 3: [sl, k5, triple dec, k5] x4 (48 stitches). Round 4: k all. Round 5: [sl, k4, triple dec, k4] x4 (40 stitches). Round 6: k all. Round 7: [sl, k3, triple dec, k3] x4 (32 stitches). Round 8: [k3, triple dec, k2] x4 (24 stitches). Round 9: [sl, k1, triple dec, k1] x4 (16 stitches). Round 10: [k1, triple dec] x4 (8 stitches). Break yarn and thread through the final 8 stitches. Secure yarn on wrong side of work and darn in yarn ends from points. Partly stuff each point.
Centre 2:
Work remaining held stitches from points as follows, starting with the centre (slipped) stitch on any point: [k8, pick up 2 stitches between points and knit together, k7] x4 (64 stitches). Repeat Rounds 1-10 of Centre 1, adding small amounts of stuffing as you go and ensuring the star is fully stuffed before the centre hole gets too small. Secure any remaining yarn ends and hide on the inside.
Optional embellishment:
Using sparkly thread and duplicate stitch (Swiss darning), oversew the outline of the star and the slipped stitches and decreases on all sides. Make a loop of plaited, twisted or crocheted thread at the top point of the star (opposite the Large Point). Display, and enjoy. Copyright Stephanie Mclntosh 2012. This pattern is for personal use only. Please do not sell any stars, or sell the pattern.
