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I love crocheted mandalas.  I love how the stitches make a variety of patterns within each round and that there are endless possibilities when you combine any number of crochet stitches, colors and yarn.  Perhaps my love for the mandalas goes back to all of the beautiful doilies and thread tablecloths I had around my home as a young girl – exquisite antique works of art crocheted by my grandmother that contained a variety of round motifs much like the mandalas you see everywhere today.

The symmetry and patterns you see in mandalas are pleasant to look at as you notice the balance and reflection of shapes across the circle form.  So, because I enjoy crocheting and designing mandalas, I will be sharing several FREE mandala patterns here on this blog over the next few months. First up, the . . . . .

Crystal Crochet Mandala!

As some of you may know, I love to incorporate some sparkle into many of my crochet designs – I have quite the collection of beads!  I thought it would be fun to stretch a mandala across a metal ring while including several faceted beads throughout.  By stretching the mandala it really makes the stitches pop and enhances the spaces.

This makes a great decoration for a screened-in porch where the sun shines in and reflects off all the beads.  Ideally I think this would look best as a garden decoration (but some parts of it may not hold up to long-term outdoor weather conditions – heavy rain, intense sun) but it could hang among your flowers for a few hours while you have some friends over.

The mandala is not difficult to crochet and is complete in just 10 rounds.  Each bead element comes together in a snap (especially if you check out the video tutorial links listed below).   I have mine hanging in a prominent place in our home and it makes me smile each time I glance at it.  Let’s get started so you can make one and increase the smiles in your home (or a friend’s)!

Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Supplies:

(Click on the name of the supply to purchase)

• Sinfonia yarn by Omega in colors:   Green (840), Turquoise (832) and White (801)

• F/3.75mm Hook
• 12” metal ring
• 45 eye pins (2” long)
• 90 plastic faceted beads in a variety of sizes (5 being larger teardrop shapes)
• 40 clear seed beads (Size 6/0)
• Jewelry pliers

Pattern Notes and Special Stitches:

Mandala is crocheted in the round first and then attached to ring with bead elements.

1. 2 Double Crochet Cluster (2-dc CL): (YO, insert hk into st, YO, draw up a lp, YO, pull through 2 lps on hk) 2 times; YO, pull through all 3 lps on hk
2. 3 Double Crochet Cluster (3-dc CL): (YO, insert hk into st, YO, draw up a lp, YO, pull through 2 lps on hk) 3 times; YO, pull through all 4 lps on hk
3. PUFF st – YO, insert hk into st, YO, draw up a loop ½” long) 5 times; YO, pull through all 11 loops on hk; ch 1
4. Petal:  (4 tr, dtr, ch-2 picot, 4 tr) all in st indicated
5. Sc around ring: Holding yarn behind ring, insert hk into center of ring; YO, draw up a lp to front of ring; YO, pull through 2 lps on hook

Instructions:

Need some help understanding the special stitches? Just click here to watch the video showing each special stitch of each round.

All bolded stitches are explained in the “Special Stitches” section above.

Round 1: With #840 (Green), ch 3, 2-dc CL in 3^rd ch from hk, (ch 3, 3-dc CL in same ch) 4 times; ch 3, sl st in top of 1^st petal. Fasten off. (5 petals with 5 ch-3 sps)

Round 2:  With #832 (Turquoise) join with sc in top of any petal, (3 sc in next ch-3 sp, sc in next CL) around ending with sl st in 1^st sc.

Round 3: Ch 2, PUFF st in 1^st st and in each st around ending with sl st in 1^st PUFF st. (20 PUFF sts)

Round 4: Sl st in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, sc in same st, (ch 7, sk next 2 PUFF sts, sc in next ch-1 sp) around ending with sl st in 1^st sc. (10 ch-7 sps)

Round 5:  (9 sc in next ch-7 sp; sl st in next sc (that is in between ch-7 sps) ) around ending with sl st in starting sl st. Fasten off. (90 scs)

Round 6:  With #   (White) join with sl st in last sl st of Round 5; ch 7, sk next 3 scs, sc in next sc, (ch 4,  sk next 3 scs, dc in next sl st, ch 4, sk next 3 scs, sc in next sc) around ending with sl st in 3^rd ch of starting ch-7. (20 ch-4 sps)

Round 7:  Ch 2, (4 hdc in next ch-4 sp, hdc in next sc, 4 hdc in next ch-4 sp, hdc in next dc) around ending with sl st in 2^nd ch of starting ch-2. Fasten off. (100 hdcs)

Round 8: With #840 (Green) join with sc in any st; sc in each st around. Fasten off. (100 scs)

Round 9:  With #832 (Turquoise) join with sc in st that is directly above dc from Round 6; sk next 4 sts, Petal, sk next 5 sts, sc in next st;  (sk next 4 sts, Petal, sk next 4 sts, sc in next sc) around ending with sl st in 1^st sc. (10 large petals)

Round 10:  (Sc in each of next 5 sts, sl st in ch-2 picot, ch 2, sl st in ch-2 picot, sc in next 4 sts) around (skipping sc in between all large petals) ending with sl st in 1^st sc. Fasten off.

Weave in ends and lightly steam block. Let dry completely.

With #840 (Green) work approximately 250 scs around metal ring so it is completely covered. Fasten off.

Finishing:

(Not sure how to add all the bead elements? Just click here to watch the video tutorial about how to add the beads and what all the jewelry supplies look like.)

Lay mandala inside ring to see where large petals will need to be attached so mandala hangs evenly

(Thread loop of eye pin through sc on ring; Thread beads on pin; Create loop on this end of eye pin and trim off excess wire; Secure this end of eye pin through top of large petal on mandala) – Repeat around for ALL petals around the mandala

Using photo as a guide, thread beads onto eye pins and create another loop for each (while trimming off excess wire) – Project shown has 30 bead pieces that hang below the mandala: 6 bead elements in each length; 5 lengths total each with a larger teardrop-shaped bead at end

Attach eye pins to scs along metal ring (at bottom edge) and to each other to create design as shown in photos.

And there you have it – the Crystal Crochet Mandala!

Here is an image for your Pinterest board:

Copyright 2018 – Jennifer E Ryan, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher but please do link to this page to share this pattern with others.

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