Oh Christmas tree!

  It's been AGES since I've done a tutorial on this blog.

  And since my CCA crochet group loved the little Christmas trees I made so much, I made one  to give to each of them this week, and I've also written up the pattern.

 I have to say that I prefer them on a wine cork (I love the simplicity of them), but it's easy enough to make a little trunk from felt.  All I did was cut out a little circle (I measured it against a wine cork) and then stitched a strip around the circle to make a trunk.  The trick to getting them to stand up is to put a little salt in the bottom of the trunk, then stuffing to hold the salt in.

 With the wine corks you may need to use a little glue to keep the tree on.

Ok so the pattern:
I used 5 mm crochet hook with appropriate scraps of wool.
Chain between 12 - 15 stitches (15 stitches works well with the felt trunks, 12 works well with the corks).  Join.
Round 1-2: Work 2 rounds in half double crochet** (hdc); don't join at the end of each round, just keep going around in a spiral.
3:* decrease (crochet 2 together), hdc next 3 stitches* three times around the round
4: Crochet hdc around 12 stitches.
5: *decrease, hdc next 2 stitches* three times around the round
6: Crochet hdc around 9 stitches.
7: *decrease, hdc 1stitch* three times around the round
8: Crochet hdc around 6 stitches.
9: Decrease by crocheting 2 stitches together twice, pull the thread through the last stitch.
This gives you a funny point with a gap; just pull that end bit back through the gap and secure.
Stuff and secure to which ever trunk you are using.
** This could easily be done with a single crochet stitch, I just prefer the rhythm of the half double crochet.

There you go.  I hope that someone out there gets some joy out of these.  And if you do make them...I dare you to stop at one or two.