Belle/Rose Tree Decorations

Belle and Rose Tree Decorations by Andrew Lucas

Project Overview

These charming Christmas tree decorations feature Belle, a 12 centimeter knitted ornament, accompanied by a rose design. Designed by Andrew Lucas as beginner-friendly knitting projects, these decorations combine simple shaping techniques with colorwork to create festive embellishments perfect for holiday displays.

What Is Being Made

The Belle decoration is a small stuffed knitted figure measuring 12 centimeters in height, designed to hang on a Christmas tree. The project creates a three-dimensional ornament with a dress and body section, enhanced with pipe cleaner for poseable limbs and finished with clear thread for tree hanging. The rose decoration complements the Belle design as part of a coordinated ornament collection.

Techniques Used

This beginner-level project employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for crafters new to the craft. The construction begins with casting on stitches and uses increases and decreases to shape the garment, including make-one increases created by knitting into the back of loops between stitches. The pattern incorporates yarn forward techniques to create decorative eyelet details. Shaping is achieved through strategic decreases such as knit-two-together reductions. The ornament is finished using the bind and tie method, where yarn ends are threaded on a tapestry needle and passed through active stitches before drawing up and securing.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch – created by knitting every row, used for foundational sections and textured areas
• Stockinette stitch – alternating knit and purl rows for smooth fabric sections
• Knit-two-together (k2tog) – a right-leaning decrease used for shaping
• Yarn forward (yf) – creates eyelet openings in the decorative pattern
• Make-one (m1) – an invisible increase worked into the back of loops between stitches

Materials and Tools

The Belle and Rose tree decorations require 3.25 millimeter knitting needles for construction. The project uses double knitting weight wool in multiple colors: yellow, beige, dark brown, red, green, and black, with yarn held in oddments or small quantities. Additional materials include a small amount of polyester stuffing to create dimension in the finished ornament, a 12 centimeter pipe cleaner for articulated limbs, and clear thread for hanging the completed decoration securely on Christmas tree branches. A tapestry needle is needed for the bind and tie finishing technique and for weaving in yarn ends.

Construction Details

The dress and body section begins at the lower edge by casting on 48 stitches using two strands of yellow wool held together, then continuing with a single strand. The pattern establishes a foundation with garter stitch rows before introducing a decorative four-row repeat pattern. This repeat features paired decreases at the edges, yarn forward eyelets spaced across the row, and alternating knit and purl rows to create textural interest. The pattern repeat is worked multiple times to establish the dress length, followed by stockinette stitch sections. Shaping continues with strategic decreases to reduce stitch count, creating the fitted silhouette of the ornament.