Northern Lights Ornaments

Northern Lights Ornaments by Redtiger

What is Being Made

The Northern Lights Ornaments are decorative knitted pieces designed to capture the ethereal beauty of the aurora borealis. These small ornaments depict the dancing northern lights beneath a midnight sky, with each ornament featuring the magical movement and evolution characteristic of the aurora. The finished ornaments are three-inch spheres, making them ideal for holiday decoration or year-round display.

Knitting Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key techniques to achieve its dimensional, ornamental form. The pattern utilizes colorwork knitting to create the aurora borealis motifs against the midnight sky background. Stockinette stitch forms the primary fabric structure, worked in the round to create seamless coverage around the polystyrene ball form. The pattern provides multiple motif variations, allowing crafters to create a set of similar but unique ornaments, each depicting different aspects of the northern lights' constant movement and evolution. Kitchener stitch is employed for seamless finishing, and embroidery adds fine detail work to enhance the design.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch – the foundational stitch worked in rounds
• Kitchener stitch – for seamless grafting and closure
• Embroidery stitches – for adding star details and accent embellishments

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: Fingering weight yarn in 3-ply and 4-ply weights. Approximately 40 yards of background color yarn and approximately 10 yards of contrast color yarn are required per ornament. An additional 1 yard of embroidery yarn is needed for detailing.

Needles and Notions: The project calls for 2.5 mm (US 1½) double point needles to achieve the required gauge. A tapestry needle is essential for both Kitcherer stitch work and embroidery application. Each ornament is constructed around a 3-inch polystyrene or styrofoam ball that provides shape and structural support. Additional notions include straight pins for securing the knitted fabric to the ball form and scrap yarn for holding stitches.

Gauge: 8 stitches and 11 rounds equal 1 inch in stockinette stitch, which is critical for achieving the proper fit around the three-inch ball form.

Pattern Details

This downloadable PDF pattern was designed by Cynthia Levy under the Redtiger brand and published October 30, 2020, with revisions through January 2, 2022. The pattern provides crafters with a selection of motifs, enabling the creation of a coordinated set of ornaments where each piece remains similar in construction yet unique in its aurora borealis representation. The intermediate difficulty level makes this project suitable for knitters with solid foundational skills who are ready to work with colorwork techniques and three-dimensional shaping.