Royal

A little girl I know is in need of a princess crown. As are almost all little girls, I believe. Enter Auntie Lotta's royal crown shop:

I browsed crown patterns on Ravelry (there are surprisingly many) but didn't find anything that would fit the bill exactly, so I set out to device my own. I needed it to look enough like a real crown to fit a real princess, but yet be sturdy enough to withstand play and wear. Also, I needed it to fit a 2-year old's head.

I started with a cotton blend yarn, about light sport weight, and added sparkle with a metallic crochet thread. I also wanted to add some bling bling, and decided that the safest way (to avoid a choking hazard) was to crochet in some small beads. If this was for an older kid, I would have added more bling.

Pattern: my own (see below)
Yarn: Premier Yarns Cotton Fair (52 % cotton, 48 % acrylic) and DMC metallic embroidery thread, color light silver. I didn't use the metallic on the first three rounds because I was afraid I would run out--the spool only had 40 yards.
Hook: 3.5 mm
Other: Mod Podge Stiffy; glass or plastic beads size 10 or larger (I used 16 clear and 8 turquoise beads)
On Ravelry: project and pattern

In case you want to make your own royal crown (and who wouldn't??), here is my pattern. As written, this makes a crown with a 46 cm or 18 inch circumference. To adjust the size by just a little, the easiest this would be to adjust yarn and hook size. Otherwise, you can add or reduce pattern repeats. The pattern repeat is 12 s, and the pattern as written has 8 repeats.

Abbreviations: CH chain stitch; SL slip stitch; SC single crochet; DC double crochet; TC treble crochet.

Royal

1. CH 96s, join in the round with SL.
2. CH 3s, DC 1 in each of the stitches of the previous round. Join with SL.
3. Repeat round 2.
4. CH 5s, *DC 1 in the third stitch of the previous round, CH 2s*, repeat *-* all the way around. Join with SL to the 3rd stitch of the initial CH 5s.
5. CH 1s, * DC 5 into the next DC of the previous round, SC into the second DC of the previous round*, repeat *-* all the way around. Join with SL.
6. SL3 (end up at the center top of the first cluster), *CH 7s, SC to the center of the next cluster of the previous round*, repeat *-* all the way around. IF USING BEADS: thread a bead over the metallic thread loop after you pull the SC loop through the center stitch of the cluster. Continue to crochet as usual. I used 16 clear beads on this round.
7. **EDIT 2/1/2017 (this change was noted in the Errata on the Ravelry pattern page)** SC 7s in the next space. Repeat all the way around. Join with SL to the first SC.
8. SL3 (end up at the center top of the first arch), *CH 4s, TC into the center of the next arch, CH 7s,  TC into the same center stitch, CH 4s, SC to the center of the next arch**, repeat *-* all the way around. IF USING BEADS: thread a bead over the metallic thread loop after you pull the SC loop through the center stitch of the arch. Continue to crochet as usual.
9. *SC 4s, SL1 at the top of the TC of the previous round, SC 4s, into the leg of the last SC stitch: **CH 3s, SL1, CH 5s, SL1, CH 3s, SL1**, SC 3s, SL1 at the top of the TC of the previous round, SC 4s*, repeat *-* all the way round.
10. Weave in ends. Place the crown over a suitable size cylinder or cone (I used a large roll of paper towel covered with a plastic bag). Stiffen with a suitable media, such as Mod Podge Stiffy, starch, or sugar solution. Allow to dry in place. Mod Podge required two applications. If you're not concerned about a choking hazard (children under 3 yrs), you can add more beads or jewels at this point by sewing or gluing.

© 2015 Lotta Kiuru-Ribar;  All Rights Reserved