St. Maarten, St. Maarten
The cows have tails
The girls are wearing skirts
Here comes Saint Martin!
It won’t be long before the St. Martin’s Day songs ring out through the streets again. On November 11, many children will go door-to-door singing songs and collecting candy, all holding a beautiful lantern in their hands. Looking for an original and cheerful little light? Crocheting a lantern is fun for everyone!
Winter brings many cozy evenings, and St. Martin’s Day is definitely one of them. Children brave the rain, wind, and cold to cheer people up with their songs, so they’ve more than earned a cool lantern.
Tools & Supplies:
- 1 ball of Phildar Phil Coton 3 in various colors
- Crochet Hook size 3.5
- Steel wire
What other types of yarn are suitable?
Of course, the yarn used here isn’t the only one suitable for crocheting a lantern. Maybe your favorite color is even among them! The following yarns are some of the favorites:
Stitches used:
chain stitch, slip stitch, double crochet, single crochet, half double crochet.
Crochet Pattern for a St. Martin Lantern:
Start with a chain of 100 chain stitches. Then close the round with a slip stitch.
Rows 1–2: 100 single crochets.
Row 3: Change colors. 1 double crochet, 1 chain stitch in the first stitch of the previous row. Skip 1 stitch; in the next stitch, 1 double crochet, 1 chain stitch. Repeat until the end of the row.
Row 4: Change colors. Chain 5, skip 1 arch from the previous row, and make 1 single crochet in the next arch.* Chain 4, skip 1 arch, 1 single crochet in the next arch. Repeat from * to the end of the row.
Row 5: In each chain stitch, work 1 single crochet, 1 half double crochet, 1 double crochet, 1 half double crochet, 1 single crochet.
Row 6: Change colors. Join the new color to the center stitch of the arch from the previous row.* 3 chain stitches, slip stitch in the center of the next arch. Repeat to the end of the row.
Row 7: In each arch of 3 chain stitches, work a cluster of 3 double crochets. Cluster: yarn over and work the first double crochet, but do not pull the yarn through, leaving two loops on your Crochet Hook. Work a second double crochet in the same way, leaving three loops on your Crochet Hook. Work a third double crochet in the same way, leaving four loops on the Crochet Hook. Yarn over, pull the yarn through the four loops on your Crochet Hook, then work 3 chain stitches, and then another cluster of 3 double crochets. Repeat this until the end of the round.
Rows 8–9: Change colors. 100 single crochets.
Repeat from row 3 until the desired length is reached. End on row 5 or 7.
Last round:
Dotted edge. In each chain space from the previous round, work 1 single crochet, 1 half double crochet, 1 double crochet, 3 chain stitches, 1 slip stitch in the first of the 3 chain stitches, 1 double crochet, 1 half double crochet, 1 single crochet. Fasten off.
Decorative border with flowers and pom-poms: Join a new color at one of the points, chain 12, slip stitch into the 7th chain stitch to form a loop. Change colors. Crochet 6 petals into this loop. Each petal consists of 2 double crochets with a slip stitch between each pair of petals. After your 6th petal, change colors again—using the color you started the chain of chain stitches with—and crochet 7 chains. Single crochet it off in a corner so that you get a little arch with a flower. Now crochet a few more chain stitches without a flower and single crochet them off at a point with a slip stitch (the arches can be uneven, so alternate the number of chain stitches). Continue this way, alternating between 1 arch with a flower and 1 arch without a flower. The center of the flower always consists of 5 chain stitches.
Make pom-poms, about 2.5 cm in size, to attach to the bows between the flowers, and secure them to the bows with single crochet.
Finally, form the wire into a circle that’s the same size as the 100 chain stitches you started with (about 15 cm in diameter). Attach a new color to the top of your lantern and secure the wire circle to the lantern using single crochet stitches, using all 100 stitches. Finish this round with a slip stitch, then crochet a chain of chain stitches attached to it so you can hang the lantern.
Are you going to crochet a St. Martin's Day lantern? Send us your creation at info@wolplein.nl and we'll post your photo in our "Wall of Fame."
