If you have some Christmas ornaments that have seen better days then crochet ornament covers can give them new life.  With a little of your time you can create beautiful ornaments for gifts, to hang, or to make a little money at the local Christmas Bazaar.

Any ornament is fine for you to use.  The ornament covers are a good way to cover up scratched or faded glass ornaments as well as the satin types that are beginning to unravel.  Besides your old ornaments you can pick up ugly ornaments cheap at garage sales and thrift shops and turn them into something beautiful.  You  just need

• Crochet cotton in the colors you prefer.
• Crochet hook in the size specified in the instructions.
• Ribbon and other embellishments as indicated in the instructions.

The ornament covers are also called jackets, so if you decide to look for more patterns you may want to search for them that way as well.  Most of them use simple crochet stitches and so they are great for a beginner.

If you do a search you are likely to find hundreds of patterns on the Internet. Most of these indicate whether they are for beginners or more intermediate crocheters. If you are unsure read through the instructions. The easiest ones will contain mostly chains and single crochet stitches.

• Gold Christmas Ornament is worked in a very open pattern.  You will want a good color contrast between the thread and the ornament on this one. 
• Absolutely Stunning Beaded Ornament Covers are amazing.  They are very elegant and have a Victorian look. 
• Another Gold Cover, this one is less open than the other crocheted ornament covers.  It gets a beautiful finish with an organza ribbon. 
• White Covers over red and green satin balls are beautiful.  The color under the white shows off the pattern. 
• Curly Finge is best for a more experienced crocheter.  The fringe makes this ornament look like a bell with curly edges. 
• Flower cover is a great pattern, easy enough for beginners.  The green over gold combination with the organza ribbon added make it extra special. 
• These covers go over styrofoam.  The covers are made of acrylic yarn and the styrofoam doesn't show through, but only gives it shape.

Once your crocheted ornament cover is complete you can add small touches to give it an individual, finished look.  Consider hot gluing (with a low temp glue gun) one or more of the following on your project:

• Silk flowers
• Ribbon
• Small bells
• Jingle bells
• Glitter
• Tassel

Once you have it exactly the way you want and it has dried you can hang it on your tree or give it as a gift.  If you are giving it as a gift one way to present it  that is beautiful is to make a tulle bag to place it in.  Tie a satin or organza ribbon around it and you have a very special gift for a special person.