Crafty by Nature
How to Crochet a Hanging Terrarium Planter
April 14th, 2009 in other crafts, home decorating, crochet
cal patch, contributor
15 users recommend
Now my terrarium takes up no space at all!
Photo: Cal Patch
Everyone and their crafty cousin is making terrariums lately, and I am thrilled that they've finally made a comeback. And the idea of making one in a mason jar is the perfect mix of recycling, gardening, and making. However, around my house, yet another jar on my table will only get lost between the many jars of buttons, beads, ribbons, and who-knows-what. So I came up with a plan to have my terrariums suspended, '70s macrame planter style, in mid-air where the rent is cheap. Instead of macrame (which I knew how to do back in my Girl Scout days but sadly have forgotten), I used crochet, and it worked just fine. Here's how I went about it...
You'll need a skein of yarn, a compatible crochet hook, and a jar. You can easily adapt this project to fit any size jar or container, so use whatever you have on hand. I chose a simple linen/cotton yarn to keep it natural, but use whatever you like or already have (even string would work). Use a hook a size or two smaller than you normally would so your chains will be nice and tight.
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This is all you need to begin this project. |
1. Make the base. Round 1: Chain 6, and triple crochet into the 6th chain from hook.
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Chain 6 to start... |
Chain 1, *triple into the same stitch as before, chain 1, and repeat from * 10 times. You should have 12 "spokes" to the wheel: the turning chain plus 11 triples. Join with a slip stitch to the chain just before your first triple, forming a closed circle.
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...and soon you'll have a 12-spoked wheel. |
Round 2: Chain 7 (4 turning chains plus a 3-chain space), triple crochet in the first triple, chain 3, *triple in next triple, chain 3, and repeat from * around. Join with a slip stitch to the 4th chain.
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Here's the base after completing the second round. |
Now check to see if the base is big enough to fit the bottom of your jar (in my case it was). If not, add another round of triples, this time with 5 chains in between.
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Two rounds of triple crochet fit the bottom of my jar perfectly. |
2. Build the sides. For the first round working up the sides of the jar, make another round the same as the previous round of the base. For mine, I worked another round of triples with 3 chains between each. If you are using a bigger jar, you might repeat this round a few more times until you have reached about a quarter of the way up the sides.
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Now work evenly up the sides of the jar. |
3. Make the "viewing area." Next, we'll make a very open row to allow for clear visibility into the terrarium. We'll be making four "windows" by only working into every third stitch of the row below (and elongating the space-chain accordingly). So for my next row, I chained 9 (turning chain) plus 11 (space) and worked into the third triple of the row below with the stitch that is made by yarning over 7 times (can I call it "octuple crochet"?) before inserting the hook, and working the loops two-by-two as usual. For the next three "windows," I chained 11 and made another octuple into the third triple of the row below. Join with a slip stitch into the 9th stitch of the starting chain. Feel free to adapt this to your jar and make even taller stitches if you want to! The sky, or rather the length of your hook, is the only limit to how many times you can yarn over. For my planter, this was my final row, but if you desire more height, you can either do another "window" row or another of the rows you used for step 2. Build your sides as high as you like, then move to step 4.
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This is my "window row." |
4. Make the hangers. After the final join of your last row, chain the length you need to hang your planter. Keep count of your stitches so you can make three more hangers the same length. Finish off your first one, then join on three more times to the top of each quarter of the final round and chain the same length.
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Then I crocheted chains 80 stitches long to make the hangers... |
After all four are finished off, tie them together in a knot and tie two ends to the other two to create a loop from which to hang the planter on a hook. Trim the ends evenly, and you're ready to hang!
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...and tied very secure knots at the top to finish it off. |
After making this, I thought of a few other uses for the concept. You could put tea lights in the jars and use them as lanterns, or fill a jar with water and cut flowers to use as a hanging vase (make sure your knots are secure!). Or you could follow the steps to make hanging planters for any potted plant. Play around and make the project your own, and show us whatever you do!
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I'm so happy to have a bit of woodland nature indoors! |
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