RootsAndWingsCo: Easy to make crocheted Snowmen with recycled jars.

All you need are some basic crochet skills. The large snowman head is covering a plastic Pineapple jar. The small snowman is a yogurt drink container and cap.

You will need:

A container you want to cover

White yarn (mine has a shinny thread through it)

Black yarn for the hat (or what ever color you want)

Another yarn color for the scarf and hat decorations.

Crochet hook

Buttons for the face and other decorations

Pipe cleaners are an option for the nose

Hot glue gun

To make the white body of the snowman make a chain that is long enough to fit around the neck of the jar. Make it loose enough that it can stretch over the wider parts of the jar. When you have made your chain long enough crochet in the first loop to make your ring. Now single or double crochet (your choice) around until your tube fits the whole length of your container. I made mine long enough so they just cover the curve of the bottom of the jar. Weave in your loose ends.

For the little snowman I added a scarf that is just two rows of double crochet. I hot glued it in one spot on the back just to keep the scarf from falling off. The buttons are sewn onto the smaller snowman but you can just as easily hot glue them on. The nose is a heart shaped button that I colored orange with an Sharpie.

To make the little hat: Chain 4 then chain 1 in the first crochet. Now make 10 double crochets into the center ring. Chain 1 in the first double crochet. Now you will increase the size by doing 2 double crochets into each chain. You may need to do this again depending on the size of your cap. You want to make the initial circle the same as the top of the cap. Once you have gotten the right diameter you will do 1 double crochet in the front loop only of each chain. You will need to do at least two rows this way. Depending on how deep your cap is you may need to do a third row. You will see that your hat will start to take shape. Once you have the cap covered you will need to make a brim. To do this you need to increase the width of your project by doing 2 double crochets into each chain. Repeat with 2 double crochets into each chain for the second row. Row 3 of the brim will simply be 1 double crochet into each chain. Add a 4th row if desired. End your crochet and weave in the ends. I hot glued (use sparingly so it does not show through) the hat onto the cap so it won’t spin when opening the container. I made a chain to go around the hat at the base of the brim. I tied it off and stitched on a button on top to hide the knot. Then hot glued on some sequin leaves behind the button for decoration.

To make the hat for the large snowman I made a chain just smaller than the opening of the jar. I wanted the hat to just cup over the top of the jar. I then did 4 rows of double crochet to cover the threads on the top of the jar. You may have to to do more depending on your jar and the look you want. Then to make the brim you will need to increase the next 2 rows by doing 2 double crochets into each chain. I added a third row to my brim using just 1 double crochet into each chain. Again you can do another row to make the brim wider. I made a chain using red yarn to make a decoration for the hat. I made it long enough to go around the base of the brim plus extra that allowed me to tie a bow. I used hot glue to keep it in place.

I hot glued on the buttons for the eyes and the mouth. For the nose I used two pieces of orange pipe cleaner folded in half and threaded the ends into an orange button and through the crochet body. I then bent the ends out like you would a brad. I added a touch of hot glue to keep the nose securely in place.

Since my jar was a little tall for the pens to stick up very far over the rim, I put some left over batting in the bottom to raise the pencils up a bit. You could easily add some marbles or pebbles or beans to add weight as well as give the pencils some height. I say use what you have.

If you need a little more help with things like making the hat there is a terrific video tutorial HERE. All you have to do is submit your name and email and they will email you the pattern for their little snowman along with a step by step video tutorial on how to make it. The hat is basically the same, as the one detailed above expect I had to increase my circle by two rows instead of just one to fit the cap. The site has some really great free video tutorials on how to crochet different stitches. So if you always wanted to learn, now you can.

My pencil holder snowman sits on our table for homework time. It is an easy way to make your homework station fun.

Katrina