Crochet Letter Ornaments spelling the words joy, love, and peace
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Crochet Letter Ornaments

Ready for a brand new Christmas ornament idea? Then you’re going to love these crochet letter ornaments.

Have you ever looked at something and wondered if it could be made with yarn? My mind tends to work this way. I’ll see something cute, completely unrelated to hooks and yarn, and I start imagining a crochet version of it.

That’s how it was when I saw some beautifully embroidered felt letters hung as tree ornaments. They didn’t spell the words I made here, or really look anything like these letters. I just liked the idea of making words to hang as Christmas ornaments so much I had to try it myself.

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If you’re familiar with my other designs, you might know that much of what I make is worked in the round. These letters, however, are worked flat and made in rows.

You will make each letter twice. Then the letters are sewn together, with a front and back layer, and a little stuffing tucked in between.

The word JOY made from yarn (crochet) hanging on a Christmas tree

Crochet Letter Ornaments Patterns

Materials Used:

Stitches/Abbreviations Used:

  • ch – chain
  • R – round or row
  • st/sts – stitch/stitches
  • sc – single crochet
  • inc – increase (work 2 single crochet stitches into the next stitch)
  • sl st- slip stitch

Finished Size:

Using the Scheepjes River Washed yarn, which is sport weight, and a 3.00mm hook, my letter ornaments measure about 3″ tall and 2″ wide. Your letters will vary in size depending on the yarn weight and hook you use, as well as your own personal tension while crocheting.

Pattern Notes:

The Crochet Letter Ornaments use simple stitches that you will likely be familiar with. The techniques used for each letter shape, however, might be new to you. Read the following tips for a bit of help.

First, just know ahead of time that wet blocking is KEY to your success with this pattern. Your letters will curl and twist a bit prior to being blocked and that is normal! More tips about blocking come below in the pattern and I’ll walk you through it; I just wanted you to be prepared for this.

Read through the instructions for each letter before you begin. Most of the letters use chains, single crochet stitches, and increases in specific places to form their shapes.

Some of the letters use the above stitches as well as an additional chain that adds the “arm” of the letter (for example, the letters Y, L, V, and E all have additional “arms”). This is the most complex part of these patterns, so pay close attention to the wording as you go.

Some letters will appear backward as you make them. For example, as you’re working the arm of the Y, the back of the letter will be facing you. You’ll flip the letters over if this is the case when blocking and sewing.

You can find an ad-free, printer-friendly version of this pattern on Ravelry or Etsy. The premium version of the pattern includes additional photo illustrations for each step.

JOY Crochet Pattern

Letter J

R1: Ch 21. Inc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 6 chains. (Sc, inc) 2x. 9 sc. Ch 1, turn. (29)
R2: Sc in each st. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 7 sc, inc, 4 sc, inc, 16 sc. (31)

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two.

Letter O

R1: Ch 24. Keep your chain from twisting, then sc in 1st chain to form a ring (mark with your stitch marker). Inc in next st. Then (sc, inc) 11x. (36)
R2: (5 sc, inc) 6x around. (42)
R3: Sc in each st around.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two. The letter O looks best if you finish with an invisible join, as demonstrated in this video by The Yarn Shelf.

Letter Y

R1: Ch 20. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (19)
R2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 10 sc. Ch 10, then sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the arm that branches off the Y. (arm – 9 total sc)
Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2. Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm. Ch 1, turn, and sc back across arm.
Attach with a sc to the next unworked st of R2. This completes the arm of the Y.
R3, continued: Sc in remaining 7 sts.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two. (See wet blocking and finishing instructions below, after patterns for additional letters).

Crochet LOVE Pattern

Letter L

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 14 sc. Ch 9. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the arm of the L. (arm – 8 total sc) Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2.
Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm.
Ch 1, turn, and sc back across arm. Attach with a sl st to the final unworked st of R2.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two.

Letter O

R1: Ch 24. Keep your chain from twisting, then sc in 1st chain to form a ring (mark with your stitch marker). Inc in next st. Then (sc, inc) 11x. (36)
R2: (5 sc, inc) 6x around. (42)
R3: Sc in each st around.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two.

Letter V

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 14 sc. Ch 14, then sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the arm of the V. (arm – 13 total sc)
Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2. Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm.
Ch 1, turn, and sc back across the arm.
Attach arm with a sl st to final unworked st of R2. This completes the arm of the V.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Use yarn needle and yarn tail to bring the arms of the V together by sewing as pictured. I sewed 4 pairs of stitches on the inside bottom of the V together.

Letter E

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Turn without chaining.
R3: Sl st in 1st st. *Ch 9. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the 1st arm of the E. (arm – 8 total sc)
Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2. Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm.
Ch 1, turn, and sc back across the arm. Attach with a sl st to the next unworked st of R2.
R3, continued: 5 sc.
Arm 2: Repeat directions from Arm 1 (marked by *).
R3, continued: 4 sc
Arm 3: Repeat directions from Arm 1 (marked by *).

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two. (See wet blocking and finishing instructions below, after patterns for additional letters).

Crochet PEACE Pattern

Letter P

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 14 sc. Ch 12, then attach with a sl st to the 7th sc from R3 (make sure chain doesn’t twist). This begins the curve of the P. Ch 1, turn.
Working into chain stitches, sc in each chain (it’s ok if you’re working into the backside of the chain).
Attach with a sl st to next unworked st of R2. Ch 1, turn.
Working into the curve: (3 sc, inc) 3x. (15)
Attach to 6th sc from R3. Ch 1, turn.
Working into the curve: (4 sc, inc) 3x. (18)
Attach with sl st to final unworked st of R2.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two.

Letter E

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Turn without chaining.
R3: Sl st in 1st st. *Ch 9. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the 1st arm of the E. (arm – 8 total sc)
Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2. Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm.
Ch 1, turn, and sc back across the arm. Attach with a sl st to the next unworked st of R2.
R3, continued: 5 sc.
Arm 2: Repeat directions from Arm 1 (marked by *).
R3, continued: 4 sc
Arm 3: Repeat directions from Arm 1 (marked by *).

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make four (two in each color you choose).

Letter A

R1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch 1, turn. (16)
R2: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
R3: 14 sc. Ch 14, then sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each remaining chain. This creates the arm of the A. (arm – 13 total sc)
Attach the arm with a sl st to the next unworked st from R2. Ch 1, turn, then sc in each st of the arm.
Ch 1, turn, and sc back across the arm.
Attach arm with a sl st to final unworked st of R2. This completes the arm of the A.

After final sl st, fasten off, leaving very long tail. Holding the A with the point at the top, reattach yarn with a sl st to the 8th st from the bottom of the right arm.
Ch 3. Attach ch with a sl st to the opposite arm, again to the 8th st from the bottom.
Ch 1, turn (A will be upside-down; it’s ok if you’re working into the backside of the chain).
Sc in each chain. Sl st to other side (7th st up from bottom of A).
Ch 1, turn. Again, sc in each ch and sl st to other side.

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two.

Letter C

R1: Ch 18. Inc in 2nd ch from hook and in next chain. 1 sc. Continue to (2 inc, 1 sc) 5x. Ch 1, turn. (30)
R2: Sc in each st. Ch 1, turn.
R3: (4 sc, inc) 6x. (36)

Fasten off, leaving very long tail. Make two. (See wet blocking and finishing instructions below).

Wet Blocking

Now that you have two of each letter, you’ll need to get your blocking board and straight pins. I like using a spray bottle for getting the letters wet, but you could soak them another way if you’d like.

Working with one letter at a time, spray the letter thoroughly. Place the letter on the blocking board, making sure to uncurl and shape the letter as you go. Pin the letter into place and allow to dry completely. Repeat with each letter.

Crochet letters for ornaments pinned onto blocking board to stretch and shape.

Finishing Up

Once your letters are completely dry, it’s time to unpin them from the blocking board.

Then, match up the letter pairs with one on top and one on the bottom. Use your yarn tails to sew the two layers together, sewing around the entire perimeter of the letter shape. I think the letters look neatest if you match up and sew under the “v’s” of the stitches wherever possible.

Tuck a little stuffing between the layers as you go (a little goes a long way).

Weave in any remaining ends and trim.

Stuffing being added inside of letters as the front and back are sewn together.

After my ornaments were put together, I used some thin raffia and my yarn needle to add loops to be able to hang each letter. You could also use yarn or embroidery thread for your letters.

I hope you enjoyed these patterns and making your own crochet letter ornaments! I’d love to hear what colors you used in the comments.

And if you’d like to see more of my free Christmas crochet patterns, they’re all right here. Enjoy!

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© 2025 Crochet to Play
All rights reserved. Designed and written by Jennifer Percival.  This pattern is property of Crochet to Play.  The written pattern and images are for personal use only.  Please do not redistribute, transfer, or sell the pattern or images, in part or in whole. Thank you.

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