Lunar New Year Lantern Free Crochet Pattern

My Lunar New Year Lantern pattern is my newest Chinese New Year-themed free crochet pattern!

Read on to learn more about my design process and inspiration, or scroll to the end to get the free pattern. If you’re in a hurry and need to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here.

The perfect last minute ornament for Lunar New Year!

This adorable hanging lantern is essentially just a ball with a few extra steps, but it’s the perfect ornament to get your home ready for the Spring Festival (春節)!

I used to have lanterns like these as toys when I was little, and it was so fun to be able to recreate it in amigurumi form.

This amigurumi is a bit unusual in that there are more sewing steps than you may be used to, since it forms the ribs of the lantern as well as the hanging tassel, so make sure you have your tapestry needle handy.

You also get to try out making a tassel in this pattern! To make the tassel, you don’t need any special supplies — I used a book I had nearby, but you can also find dedicated tassel makers that make the job just a little easier.

Tips for making this pattern!

This pattern is based around just one amigurumi ball, but there are a lot of extra sewing steps that might trip you up.

For that reason, I’ve included tons of photos below to help you out, but here are a few quick tips to get you on your way!

  • Visualize what each step is going to look like after you’ve completed it. All of the steps below are arranged in a specific order to hide ends and make sure the color scheme is correct, so read through the pattern first and visualize how it all comes together.
  • Steam block the tassel!
    • If this is your first time making a tassel out of yarn, you’ll notice that often your tassel will look slightly wrinkled and a little unsightly right after you finish that actual making part.
    • The key is to steam block your tassel right after you finish (this is my favorite steam blocker) to eliminate the wrinkles. Steam blocking is essentially a way to “iron out” your yarn (don’t ever actually use an iron, especially on acrylic — here’s why). It works magic and makes your tassel look beautiful and neat!

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The Pattern

  • If you want to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here!

Description

Celebrate Lunar New Year with this traditional lantern that can be commonly found in China during this festival. It’s a cute and friendly alternative to the traditional medium of paper, and can be a fun and striking decoration during Lunar New Year. This project is quick to make, perfect for a last minute craft.

Yarn

Confused about materials? For all my personal recommendations of my most-used tools, yarns, and supplies, check out my favorites in this complete guide!

  • Hobbii Amigo (sport)
    • (<1 skein) Red
    • (<1 skein) Golden Yellow

Notions

  • Size D 2.5mm Clover Amour hook
  • 4.0mm safety eyes
  • black embroidery thread
  • fiberfill stuffing
  • tapestry needle
  • stitch markers

Abbreviations

  • BLO: back loop only
  • ch: chain
  • CC: contrast color
  • dec: decrease
  • hdc: half double crochet
  • inc: increase (work two single crochets in one stitch)
  • MC: main color
  • MR: magic ring
  • rnd: round
  • sc: single crochet
  • sk: skip
  • x sc: work x number of single crochets
  • sl st: slip stitch
  • st(s): stitch(es)
  • (x sts): total number of stitches for the round
  • (…) x: work all steps within parentheses x number of times

Technical Notes

  1. Crochet in continuous spiral rounds, unless specified otherwise. Use a stitch marker or piece of yarn to keep track of the last stitch in each round.
  1. When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness within the amigurumi.
  2. To avoid large holes in the crochet fabric, increase tension until the holes cannot be seen, or choose a crochet hook a size down.
  3. Use sewing pins to secure parts of the amigurumi before you sew them.

Color Coding

For this pattern, the MC is red, and the CC is golden yellow.

Final Size

3″ x 12″

LANTERN (in MC)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 7: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 8: (6 sc, inc) x6 (48 sts)
  • Round 9: (7 sc, inc) x6 (56 sts)
  • Round 10: (8 sc, inc) x6 (60 sts)
  • Round 11-17 (7 rnds): sc around (60 sts)
  • Insert 4mm safety eyes between rounds 13 and 14, with 4 stitches between them.
  • Round 18: (8 sc, dec) x6 (56 sts)
  • Round 19: (7 sc, dec) x6 (48 sts)
  • Round 20: (6 sc, dec) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 21: (5 sc, dec) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 22: (4 sc, dec) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 23: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 24: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 25: (sc, dec) x6 (12 sts)
  • Stuff.
  • Round 26: dec x6 (6 sts)
  • Finish off and weave in end. Using black embroidery thread, sew a mouth in the shape of a “V” directly between the eyes, between rnds 14-15.

CAP (in CC, worked in joined rounds)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR, slst (6 sts)
  • Round 2: ch, inc x6, slst (12 sts)
  • Round 3: ch, (sc, inc) x6, slst (18 sts)
  • Round 4: ch, (2 sc, inc) x6, slst (24 sts)
  • Round 5: ch, working in BLO, sc around, slst (24 sts)
  • Invisible finish off, stuff lightly using the tail end of the yarn. Sew to the top of the lantern. Make another cap identically, but do not sew it on yet.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Using the golden yellow yarn, sew six lines beginning from the cap down to the bottom of the lantern.
    • To do this, cut a length of yarn about 48 inches long, and thread the yarn through a tapestry needle.
  2. Insert the needle under the yellow cap on the top so that it is secured, and then wrap the yarn around the outside of the lantern and insert the needle again at the very last round on the bottom of the lantern.
    • Push the needle under the last round of stitches on the lantern and up on the other side, then insert the hook under the top cap again, directly opposite from where you began.
    • You should now have embroidered a circle of yellow yarn going all around the lantern.
  3. Repeat those steps two more times for a total of 6 ribs going around the lantern. Then, sew the second cap to the bottom of the lantern directly opposite the top one.

4. Make a tassel. Watch this video for a visual tutorial! Wrap yarn around a book 40 times, and cut the tail. Pull the yarn off the book and wrap golden yellow yarn around the hank about half an inch from the top. Cut the bottom loops of the hank and steam block to straighten. Using the MC, sew the tassel to the bottom of the lantern.

Your Lunar New Year Lantern is all done! I hope you enjoyed crocheting it and found the pattern helpful. I would love to see your finished amigurumi, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy. Once again, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me with a direct message on Instagram or through email at littleworldofwhimsy@gmail.com. Happy crocheting!