Gemma 
Welcome to Day 13 of Blogmas At Home 2024! 🎄🎅🏻✨
The Stjärna pattern by Karolina Eckerdal is such a popular design, and is one I’ve had my eye on for a good few years, but, up until now, I was always too intimidated by it to give it a go. I’ve spoken before about my fear of DPNs and this pattern feels like the epitome of DPN-knitting, which made me very reluctant to try it out. However, this year, having embarked upon a DPN-fear-conquering journey, I finally decided to be brave and give it a go!
I ended up making 4 Stjärna ornaments, so I thought I’d share a bit about my experience making them!
Table of Contents
The Pattern
The Stjärna pattern is a FREE pattern by Karolina Eckerdal. It uses DK weight yarn and 3.00mm needles (6 DPNs + a pair of circular needles). You work one side of the ornament at a time, working from the edge of the ornament inwards, decreasing as you go to give it the star shape. You then pick up the stitches around the perimeter and knit the other side of the ornament in the exact same way. The ornament is stuffed and a loop of yarn is attached to the top to hang it from.
The pattern offers two variations for the Stjärna ornaments: Star A uses slightly fewer stitches and makes for a slightly softer-edged, puffier star. Star B uses more stitches and introduces a series of purl stitches to help define the star shape and make the points, well… pointier. I made two ornaments following the pattern for Star A and two following the pattern for Star B, just to get the full experience.
The Yarn
For once, I actually used the yarn that the pattern calls for: Drops Merino Extra Fine. I used the shade Off White 01, to make neutral-coloured stars like the ones in the pattern. I’ve also seen some projects on Ravelry where people have used multiple colours to make a rainbow of Stjärna ornaments, which I think would be so fun!
Drops Merino Extra Fine: Mini Review
I’ve actually used this particular yarn before (albeit in the shade Amethyst 36), for my Daphne Top (the very first knit in my Project Knitwear series!). I didn’t remember much about my experience using it, so it felt a little like trying out a new yarn for the first time. It is quite a soft, smooth yarn, but I did struggle a little bit with how split-y it was— particularly when picking up the stitches for the second side.
From 1 x 50g ball of the yarn, I was able to make 4 Stjärna ornaments, with some yarn left over (each ornament took about 10-12g of yarn). Each ball is £3.50, which works out at under 90p per ornament, which I think is pretty good value!
The Knitting Process
These Stjärna ornaments are… fiddly, to say the least. They definitely got easier to make as I got used to the process and made more of them, though. The fiddliest part for me was picking up the stitches before knitting the second side— I just couldn’t seem to get this right, so I actually ended up finding a bit of a workaround for this, which I will share in a second.
The pattern contains full instructions for a Two-Way Cast On, which apparently helps to eliminate the half-stitch jog between the front and back of the ornament. Sadly, I could not for the life of me get the hang of this technique, so I ended up using a regular old provisional cast on instead, and just had to make my peace with the jog (which, honestly, isn’t even that noticeable). I think my problem might have been that I was casting on too tightly, but it was all such a faff that I don’t think I can face trying it again…
Once the first few rows on each side are complete (and before you get to the fiddly bit at the centre of each side where you’re juggling lots of DPNs with very few stitches…) the knitting process is actually super straightforward— it’s simple and repetitive, so, strangely enough, I actually enjoyed the majority of the knitting process.
Barber Cord Cast-On Method
Back to the less than enjoyable part then… the picking up of the stitches. Whether you’re using a provisional cast on or the special, Two-Way Cast On from the pattern, you have to pick up the stitches around the perimeter of the star at some point, so that you can knit the other side. Picking up the stitches was the worst part of this pattern for me— even with the provisional cast on, which should have made it super easy, I really struggled to pick up the right number of stitches around the decrease columns (where the centred double decreases are worked). Picking up the stitches is also quite fiddly, because of the star shape, so I began trying to think of a way to avoid the whole picking-up part.
In the end, I decided to try a slightly different cast on method. I just used a regular, cable cast on, but I set it up over both the circular needle AND a barber cord. To do that, I just attached one end of the barber cord to the tip of the needle I was casting on onto, and held it down alongside the needle. I then cast on over both the needle and the cord, making sure to keep it nice and loose. Once I was finished, I disconnected the barber cord from the tip of the needle, then knit the first round of the pattern onto the DPNs, only working off the needle (NOT the barber cord), so that the cast on stitches remained anchored on that. I knit the whole first side of the star, then, when it was time to pick up the stitches for the second side, I just slipped them from the barber cord to my DPNs and went on my way.
There are pros and cons to this method— it is by no means a perfect solution! While it is easier to work up, it does leave a slight ‘seam’ (it looks a little like a series of whip stitches?) and it does make the stars a little chunkier (though this could also be because I was getting more relaxed with my knitting, so my tension might have been looser?). Honestly, though, I’m willing to forgive all that for the EASE.
Also, a couple of notes on this method: firstly, you might need to sew the two sides of the star together with a couple of little stitches, just at the start of the round— I found I tended to get a little hole in the seam around here, but it was easily fixed with a darning needle and the yarn end that’s already there.
Secondly, if you’re making Star B, remember that the pattern is not symmetrical on each DPN, so it does matter which way you ‘pick up’ the stitches. I forgot this, and ended up having to reverse the pattern on the second side (i.e. purling the stitches at the end of each needle, rather than the start), which wasn’t the end of the world, but did take me a minute to realise!
Star A vs Star B
Before I made my own Stjärna ornaments, I was fully expecting Star B to be my favourite, because I liked the extra definition of the star shape. However, after making them, I think I actually prefer the softer, more seamless look of Star A! I think, because they’re knitted and stuffed, the pointier look is almost at odds with the object itself, while the puffy look just feels right.
As much as I love the neat, seamless look of the Star A that I knit as instructed, it was definitely a struggle to pick up those stitches (and I did have to do a bit of fudging to get the right stitch count…). It worked out for me here, but I know that picking up stitches in the wrong place could make the half-stitch jog even worse, so it’s a bit of a risky technique (for me, at least)! The Star A that I made using my Barber Cord Cast-On Method isn’t quite as neat, and does have a noticeable half-stitch jog, but it was just so much quicker and easier to make, I still think I’d use that method again if I were to make another Stjärna!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m really happy with my Stjärna ornaments. They were fiddly to make, but no more fiddly than I expected (though I didn’t have high expectations). As I mentioned, I do prefer the style of Star A— I just think the softer, plushier look works better with the whole knitted, stuffed ornament vibe. Once I got the hang of them (and worked out a way to avoid picking up the stitches), these were actually super quick little knits (and they felt even faster than they were, because you’re always working from the outside in and decreasing, so the rows get shorter every time!).
Long story short, I’d definitely make more of these in the future, but, after four in a row (and a lot of DPN knitting in general), I think I’m due a little break. I continue to dream about making a rainbow of Stjärna ornaments (perhaps for a fun, festive garland?!), but I think I’ll store that idea away for another day…
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Have you ever made a Stjärna ornament? Let me know!
If you're interested...
You can find the FREE Stjärna pattern by Karolina Eckerdal on Ravelry here.
You can find my Stjärna Ornaments project page on Ravelry here.
Gemma
xxx
