The Mother Lode

Crafts and Crochet

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Marian Crown

There are several lovely Marian devotions to choose as a Saint costume! I’m not sure I could choose a favorite! I did some research about Marian crowns to write this crochet pattern. Often she is described as wearing a crown of roses or flowers. In May, churches all over the world crown statues of Mary, Mother of God with flowers. Some apparitions do not have her crowned like Our Lady of Guadalupe, but many others are: Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, and Our Lady of Knock. It is generally accepted, even in Protestant faiths that she is described in Revelations as wearing a crown of 12 stars. This design aims to allow you to make a crown for dress up for any of these Marian devotions for All Saints’ Day celebrations!

You can make a simple gold crown, or adorn with flowers or stars to fit the chosen devotion! This crown would also be suitable for dress up as St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Hedwig of Poland, or Saint Margaret of Scotland. The basic crown is even simple enough for your son! Make it for a little Saint Salomon or Saint Leopold.

My long term goal is a whole collection of patterns for crochet Saint costumes! I’ll write at least one new one each year. Last year I created the Papal Mitre pattern. Head over to that blog post here. I love learning about Saints. I find their stories helpful in my faith journey. Often we think of Saints as being simply “holy people” but the reality is that they were human and had real struggles just like we do. It’s wonderful to know we have wonderful examples of how to follow Christ to help us do the same!

You can download this pattern totally free! I suggest you read through the pattern here, then download below. It helps my blog and you can get a feel for the pattern, thank you so much!

Materials

  • 75 yards CYC 4 worsted yarn, preferably gold, plus additional scrap yarn in colors as desired for stars and flowers (optional)
  • crochet hook size 4.5 mm or size needed to obtain gauge
  • tapestry sewing needle
  • scissors and measuring tape/gauge ruler
  • Aleene’s fabric stiffening spray (optional)

Stitches (US Terms)

ch = chain stitch

st/sts = stitch/stitches

FDC = foundation double crochet

sc = single crochet

sl st = slip stitch

sk = skip

hdc = half double crochet

picot = picot: ch 3, sl st third st from hook

MR = magic ring

dc = double crochet

tr = treble crochet

Notes

  • I’m suggesting this pattern as an intermediate pattern. The foundation round is tricky if you don’t have experience with it, however, you could absolutely chain and double crochet instead. It just won’t have quite the same stretch as the foundation double crochet.
  • SIZING: this pattern is sized for toddler and child, but you could adapt to any size using the stitch multiple of 6. Adjust the beginning FDC row smaller or larger in increments of 6. Generally recommended sizes: baby 15 inches, toddler 16 inches, child 18 inches, teen 19 inches, medium 20 inches, large 21 inches (These are about an inch less the head circumference measurement, to ensure that the crown stays on.)
  • Pattern for crown, leaves, and stars are worked in the round, flowers are worked flat, then sewn together.
  • Optional: spray the top with some fabric stiffening spray and shape as desired.

Gauge

2 in by 2 in swatch = 8 stitches in 4 rows of dc

Written Instructions

Crown

toddler (child)

Round 1: FDC 72 (78) sl st to join. [72 (78) FDC]

Round 2: Ch 3, *sk st, dc next st, ch 1, repeat from *around, sl st to join. [36 dc, 36 ch-1 (39 dc, 39 ch-1)]

Round 3: Ch 2, hdc each st and each ch-1 space around, sl st to join. [ 72 (78) hdc]

Round 4: Ch 2, hdc next 3 sts, {tr, picot, tr} next st, *hdc next 5 sts, {tr, picot, tr} next st, repeat from * until last 2, hdc last 2 sts, sl st to join. [60 hdc, 24 tr, 12 picot (65 hdc, 26 tr, 13 picot)]

Fasten off and weave in ends. Depending which way you worked the FDC, you may need to stitch the bottom edge of the crown together.

Stars: (make 12)

Round 1: MR, sc 5 into MR, sl st to join. [5 sc]

Round 2: *picot, sl st next st, repeat from * around. [5 picot, 5 sl st]

Fasten off, weave in one end, leave the other end long to sew onto crown.

Leaves: (make 2)

Round 1: MR, sc 5 into MR, sl st to join. [5 sc]

Round 2: Ch 3, sl st second and third ch from hook, sl st first st, 2 sc next st, {sc, picot, sc} next st, 2 sc next st, sl st last st. [2 sl st, 6 sc, 1 picot] Fasten off, weave in one end, leave the other end long to sew onto crown.

Flowers: (make 3)

Row 1: Ch 16, sc second st from hook and each st across, turn. [15 sc]

Row 2: Ch 1, sk st *{hdc, dc, hdc} next st, sl st next st, repeat from * across. [7 hdc/dc/hdc, 7 sl st] Fasten off, leave the ends long: one to roll the flower and sew into shape, and the other to sew onto crown.

Assembly:

To finish this crown, you could spray with some stiffening spray on the top rounds to give it more definition. I wouldn’t spray the first round so it’s able to stretch and be comfortable to wear.

Sew the stars onto the crown as desired. They could also be sewn on the peaks and stiffened them as well for a more pronounced star effect, or placed on the crown entirely as pictured. Note that only the toddler size will have the exact 12 peaks.

The sample has 3 flowers and 2 leaves. An additional style could be to add flowers all around the crown one leaf and one flower below each point.

I hope you enjoy making a crown or two! They are soft and easy to wear, especially for little ones. Okay now that you’ve read through the instructions, download the pattern below!

Marian Crown PatternDownload

Feel free to add to your ravelry library. I understand it’s convenient to have it there as well!

Other posts for All Saints’ Day

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Papal Mitre Crochet Pattern

I tried so hard to get myself together this week but I had the FLUUUUUUUU and so here we are late on Saturday night with only a few days until All Saints’ Day. But I know there are some other last minute mamas out there like me who can whip this up before dropping their kiddo at school on Wednesday in their saint costume so here ya go!

I have the full pattern below, AND YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT FREE at the bottom of this page. So if it’s easier on you to check out this pattern right here, right now, on your phone, go for it, but for my easily distracted people who need the PDF, it’s totally free, go get it, print it out, and enjoy.

Supplies

  • 100 yards CYC 4 worsted yarn, preferably white, held double with 100 yards CYC 4 worsted cotton yarn (for stiffness) 25 yards bulky CYC 5 yarn in golden color (Sample is Lily Sugar N Cream White, Lion Brand Basic Stitch white, and Lion Brand Color Made Easy)
  • crochet hook US size J (6 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge
  • tapestry sewing needle
  • scissors and measuring tape/gauge ruler
  • Aleene’s fabric stiffening spray (optional)

Stitches (US terms)

  • ch = chain stitch
  • st/sts = stitch/stitches
  • BLO = back loop only
  • sc = single crochet
  • sl st = slip stitch

Gauge

2 in by 2 in swatch = 7 stitches in 7 rows of sc

Row 1: Ch 11, sc 2nd st from hook and each across, ch 1, turn. [10 sc]

Row 2: Sc each st across, ch 1, turn. [10sc]

Repeat row 2 six more times.

Notes

  • SIZING: this pattern is sized for a child, but you could make in any size by making the band larger or smaller to fit the head circumference as follows: baby 15 inches, toddler 16 inches, child 18 inches, teen 19 inches, medium 20 inches, large 21 inches
  • Pattern is worked flat, then sewn together.
  • Pattern is written with a gold stripe (Saint Pope John Paul II is often shown with this color mitre) but you can change that to suit your chosen saint.
  • As you make the stripe, measure it next to your mitre top and add/subtract rows as necessary to line up correctly with the top and bottom.
  • This pattern calls for yarns held together: crochet with two strands of different yarns held together as you work. It creates a stiff fabric to make the mitre top stand up. I think if you have a bulky or super bulky white yarn and use that with a size J hook, you can probably get the required stiffness. Some of the yarns used in the sample are discontinued, clearly I used stash scrap yarn for this project! If you have a big stash, I bet you can cobble something together that works!
  • Optional: spray the top with some fabric stiffening spray and shape as desired.

Written Instructions

Mitre Top:

Row 1: Ch 23, sc 2nd ch from hook and each st across, ch 1, turn. [22 sc]

Row 2: Sc each st across, ch 1, turn. [22 sc]

Row 3: 2 sc first st, sc each st across until last, 2 sc last st, ch 1, turn. [24 sc]

Rows 4-7: Sc each st across, ch 1, turn. [22 sc]

Row 8: Sc2tog, sc each st across until last 2 sts, sc2tog, ch 1, turn. [20 sc 2 dec]

Row 9: Sc each st across, ch 1, turn. [22 sc]

Rows 10-24: Repeat rows 8 and 9 respectively.

Row 25: Sc2tog, sc2tog, fasten off. [2 sc2tog]

Brim:

Row 1: Ch 7, sc 2 second ch from hook and each st, ch 1, turn. [6 sc]

Row 2: Sc BLO each st, ch 1, turn. [6 sc BLO]

Rows 3-59: Repeat row 2, sl st row 59 to row 1, fasten off, weave in ends.

Stripe:

Row 1: Ch 5, sc 2nd ch from hook and each st across, ch 1, turn. [4 sc]

Row 2: Sc each st across, ch 1, turn. [4 sc]

Rows 3- 27: Repeat row 2, fasten off, use ends to sew to mitre top.

After attaching the gold stripe to the mitre top, sew the pieces together. Sew the brim to the mitre top along the bottom edge of the mitre top and the top edge of the brim.

Download the free Papal Mitre Crochet Pattern PDF

Papal Mitre Crochet PatternDownload

You can also download to your ravelry account if you want to have it in your library! It’s completely free there as well.

Want more Catholic Saint Costume crochet patterns?

Introducing the Marian Crown! This crown pattern is a simple design with 2 variations to add stars or flowers. It’s the perfect addition to any Mary costume or a saint costume for any other royal saint!

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All Saints’ Day Activity Pages

I’ve got some other crochet and crafty things coming soon, but for now, one more thing about All Saints’ Day!

My son’s preschool teacher asked the families for ideas to celebrate All Saints’ Day with the children. Of course, I headed to Pinterest as I knew I could find some good saint coloring pages there. I found some to represent the classroom’s patron saint for this year. There are many different saint coloring pages, but not many that are more interactive than coloring, especially not for preschoolers.

So I decided to fire up Canva (the program I use for graphics, printables, and photo tutorials.) I ended up making two similar activity sheets. One is for the children to plan their saint costume. They can add the things they are planning to wear to represent the saint to a plain, haloed face. The second sheet is to imagine what they could do to become a saint. What kinds of things would represent their good works? What would they become a patron of?

All Saints’ Day is a beautiful opportunity to enrich our children’s lives with stories of the saints. Often, though, there are parts of those saints’ lives that are difficult to convey to little children. There are some great books out there to help you, though! Our favorite is Saints on the Go by Chantal Baros. I can’t find it in print anywhere, but you can check the author’s website for other saint books, saint dolls, and coloring pages. Another popular saint book is Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times. I’m debating ordering it myself right now! It has mostly modern saints like Padre Pio, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Gianna Molla. Two other good ones are Girl Saints for Little Ones and Boy Saints for Little Ones by Kimberly Fries.

These two printables have been added to my printable library! Sign up for my email list below to access my library!

I love making my kid’s All Saints’ Day costumes! Do you? Head over to my Costume Guide for All Saints’ Day! It has ideas and tips for DIY and store bought.

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