It’s been over a year since I started cross stitching, and I really enjoy being able to pick a crochet set and work on it start to finish without the need to look up video tutorials every 5 minutes. The project I completed most recently was a cute hot air balloon key chain. I completed it last week, but I started it… last August! I brought it on holiday with me when I went to York, but didn’t finish it then. And when I got back home, I got distracted and put it away. And unfortunately, once I set a DIY project aside, I rarely pick it back up again. However, having made a New Year’s resolution to use up my DIY supplies, I decided to complete this crocheted hot air balloon. Here is how it went!

Contents of the set

Let’s take a look at the contents of the set. Apologies for the lack of nice background, I took the photo on the hotel bed when I was on holiday.

I got this set in TK Maxx for £3.99. It included a ball of pink yarn, a short piece of blue yarn, a 2.5mm crochet hook, a keychain, a stitch marker, a needle, and toy stuffing. There was also a leaflet with the pattern.

Starting off – crocheting the basket

I decided to start by crocheting the basket, using pink yarn. It was really simple and didn’t take much time. All I needed were basic single crochet stitches and a few increases. After just a few rounds, the basket was finished. This is where I got to when I put this project away after coming back from holiday last August.

I’ve worked on crochet projects by this brand before, and I always enjoy working with the yarn they include. It’s really soft, but easy to crochet with. One of my favourites I’ve worked with so far!

Crocheting the balloon

Next, it was time to crochet the main part of the project – the balloon. Once again, I only needed to use single crochet stitches with increases and decreases. Honestly, this project was as beginner-friendly as it gets! The only unusual round included back loop only single crochets, something that any beginner can quickly grasp.

Once I was about half way through, I attached the key chain. I find it easier to sew on pieces that haven’t been stuffed yet.

When I was a few rounds away from a completed balloon, I started stuffing it. Soon, the crocheted pink balloon was done.

Making blue details

Next, it was time to crochet the blue details that would go on the balloon. For that, I needed to use the blue yarn and make a chain. I told you, this set was incredibly beginner-friendly! Needless to say, this part took me essentially no time at all.

Assembling the crocheted hot air balloon

This final step of the project took almost as much time as crocheting all elements start to finish.

First, I used stitch markers to position the blue chain on the balloon. Then, I used the needle included in the set to sew the chain onto the balloon, with blue yarn. I’m not sure I like how it turned out, but oh well.

Finally, it was time to use the blue yarn to attach the basket to the balloon. Using blue yarn and a needle, I sewed the basket to the balloon, letting it dangle about half an inch from the balloon. And just like that, the crocheted hot air balloon was finished.

Final thoughts

I don’t know why I find it so difficult to resume working on DIY projects that I previously paused. It’s so much easier to bring a project to an end if I can do it in a few consecutive days. It’s been nearly a year(!) since I started this project, but I’m glad I finally managed to finish it! I made a step towards my New Year’s resolutions too, and that always feels good.

I do think that this design is really cute. I feel like it looks better in the photo on the packaging, but it still turned out quite pretty. I highly recommend it to beginner crocheters. Out of all crochet projects I’ve finished, this one was one of the easiest! And if you’ve been crocheting for a while but would like to try making something without a pattern, I recommend trying to recreate this design. Hint: it only used single crochet stitches (one round of back loop only single crochets), increases and decreases. Simple!

As always, I recommend assorted DIY sets if you want to try a new craft. Crochet sets aren’t great for complete beginners, even when they claim to be – you’ll need to learn a few basic stitches from some online tutorials. But once you’ve got that, assorted sets become great fun!

Also see:

• DIY