Cashew Ornament

Cashew Ornament by Lisa Ferrel

Project Overview

The Cashew Ornament is a beginner-friendly crochet decoration designed by Lisa Ferrel. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a dimensional ornament measuring approximately 5 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide, perfect for holiday decorating or gift embellishment. The design features two distinct crocheted components—a cashew apple and a cashew nut—that combine to form a recognizable fruit shape suitable for hanging or display.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a complete cashew ornament consisting of two separate crocheted pieces that work together to create the finished decoration. The cashew apple forms the larger, rounder body component, while the cashew nut creates the smaller, curved accent piece that attaches to complete the botanical-inspired design. The finished ornament is stuffed with fiberfill to create dimension and structure.

Techniques Used

The Cashew Ornament employs fundamental crochet construction methods suitable for beginners. The pattern uses continuous rounds rather than joining at the end of each round, which creates a seamless appearance and maintains consistent stitch tension. Shaping is achieved through strategic increases and decreases distributed throughout the rounds. The pattern references two specialized finishing techniques: an invisible decrease method for seamless shaping and an ultimate finish technique for professional closure and weaving in of yarn ends.

Stitches Used

• Single Crochet (sc): The primary stitch throughout the pattern, forming the base structure of both the cashew apple and cashew nut components
• Increases (2 sc in next st): Used to expand the circumference of the pieces during the early rounds, creating the rounded shape
• Invisible Decrease: Applied in later rounds to reduce stitch count and shape the pieces into their final form, creating smooth transitions without visible seams
• Chain (ch): Used to begin each component, either as a traditional chain-2 foundation or worked as a magic ring alternative

Materials and Tools

The Cashew Ornament requires worsted weight yarn in two colors: 15 yards of main color yarn (available in red or amber options) for the cashew apple, and 10 yards of tan yarn for the cashew nut. Additional materials include a size G (4.00 mm) crochet hook, fiberfill stuffing for dimensional shaping, a yarn needle for weaving in ends and assembly, a pipe cleaner for structural support or posing, and ribbon for hanging or embellishment.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 9 rows over 2 inches in height and 8 single crochet stitches over 2 inches in width, worked with worsted weight yarn on a size G hook. Maintaining this gauge ensures the ornament reaches its intended finished dimensions of approximately 5 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide.

Skill Level

Rated as a beginner project, the Cashew Ornament is accessible to new crocheters while introducing fundamental shaping techniques. The pattern uses only basic stitches and straightforward stitch increases and decreases, making it an excellent practice project for developing consistency and understanding how simple stitch manipulations create dimensional forms.