INTRODUCTION

Prosecco

by Marnie MacLean

Not long ago, one of my colleagues told me she and her sister have a yearly tradition of choosing a craft project for the holiday season. This year, they plan to decorate clear glass ornaments with lace from old doilies and table cloths. This got me thinking about ways to use up some of the linen languishing in my stash for over a decade. I am not in the habit of decorating for holidays but the idea scales up beautifully when you are working at the paper lantern scale.

Each lantern is comprised of eleven pentagons assembled over a paper lantern. There are three diameters: 10 inches/ 25.5 cm, 8 inches / 20 cm, and 6 inches / 15 cm.

I've included some approximate yardage estimates, and motif sizes, but none of this needs to be exact. Measure your test motif after blocking (see notes below) across the widest point, and multiply by 5 to determine the circumference of your finished project. The larger two sizes are both 5% smaller than the actual lanterns, and I could have gone a little smaller without any issues.

model + photos: Marnie MacLean

SIZE

 Small[Medium, Large]
To fit Paper Lanterns of the following dimensions:
Large: 10 inches/ 25.5 cm diameter
Medium: 8 inches / 20 cm diameter
Small: 6 inches / 15 cm diameter

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Circumference:  18.75[23.75, 30] inches/ 47.5[60, 76] cm

MATERIALS

Yarn
Louet Euroflax Fine/Sport Weight [100% Wet Spun Linen; 270 yd/250 m per 100 g skein];
[C1] Crabapple (pink)
[C2] Citrus (orange)
[C3] Marine Blue (teal)
[C4] Pure White (white)

Yardage (rounded up to account for tails and assembly):

*note: for two-color variants, each color uses about the same yardage so halve the per-motif yardage for each color.

Lantern A – Large Motifs, One color
Uses approximately 294 yd / 269 m of C1

Lantern B – Medium Motifs, One color
Uses approximately 196 yd / 179 m of C2

Lantern C – Small Motifs, One color
Uses approximately 130 yd / 119 m of C3

Lantern D – Medium Motifs, Two Colors
Uses approximately 100 yd / 92 m each of colors C1 and C2

Lantern E – Medium Motifs, Four Colors
Uses approximately 50 yd/ 46 m each of colors C1, C2, C3, and C4

Yarn Characteristics
Samples shown use sport-weight linen yarn. Almost any yarn may be substituted but I would recommend a natural fiber, especially if these might be near open flames like candles, camp fires, grills, etc. 100% rayon, silk, and bamboo yarns may not work as well as they tend to grow, but may work with additional negative ease.

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below - every knitter's gauge is unique]
US#D-3/3.25 mm hook

Notions
paper lanterns
optional locking stitch markers
if using linen or cotton: steam iron
if using wool: blocking pins and board
yarn needle

GAUGE

One Large motif: 6 inches / 15 cm across between the widest points
One Medium motif: 4.75 inches / 12 cm across between the widest points
One Small motif: 3.75 inches / 9.5 cm across between the widest points

PATTERN NOTES

[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Construction method: Each lantern requires 11 pentagons to form a dodecahedron with an open top. The motifs are worked individually then ironed flat for assembly. The pieces are then crocheted together, leaving an opening between two motifs on the top row. The lantern is inserted, the last edge closed, then the top edge is finished to ensure a secure fit.

Techniques:

• Magic ring/circle
• 2cl (2 treble crochet cluster): *Yo twice, work as for tc, but do not complete the last (yo, pull through 2 loops); rep from * one more time in next st – 3 loops on hook, yo, pull through all 3 loops on hook.
• 4cl (4 treble crochet cluster): *Yo twice, insert the hook into sc, yo, pull through the st, [yo, pull through 2 loops on the hook] twice, repeat from * 1 more time in same sc, then twice more in next sc, yarn over, pull through all 5 loops on the hook.
• 4cl (start of rnd), Ch 4, *yo twice, insert the hook into sc, yo, pull through the st, [yo, pull through 2 loops on the hook] twice, repeat from * 2 more times in next sc, yarn over, pull through all 4 loops on the hook.

CHARTS

DIRECTIONS

Lantern A (shown above)
With C1, work 11 Large Motifs. Join with C1.

Lantern B (shown above)
With C2, work 11 Medium Motifs. Join with C2.

Lantern C (shown above)
With C3, work 11 Small Motifs. Join with C3

Lantern D (shown above)
Work 11 Medium 2-color Motifs, working the first 3 rounds with C2 and using C1 for the last rounds. Join with C2.

Lantern E (shown above)
Work 11 Medium 2-color Motifs, in the following color combinations and join with C3:

Large Motif
Work from chart or written instructions as you prefer.
Start with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: Work [Ch 1, sc 10 times, sl in first sc] into the magic ring.
Rnd 2: Ch 8 (counts as dc, ch 5), (dc in next two sc, ch 5) 4 times, dc in next sc, sl into first dc – that is, 3rd ch of initial ch8.
Rnd 3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 5 dc in ch-5 sp, ch 5, (6 dc in ch-5 sp, ch 5) 4 times, sl in first dc.
Rnd 4: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in same st, dc in next 4 dc, 2 dc in next dc, (ch 4, sc in ch-5 sp, ch 4, 2 dc in next dc, dc in next 4 dc, 2 dc in next dc) 4 times, ch 4, sc in ch 5 sp, ch 4, sl into first dc.
Rnd 5: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in same st, dc in next 3 dc, ch 1, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in next dc, (ch 3, sc in ch-4 sp, ch 5, sc in next ch-4 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc, ch 1, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in next dc) 4 times, ch 3, sc in ch-4 sp, ch 5, sc in next ch 4 sp, ch 3, sl into first dc.
Rnd 6: Ch 1, sc in same st, ch 5, (6 dc, ch 3, 6 dc) in ch-1 sp, (ch 5, sc in 5th dc from ch-1 sp, ch 5, sc in ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc in next dc, ch 5, [6 dc, ch 3, 6 dc] in ch-1 sp) 4 times, ch 5, sc in 5th dc from ch-1 sp, ch 5, sc in ch-5 sp, ch 5, sl in first sc.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Medium – 1 Color Motif
Work from chart or written instructions as you prefer.
Start with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: [Ch 4 (counts as dc) ch 1, (dc, ch 1) 9 times, sl into first dc] into magic ring.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc into each ch and each sc for a total of 20 sc, sl into first st.
Rnd 3: Ch 4 (counts as first tc of 4cl), complete remaining steps of cluster, (ch 5, 4cl into next 2 sts) 9 times, ch 2, dc into top of first 4cl.
Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in same spot, (ch 6, [sc, ch 5, sc] in next ch-5 sp, ch 6, sc in next ch-5 sp) 4 times, (sc, ch 5, sc) in next ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc in first sc.
Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in same spot, (ch 7, sc in next ch-6 sp, [5 dc, ch 3, 5 dc] in ch-5 sp, sc in next ch-6 sp) 4 times, ch 7, sc in next ch-6 sp, (5 dc, ch 3, 5 dc) in ch-5 sp, sc in first sc.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Medium – 2 Color Motif
Work from chart or written instructions as you prefer.
Start with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: [Ch 4 (counts as dc) ch 1, (dc, ch 1) 9 times, sl into first dc] into magic ring.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc into each ch and each sc for a total of 20 sc, sl into first st.
Rnd 3: Ch 4 (counts as first tc of 4cl), complete remaining steps of cluster, (ch 5, 4cl into next 2 sts) 9 times, ch 2, ch 3, and sl into first 4cl. Fasten off.
Rnd 4: Join second color in any ch-5 sp,
Ch 1, sc in same spot, (ch 6, [sc, ch 5, sc] in next ch-5 sp, ch 6, sc in next ch-5 sp) 4 times, (sc, ch 5, sc) in next ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc in first sc.
Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in same spot, (ch 7, sc in next ch-6 sp, [5 dc, ch 3, 5 dc] in ch-5 sp, sc in next ch-6 sp) 4 times, ch 7, sc in next ch-6 sp, (5 dc, ch 3, 5 dc) in ch-5 sp, sc in first sc.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Small Motif
Work from chart or written instructions as you prefer.
Start with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: Work [Ch 1, sc 10 times, sl in first sc] into the magic ring.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc into same sc, ch 7, (sc into next sc, ch 7) 8 times, sc into next sc, ch 3, tc into same sc (counts as last 4 ch of ch-7 loop).
Rnd 3: Ch 1, 2 sc into ch-7 loop, 2 sc in next ch-7 loop, (ch 7, 2 sc in each of next 2 ch-7 loops) 4 times, ch 7, sl into first sc.
Rnd 4: (Ch 4, 2cl in next 2 sc, ch 4, 9 sc in ch-7 sp) 5 times, sl into first ch.
Fasten off. Weave in ends.

FINISHING

While it is possible to join motifs as you finish them, doing so will make it hard to block the motifs, so I recommend completing the motifs then joining as described below.

For the samples, I tried soaking and pinning out, soaking and laying flat, and using an iron with a steam function. The last produced the best results and was also the fastest solution, so that's what I recommend. However, you should keep your choice of yarn in mind when blocking. Wool may look better when soaked and gently pinned into shape.

Join the 11 motifs together as shown in the two diagrams above using the following method. You may find it helpful to use locking stitch markers at all the intersections to ensure correct assembly especially for Lantern E.

LARGE

Motif to motif: Sc adjacent ch-3 spaces tog, ch 5, sc ch-5 spaces tog, (ch 3, sc next ch-5 space tog) 3 times, ch 5, sc next ch-3 spaces tog. Fasten off. Weave in all ends
Leave a gap between two Upper Row motifs.
Insert paper lantern.
Complete open seam and then finish the top edge as follows:
Top edge: Ch 1, *sc into intersection sc, ch3, (sc into ch-5 space, ch 1) 3 times, ch 3, sc into intersection sc; rep from * around ending with a sl into first sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

MEDIUM

Motif to motif: Sc adjacent ch-3 spaces tog, ch 7, sc ch-7 spaces tog, ch 7, sc next ch-3 spaces tog. Fasten off. Weave in all ends.
Leave a gap between two Upper Row motifs.
Insert paper lantern.
Complete open seam and then finish the top edge as follows:
Top edge: Ch 1, *sc into intersection sc, ch 5, sc into ch-7 space, ch 5, sc into intersection sc; rep from * around ending with a sl into first sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

SMALL

Motif to motif: Sc adjacent 2cl sts tog, ch 5, sc center sc of 9 scs tog, ch 5, sc next 2cl sts tog. Fasten off. Weave in all ends
Leave a gap between two Upper Row motifs.
Insert paper lantern.
Complete open seam and then finish the top edge as follows:
Top edge: Ch 1, *sc into intersection sc, ch3, sc into center sc of 9 scs, ch 3, sc into intersection sc; rep from * around ending with a sl into first sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Marnie used to spend her elementary school recesses crocheting and once crocheted a sensory blanket for baby raccoons in the care of the wildlife rehabilitation center her best friend's family ran. She continues to enjoy making pretty things especially if they include some amount of lace.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her rescue dogs, her husband, and a sourdough starter named Borg.

Pattern & images © 2025 Marnie MacLean