How to crochet a mandala into a ring

A crocheted mandala is beautiful on its own, but it truly shines when stretched in a metal or wooden ring/hoop. The ring keeps your mandala neat and round. That way it becomes a stunning decoration for the wall or window too! In this blog I’ll explain, step by step, how to crochet a mandala into a ring.

Choosing the ring size

The ring size you need depends on how large your crocheted mandala is. Start by measuring your crocheted mandala to determine the ring size.

Measure your crocheted mandala:

1. Lay your crocheted mandala on a flat surface, such as a table. Smooth it out with your hands.
2. Take a tape measure and measure the diameter of your mandala.

The size of the ring

Now that you know the size of your crocheted mandala, you can calculate which ring size to use.

The ring should be about 20% larger than the crocheted mandala.

Example: my crocheted mandala measures about 80 cm across when laid flat. The ring should be 20% larger, which comes to 100 cm. So I crochet my mandala into a 100 cm ring.

I personally prefer using short strands of yarn to tie the mandala to the ring. The advantage over zip ties is that you can cut the yarn away more easily while you’re crocheting the mandala into the ring. That’s a little harder with zip ties, but they will still work fine!

Attaching the mandala to the ring

1. Take a strand of yarn (or other material of choice to secure the mandala) and insert it through the stitch or chainspace that needs to be attatched to the ring. For example, you often insert through a chainspace from the last round.
2. Tie the yarn around the ring firmly, with a double knot.
3. Continue like this for all points that need to be attached to the ring. Which stitches you attach to the ring is described in the pattern. Often this is, for example, the tip of a leaf, or all chain spaces from the last round.

Crocheting around the ring

Now you’re going to crochet around the ring.

1. Grab your hook and make a slip knot. Single crochet around the ring a few times (for example, 3 sc around the ring). Make sure these single crochets sit right next to the first tied point.
   Tip: normally you would insert your hook into a stitch to make a single crochet; now you’re working around the ring. Think of it like crocheting into a magic ring — only this time the ring is metal.
2. Carefully snip off the first strand you tied around the ring. Be careful not to accidentally cut your crocheted mandala.
3. Now make a single crochet through the stitch that needs to be attached to the ring + around the ring at the same time. So you insert through the stitch from the last round and around the ring.
4. Then single crochet around the ring again until you reach the next point that needs to be attached.

Keep crocheting around the ring until you’ve gone all the way around. Fasten off after the last single crochet and finish neatly. You can read how to do that here.

Once your mandala is fully crocheted into the ring, fasten off neatly (see this blog for instructions). Then weave in all loose ends. Your gorgeous mandala is all finished!