Christmas tree pony bead pattern

About this design

The tree is built from three tiers of Green that widen and step back in, topped with a Yellow star and finished with a three-bead Brown trunk. Red, Blue and Yellow beads are dotted through the branches as baubles. Hang it on the tree with a loop of ribbon, or put it on a keyring as a festive bag charm.

Bead counts: 64 Opaque green, 7 Opaque yellow, 6 Opaque brown, 3 Opaque red and 2 Opaque blue, 82 pony beads in all.

Lacing it

Thread each row onto one cord end, then take the other end through the same beads the opposite way so the cords cross inside the row. Each tier is narrower at the top than the tier above ends, so follow the bead count in each row closely. Pull both ends after every row so the piece stays straight. The pattern has 16 rows, and you need about 178 cm of cord: that allows for both ends passing through every row, a loop at the top and enough to tie off.

Finishing

After the last row, tie the two ends in a tight double knot under the final bead, add a drop of glue if the cord is slippery, and trim the tails. The finished piece is about 6.6 cm wide and 14.4 cm long with standard pony beads, a good size for a tree ornament, a gift tag or a keychain.

Colour plan

Opaque green does the most work, 78% of the 82 beads, followed by Opaque yellow at 9%. Opaque yellow (7), Opaque brown (6), Opaque red (3) and Opaque blue (2) are used only a little: small details worth marking on the chart so you don't miss them. 53% of the grid is left empty.

Working notes

It is laced in 16 rows from the top, and needs about 178 cm of cord. Every row is one unbroken run of beads, centred under the row above, so it laces exactly as charted.