I have been having a ton of fun making these super cute storm clouds. I don’t follow an exact pattern when I make them. Instead, I’ve come up with a set of general guidelines. I love the freedom of not having to follow along with something line by line, and I especially love how each storm cloud is absolutely unique!
You might think that these storm clouds are hard to make, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. You only need to know two basic crochet stitches in order to make them – single crochet and double crochet. Beginners and experienced crocheters alike can make and enjoy these storm clouds!
If you have never experimented with freeform crochet before then you might be a little intimidated. Rest assured, with this style of crochet there are no right or wrong answers. Even if you think it looks a little wonky at first, I encourage you to stick with it and see how it turns out in the end. After all, clouds come in all shapes and sizes!
Oh and one more thing, do feel free to throw my guidelines out the window when you’ve got the hang of things, because the best projects happen when you break a few rules. Plus, it can be so exciting to blaze your own trail!
Ready? Let’s get started!
Materials
Today I’ll be demonstrating with a worsted weight yarn (Lion Brand Sunset Nights) and a 5 mm hook.
You can use any yarn and hook you’d like!
Abbreviations
US Terminology
ch = chain
st = stitch
sk = skip
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
Special Stitches
Shell = (sc, dc, dc) all in the st indicated
Quick note, you may have seen crochet shells worked differently before. That’s because there are many different ways to make them! For the purposes of our storm clouds, we will be using this one.
One more quick note, the stitchwork in this design is based on the Falling Leaves Stitch in the book Crochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary by Dora Ohrenstein. I’ve also used this stitch pattern in my Self Care Scarf, so be sure to check that out too!
Pattern
Now for the fun part!
Here’s the way I like to start each cloud:
ch 5, shell in the 2nd ch from the hook, sk 2, sc in the last ch.
We’ll be turning after each round and chaining 1.
As a general rule, we’ll start each round with a shell in the very first stitch. (Sometimes that stitch is a single crochet, and sometimes it’s a double crochet)
For all the stitches in the middle of a row, you’ll always be working your shell stitches into the single crochet stitches of the previous row.
You decide whether to end with a shell or a single crochet in the last stitch. Ending in a shell will increase your stitch count and add height to your cloud. A lot of the time you will want to end in a shell to grow the top of your cloud.
Ending in a sc will keep your stitch count the same and keep your stitches even. A lot of the time you will want to end in a sc to keep the bottom of your cloud nice and flat. If you’ve been following along so far, then the bottom of your cloud is easily recognized as the side where your starting tail is. If you’re offroad already, then you might want to mark the bottom with a stitch marker.
Another way that you can shape your cloud is by ending a row early. Just stop before you do the last 1 or 2 shell stitches and leave the rest of the stitches in the row unworked. Just as before, you can choose whether to do your last stitch as a shell or just a sc. I like to end a row early every so often to make the top of my cloud more bumpy.
Continue making your cloud taller and bumpier until it’s half as long as you’d like it to be, then you’ll want to decrease to even everything out on the second half. So you’ll most likely want to end rows on sc more often, and you’ll want to end rows early more often too. Just have fun with it!
If you would like to hang your cloud up, here’s a few things I’ve found out about that along the way. The first cloud that I made would not lay nicely on the wall. It wanted to flop about like a dead fish and fold in on itself. What your cloud needs is some structure!
Longer and shorter clouds can easily be reinforced with a wooden dowel or a thin stick. Simply whip stitch it onto the back of your cloud. (You get to decide which side is the back, since there is no true right or wrong side). If you’d like to add some rain to your stormcloud, you can tie bits of yarn and lengths of chain onto the dowel before you attach it to your cloud.
A thicker yarn (or a thinner yarn held doubled) along with a smaller hook will result in a stiffer cloud that can stand up on its own. Here’s a mini cloud that I made using doubled up dk yarn and a 4 mm hook. I added a row of loop stitches along the bottom for the rain.
You can also help support your cloud by making a second smaller cloud and sewing it onto the front. I think this also looks super cute!
For all the methods above, you’ll notice that the hanging loop I’ve made attaches to the cloud in 2 different places. This is super important! Trust me, I’ve tried it with just a single point of attachment and it was really floppy.
Have fun with embellishing your clouds, rain and hanging loops with beads, fringe or little crochet raindrops. Here is the tutorial I used for my little crochet raindrops: Little Raindrops by Fiber Flux.
Add your cloud project to Ravelry or share it on social media with #freeformcrochetcloud so I can see your beautiful work! Tag me @nineinspired on Instagram and @nineinspiredblog on Facebook and Pinterest.
Please do not redistribute this pattern as your own – do not screenshot or copy and paste. Please only share with a link to the original pattern page. Do feel free to sell finished items made from this pattern as long as you credit Nine Inspired as the designer.
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