Magic of crochet mandala – 3 easy to make free mini crochet mandalas patterns for beginners

What is a mandala?

Before we jump into crochet mandalas, let me introduce you to the word mandala and its meaning and significance in case you do not know. The word mandala comes from the Sanskrit word mandal which means circle. It is a circular design with repeated patterns and colors. The history goes long back and it has a lot of significance in many aspects like religious, spiritual and cultural.

Modern day mandalas that are gaining popularity today are the ones that have a lot of mental health benefits attached to it. Mandala doodling and colouring is becoming extremely popular as our day to day stress levels are rising. Mandala art has proven to be useful in calming the mind and reducing the stress levels significantly. Today I will talk to you mare about crochet mandalas.

What is a crochet mandala?

A crochet mandala is a circle worked in different colors that comprises of simple stitches or a complex pattern. The purpose of a crochet mandala is same as colouring or drawing a mandala to attain mindfulness and calming your mind. It is a geometrical structure with repeated patterns to help you relax and use of colors adds to the benefits by making them appealing and attractive.

Health benefits of crocheting mandala

I have already done a post on health benefits of crochet where I discussed in detail a few of the benefits of taking up crocheting as a hobby. In today’s modern day we all know why mandalas are becoming super popular because of their health benefits. And making the crochet mandala has more or less the same effect.

So just imagine having all the benefits of a mandala combined with all the benefits of crochet…. How cool will that be.

Crocheting a mandala has to be a soothing and relaxing process so don’t overwhelm yourself with the materials colors designs etc. Just pick a pattern choose your favourite color or colors and go with it. let the pattern and your crochet skills do its work. If you over think the colors or the design it kind of beats the purpose of relaxing and calming your mind. That being said, let me discuss a little about the materials that you can use to make a mandala.

Materials needed to make a crochet mandala

Here comes the good new, crocheting a mandala does not require any special material or tools. All you need is a yarn or thread, a hook size matching the thread or yarn, a tapestry needle and sharp pair of scissors or thread clipper.

If you are an experienced crocheter go for a fine thread like a mercerised cotton size 40 or 20 and a .6 or .7 mm steel crochet hook. Or if you want to crochet it faster use a thicker thread or yarn and a bigger hook. Crochet mandala’s look good in all types and thicknesses of yarn. As far as color combinations are concerned. You can do the entire mandala in one single color or do an ombre pattern going from dark to light or light to dark of the same color. Otherwise also there are a lot of sources online to choosing color combinations if you are not good with colors like me. Here is one to the page from Pinterest to help you get inspiration for color combinations.

So let’s dive into some patterns that I designed for you. All the samples shown here are made with #20 mercerised crochet cotton thread and a .75mm crochet hook.

In case you want to save it to your Pinterest board. Here is a pretty picture to pin:

Free patterns for 5 easy crochet mandala

Note: The pattern is written in American English.

(Please do not sell this pattern. You can sell the finished product you make using this pattern)

List or abbreviations:

• Sc – Single crochet
• Dc- Double crochet
• Slst – Slip stitch
• Ch – Chain
• Picot – Ch3 slst in the 3rd ch from hook.
• St – Stitch
• Sp – Space
• Puff st – 4dc tog in same st

Mandala Design 1

Colors: Yellow, blue, hot pink and light grey.

Pattern:

Round 1: (with yellow thread)Ch4, 11dcs in the 4th ch from hook. Slst in the 4th of the first ch4 made in this round.

Round 2: (join blue thread)Ch1, sc in the same st. *ch3, skip the next st, sc in the next st*, repeat from * to * 5 times, ch3, slst in the first sc of this round.

Round 4: (join pink thread)Ch3(count as first dc), dc in the same st. *ch2 skip the next st, 2dc in the next st*, repeat from * to * 11 times, ch2, slst in the 3rd of the first ch3 made in this round.

Round 5: (join grey thread) Slst in between the first 2dcs, ch1 sc in the same place, *ch5, skip the next ch2 sp, sc in between the next 2dcs*, repeat from * to * 11 times, ch5, slst in the first sc of this round.

Round 6: (Continue with grey thread)slst in the next ch3 sp, (3sc, picot, 3sc) in each on the 12 5ch spaces made in previous round, slst in the first sc made in this round.

Fasten off all colors. Weave in ends.

Mandala Design 2

Colors: Cream, Yellow, light purple and dark purple.

Pattern:

Round 1: (with cream thread)Ch4, 11dcs in the 4th ch from hook. Slst in the 4th of the first ch4 made in this round.

Round 2: (join yellow thread)Ch5(count as 1dc and ch2), *dc in the same st, dc in the next 2 sts, ch2*, repeat from * to * 5 times, dc in the next st, slst in 3rd of the first ch5 made in this round.

Round 4: (Join dark purple) Ch1, sc in the same st. *ch5, skip the next 3ch sp, sc in the next puff st*, repeat from * to * 11 times, ch5, slst in the first sc of this round.

Round 5: (Continue with dark purple thread) slst in the next ch5 sp, 7 in each on the 12 3ch spaces made in previous round, slst in the first sc made in this round.

Fasten off all colors. Weave in ends.

Mandala Design 3

Colors: Black, maroon and red.

Pattern:

Round 1: (with black thread)Ch4, 11dcs in the 4th ch from hook. Slst in the 4th of the first ch4 made in this round.

Round 2: (Join maroon thread) Ch3(count as 1dc), dc in the same st, *ch2, 2dcs in the next st*, repeat from * to * 11 times, ch2, slst in 3rd of the first ch3 made in this round.

Round 4: (Continue with red thread) Slst in the next ch3 space, ch1, (sc, hdc, dc, picot, dc, hdc, sc)in all 12 ch3 spaces of round 3, slst in the first sc of this round.

Fasten off all colors. Weave in ends.And you are done….Happy crocheting!!

Here is the video tutorial for all three designs