Mini Skeins of 28 yards are used for this project.

I had this vision of a Christmas tree decorated with Fair Isle-inspired ornaments. It was easy to choose the elements of my first design as I always liked elongated and pointy tree ornaments. I also knew I wanted to incorporate the tree motif which looks so right and also happens to fit nicely into the shaping. Sitka spruce is the largest tree on the Shetlands, and I wonder if it may have been the inspiration for the tree motifs found on the yoke of so many Fair Isle sweaters? As my first Sitka ornament took shape I got requests (and a couple of demands) for them for next Christmas. So I thought it would be worth writing up the pattern for my Fair Isle-inspired ornament, and I will be making an early start on creating enough Sitka ornaments for gifts as well as for my own tree.
 
I have made this design using needles ranging from US 0 to US 2 and fingering weight yarn. The suggested gauge fits snugly over a 2.6” plastic ball, available from major craft stores. Inserting a plastic ball results in a very symmetrical ornament; using polyester filling allows more control over size and shape. However, since the ornament is worked in one piece, shaping it using polyester filling can be a little tricky, but it is easier to finish the knitting since you can continue further before washing and stuffing than when using a rigid plastic ball.