4 Free Crochet Mandala Patterns (Linked to Each Designer)

Each of these free crochet mandala patterns is a real published pattern with written round-by-round instructions, linked to the designer who wrote it. They range from fine size-10 thread lace to a worsted-weight tree motif, and three are sized for standard embroidery hoops.

Two things decide how a mandala turns out, and neither is the stitch pattern: whether you block it, and what you mount it on. Both are covered below.

What you will need

Cotton or cotton thread rather than acrylic — a mandala has to be blocked flat, and acrylic will not hold a block. You will also want blocking pins and a surface to pin into, and an embroidery hoop if you are hanging it.

1. Summer Mandala

Eleven rounds, and Carmen Heffernan changes yarn on every single one — so the colour work is entirely in the sequence rather than in any technique. It finishes with picot-edged petals at about 11 inches across, in 4-ply cotton on a 3 mm hook. Small enough to be a table mat, large enough to mount in a hoop. This is the one to make first if you want to see how a mandala grows. Free pattern: Summer Mandala.

2. Tree of Life Mandala

Regina Benge builds intertwining branches from double-treble stitches that cross over each other in layers, giving a genuinely woven look rather than a printed one, with separate root motifs worked below the trunk. Worsted cotton on a 4.5 mm hook with a DK accent, sized for a 14-inch embroidery hoop. The crossing stitches are the whole point and worth the attention they need. Free pattern: Tree of Life Mandala.

3. Stellar Mandalas

Worked in size 10 crochet thread on a 3 mm hook — far finer than the others here — using pineapple lace and shell stitches from the centre outward in joined rounds. Rachel gives two sizes: a small one that blocks to about 11 inches for a 12-inch hoop, and a 23-inch version. Thread crochet is slower and less forgiving, but it is what produces proper lace rather than a chunky approximation of it. Free pattern: Stellar Mandalas.

4. Dreamcatcher Mandala Wall Hanging

Sixteen rounds of puff stitches, clusters and shells, then stretched to fit a 14-inch hoop during assembly — the stretching is deliberate, and it is what gives the finished piece its taut, dreamcatcher-like tension rather than a floppy circle pinned to a ring. Dorianna works it in Lion Brand Mandala weight-3 yarn or size 3 thread on a 3.5 mm hook. Rated intermediate. Free pattern: Dreamcatcher Mandala Wall Hanging.

The 4 patterns compared

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I mount a mandala in a hoop?

Make the mandala slightly smaller than the hoop, then stretch it out to the ring and stitch or tie it in place — the tension is what holds it flat and gives it the taut look. The Dreamcatcher pattern is written with this built in. An embroidery hoop from any craft shop works; 12 and 14 inches are the usual sizes.

Do I need to block a crochet mandala?

Yes, and it makes more difference here than on almost anything else. A mandala comes off the hook cupped and uneven; wet blocking and pinning it to shape turns it flat and circular. Cotton and thread block beautifully and hold it. Acrylic barely blocks at all, which is why three of these four patterns use cotton.

What is the difference between thread and yarn mandalas?

Scale and precision. Size 10 thread on a 3 mm hook gives real lace with fine detail, as in the Stellar Mandalas, but takes far longer. Worsted on a 4.5 mm hook is quicker and reads from across the room. Neither is harder to work; the thread is just less forgiving of uneven tension.

Can I use a mandala for something other than a wall hanging?

A mandala at 11 inches across is a table centre or a large doily; smaller ones work as coasters or placemats. The Summer Mandala is explicitly written to be either. Larger ones can be joined into a blanket, though the gaps between circles need filling with a motif of their own.

Start with the Summer Mandala to learn how the rounds build, then decide whether you want lace or bold. Whatever you make, block it — an unblocked mandala never looks finished. Each link goes to the designer’s own page with the full round counts.