Crocheted Wire Earrings

September 13, 2015 · 8 Comments

The other day I wanted to crochet but I also needed to make some earrings. So it got me thinking: would it be possible to mash the two things together and crochet some earrings? Preferably earrings that are neither enormous or woolly looking.

I had a go at crocheting some fine wire and the results were not enormous or woolly!
They were rather fiddly but they are very delicate light to wear, so well worth it!

They are made by crocheting three strands of wire, adding beads as you go, then plaiting the strands together.

I have included Amazon affiliate links for the materials. If you would prefer to buy a kit for making these earrings, complete with instructions, you can do so here.

How to Make Crocheted Wire Earrings

You will need: fine craft wire (1 metre will be enough to make 1 pair of earrings), a 2 or 2.5 mm crochet hook, 2 earring wires, 2 jump rings, wire cutters or pliers (or scissors will do but not your best pair! ), 10 beads including a mixture of 6mm glass beads, 8mm glass beads, crackle glass beads and faceted beads, and a selection seed or other small beads.

1. Cut 3 pieces of wire, each measuring 15cm. Twist the ends together a couple of times. 2. Slip one of the larger beads onto the twisted end. Thread the same end through a jump ring and twist to secure.

3. Using the handle end of the crochet hook, make a loop next to the bead in one of the strands of wire and twist it a couple of times.

4. Now we’re ready to start crocheting! A word of warning first though: crocheting wire is not like crocheting wool. It sounds obvious but the lack of stretchiness took me by surprise.
Crochet a couple of chains.

5. Slip a bead onto the wire. Then crochet one chain by taking the wire from the far side of the bead.

6. Continue to crochet chains and add beads. Try to space the beads out so that when you plait the strands together at the end, the beads are evenly spaced out.

7. Repeat for the other two strands.

8. Gently plait the three strands together.
9. Using the jump ring, attach the earring wire.Repeat for the other earring.

Tips

Use a metal crochet hook because the wire will probably gouge lumps out of a bamboo one!

As wire does not stretch, the loops in the chain need to be big enough. If they are not, wiggle the loop down the crochet hook to where it is wider then back up again.

If overworked, the wire will break, so be careful when twisting. If it does break, you may be able to reattach beads using extra bits of wire.

If the strands are difficult to plait, try pulling them gently to stretch the chains a little bit.

If you would like to buy a kit to make the earrings and not have to faff about buying lots of different beads when you only need a few, you can do so here.

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Crocheted Flower Necklace Tutorial

August 9, 2015 · 4 Comments

A few months ago I made these crocheted flower earrings. I have worn them a few times and people have remarked on how unusual they are. I’ve also found that despite them being quite long, they are very light and don’t pull on my ear.

So I decided to make a matching necklace!

If you are a crocheter and you have never tried jewellery making, don’t be put off! They are easy to make. You will need some round nosed pliers though in addition to a 2 mm crochet hook.

I have also decided to start selling kits for some of my tutorials, so if you like the necklace (and the earrings), you might like to buy a kit so that you can make them without the trouble of hunting down the materials to make them! Here is the link to the craft kits page. Otherwise you can find the link in the navigation bar at the top. The kit for the necklace is £5 and the kit for the earrings is £3 🙂

I’ll be adding more kits over the next few months, so don’t forget to check back!

How to Make a Crocheted Flower Necklace

You will need: thread and a crochet hook (I used Anchor Pearle and a 2 mm hook), 11 jump rings, 1 head pin, 5 eye pins, 6 chip beads, round nosed pliers, ordinary pliers or wire cutters.

1. Make 5 crocheted flowers. The pattern is the same as for the crocheted hair bobble, which can be found here. Using lighter thread and a smaller hook will produce much smaller flowers!

2. Attach jump rings to either side of 4 of the flowers. For the fifth flower, you will need to attach 3 jump rings evenly spaced around the flower.

3. Thread a chip bead onto an eye pin and bend the other end into a loop. Depending on the length of the eye pins, you might need to cut off some of the excess first. If you are new to making jewellery, practise making some loops first you have an idea of how much you need to make a loop. You will need to make 5 of these.

4. Using the jump rings already attached to the flowers, join the flowers together using the bead eye pin things you made in the previous step. The flower with 3 jump rings will need to be in the middle.

5. Add the last eye pin and chip bead from step 3 to the 3rd jump ring on the middle flower. Thread a chip bead onto the head pin and make a loop. Using a jump ring, attach the head pin with a bead to the eye pin with a bead.

6. Take a length of chain and attach to one end of the flowers using the jump ring. Try it on to determine how long you need the chain to be. Cut the chain using pliers. Attach the other end on the chain to the other end of the flowers.

7. Find the centre of the chain and break one of the links. Use jump rings to attach a lobster clasp.

Now wear it out and wait for people to admire it! Don’t forget, if you want buy a kit to make this necklace, you can do so here!

If you haven’t already, you might also like to have a look at the tutorial for the matching earrings, which can be found here!

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How to Increase and Decrease Stitches in Crochet

July 16, 2015 · 2 Comments

Being able to increase and decrease stitches in crochet is useful when you are making all kinds of things. If you are making bowls, bags, hats or anything else that starts with a circle, you will need to know how and when to increase stitches (If you would like a tutorial on how the crochet a circle, you can find one here!). Equally if you want to make something that’s flat, like a beard for your little person, or if you are making soft toys or you want to add shape to a pretty scarf or a purse you need to know how to increase and decrease stitches.

Increasing

Increasing stitches is the same whether you are crocheting rows or in the round.

To increase a stitch, you simply make 2 stitches into one stitch.

So here is the first stitch…

…Then you make a second stitch into the same space.

When crocheting in rows, usually you would increase a stitch or 2 in from the outside edge. Here is the completed row with the increased stitches. The corner kept curling upwards, which is why the scissors are there!It is the same whether you are crocheting double crochets or trebles. You just work 2 stitches into the same stitch. Here is a row with increased stitches at each end worked in trebles.
When crocheting a circle, you usually increase by 6 stitches each time round. So as the circle grows, you leave more stitches between the increases.

Decreasing

To decrease when working in double crochet you work 2 stitches together. Put the hook through the stitch and pull the yarn through so that you have 2 loops on the hook.Then put the hook through the next stitch and pull the yarn through. You will have 3 loops on the hook. Put the yarn over the hook and pull it through all 3 loops.

Here s the finished row.I worked the stitch at each end as normal and decreased by working the 2 stitches in from the last stitch.

Decreasing trebles has more steps but the principle is the same. You just work half the stitch before moving onto the next one, then work them together.

Put the yarn over the hook, stick the hook through the stitch and pull a loop through, yarn over the hook and through 2 of the loops an the hook. You should be left with 2 loops on the hook and a stitch that looks like half a treble. Work half a treble into the next stitch in the same way.Then yarn over the hook and pull through 2 stitches,

then yarn over thehook and pull through the remaining three stitches.If you want to see the crocheted beard I referred to earlier, that post can be found here!

Happy crafting! xx

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How to Crochet a Circle

June 19, 2015 · 20 Comments

All kinds of crocheted things start off as a circle, so it’s a very useful thing to be know how to do if you want to make your own stuff without using a pattern. Hats, bags, crocheted bowls, flowers and a whole load of other stuff start off with a circle.

So here is how to crochet a circle!

Please note that because I am English I have used British crochet terms, although I think if you use trebles instead of dcs it will probably still work.

Make 4 ch, then join with ss, then:

1. 1 ch, then 6 dc into the circle.

2. 1 ch, then *2 dc into next stitch* 6 times. Join with ss. 12 stitches.

3. 1 ch, then *1 dc into next stitch, then 2 dc into next stitch* 6 times. Join with ss. 18 stitches.

4. 1 ch, then * 1 dc into next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, 2 dc into next stitch* 6 times. Join with ss. 24 stitches.

5. 1 ch, then *1 dc into next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, 2 dc into next stitch* 6 times. Join with ss. 30 stitches.

You’ve probably spotted a pattern. Each time round, the number of single dcs you make before increasing by adding an extra one increases by 1.

The other useful thing here is that the number of rounds corresponds with the number of stitches as a multiple of 6. So the 4th round should end with 24 stitches. 4 x 6 is 24. Whoever thought the 6 x table would actually be useful!

I find it helpful to think of the stitches in groups based on the number of the round. So for the 4th round, I think of the stitches in groups of 4: 1 dc, 1 dc, then the 3rd and 4th dcs into the same stitch. For the 5th round, 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc then the 4th and 5th stitches into the same stitch.

It’s easy to keep going until the circle is as big as you need it to be!

I am currently crocheting circles to make coasters.

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How to Crochet Shell Stitch

May 29, 2015 · 15 Comments

One of the reasons why I prefer crochet to knitting is because there is such a variety of different stitches. The other reason is that I am the world’s slowest knitter and crochet just seems to be quicker.

I like shell stitch because it is pretty. That’s a good enough reason, right? It’s very easy to do and it looks lovely. If you would like a pattern for a little purse using shell stitch, please sign up for my mailing list 🙂

Here are three variations of shell stitch. The first is the simplest. The second is a spaced shell stitch with the shells in vertical rows. The third is a combination of the other two, a semi spaced shell with staggered rows.

Basic Shell Stitch

Make a row of chains in a multiple of 6, plus 1 extra chain.

1. Into 4th st from hook, work 2 tr, sk 2, dc into next st, *sk 2, 5 tr into next st, sk 2, dc into next st* to end of row.

2. 3 ch (to count as 1 tr), then 2 tr into last dc of previous row, *1 dc into 3rd tr of shell from previous row, *5 tr into next dc, dc into 3rd tr* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 2 forms the pattern, so you just keep repeating row 2. Because you finish each row with a whole shell followed by a dc, you start the next row with half a shell into the last dc from the previous row.

Spaced Shell Stitch

For this stitch, the shells are in vertical rows and the spaces are formed by an extra row in between the shell rows.

Make a row of chains in a multiple of 6, plus one extra.

1. Into the 4th ch from hook, work 5 tr, sk 2 ch, 1 dc into next ch, *sk 2 ch, 5 tr into next ch, sk 2 ch, dc into next ch* repeat to the end of the row.

2. 5 ch, then 1 dc into 3rd tr of previous row, 2 ch, 1 tr into dc of previous row, *2 ch, 1 dc into 3rd tr, 2 ch, 1 tr into dc* repeat to the end of the row.

3. 1 ch, then *5 tr into dc (on the top of the shell), dc into tr (stitch between the shells)*, repeat to the end of the row.

Rows 2 and 3 make the pattern, so just keep repeating those!

Staggered Spaced Shell Stitch

This one’s a little bit more complicated. There is a row of chains and dcs between the shell rows similar to the previous stitch. Because the shells are staggered, the shell rows alternate between starting with a whole shell and finishing with a half, and starting with half a shell.

Make a row of chains in a multiple of 6, plus one extra.

1. 2 tr into 4^th st from hook, sk 2, dc into next st, *sk 2, 5 tr into next st, sk 2, dc into next st* repeat to end.

2. 1 ch, then dc into dc from previous row, 2 ch, dc into 3^rd tr, *2 ch, dc into next dc (between the shells), 2 ch, dc into 3^rd tr* to end of row.

3. 1 ch, then dc into dc from previous row,* sk 2 ch, 5 tr into next dc, sk 2 ch, dc into next dc* to last but one dc, 3 tr into last dc.

4. As row 2.

5. 1 ch, then 3 tr into last dc of previous row, sk 2 ch, dc into next dc, *sk 2 ch, 5 tr into next dc, sk 2 ch, dc into next dc* to end.

With this version of the stitch, rows 2 -5 make the pattern.

If you like this stitch and are stuck for ideas of what you could make with it, sign up for my mailing list and I’ll send you a pdf pattern for a little purse and no spam ever!

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How to Make Crocheted Wire Earrings

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Basic Shell Stitch

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