Monday, January 21, 2013

CROCHET JEWELRY EXPERIMENTS

I received so many compliments on the fascinator I wore on New Year's Eve that I thought it might be fun to make one.  Thinking about what would go into creating a fascinator led me to thinking about crocheted jewelry in general.  Next thing I knew, I was purchasing red crochet thread, ribbons, hearts and flowers.

The hypothesis for my experiment was that Lisa Gentry's Unforgettable Wrap pattern could be converted into a really cute holiday necklace pattern.  You can find this pattern on Ravelry at Unforgettable Wrap Ravelry Link.

To test my hypothesis, I used No. 10 crochet thread and a 2.25 mm steel hook.  Starting with an 18" center row, I  worked the pattern as written until the last round.  On the last round, I added silver-lined glass beads instead of stitching picots; and I added a closure with a 2" extender.  I probably should have used a button instead of a group of beads for the closure, but didn't have any matching buttons on hand.

Here is the results:






My conclusion is that the Unforgettable Wrap pattern can be used to make a really cute bracelet, headband, or choker, but not an 18" necklace.  It's too wide to lie flat when used as a necklace.  



This is what the wrap looks like when stitched
 according to the pattern instructions.

In any case - if you're thinking about stitching up some fun jewelry to wear on Valentine's Day but don't feel up to designing just yet, why not give this a try!  You can use this pattern, or pick any scarf pattern you like.  Substitute crochet thread for yarn, add some beads or buttons, and see what happens.

Thanks and happy hooking everyone.