Crochet a bracelet

After making my huge knitted floor cushion, I was left with a few odds and ends of Hooplayarn.

 

 

It seemed perfect for making jewellery, so I thought I'd have a go at a bracelet of sorts. With some beads.

 

Pretty, huh?

 

This was so unbelievably easy to make, and all you need to be able to do is crochet a chain.

Yep, seriously that is all.

 

 

 

Here's what to do:

Gather supplies.

• You'll need what ever yarn you have to spare and a hook to match.

I used Hooplayarn and a 15mm hook.

• Beads of choice.

I had bought these glass beads verrrrry cheaply on eBay. Find similar here.

 

Ok.

To start, you'll need to cut a length of yarn. This will depend on how many times you want your chain to wrap around your wrist. Try starting with a metre, this should give you plenty.

 

Next, thread the beads onto one end. I used 15 beads here, but you might need more or less, depending on sizes. (you can always add more)

 

 

With the other end of the yarn, make a slip knot and put it on yer hook.

Right, this is soooo easy.

Pull your first bead right up to your hook, nice and snug.

 

 

Now make a chain stitch (yarn over, pull up a loop).

You have crocheted a bead.

 

 

Repeat with the next bead and the next until you have a length you're happy with.

 

 

 

Knot the end and tie both ends together.

 

 

 

Bracelet made.

 

 

 

This would work with all sorts of yarn and beads. Make it longer and you'd have a well-lush necklace, too.

 

 

 

See ya

X

 

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The one where she knits a really big thing

Alrighty. Knitting is a new skill for me. And not one I've mastered yet either, but I felt the need to actually make something and have a project to call my own.

 

 

 

I'd seen these floor cushions on the web here and recently on the high street. 'I can make that!' I thought to myself.

(and a lot blimmin' cheaper, too).

 

 

 

So I armed myself with some of my Hooplayarn and some mahoooooosive needles and set about finding a pattern to work with.....

 

 

This is what I used:

• Pattern from Drops Design here (free, yay!)
• 20mm needles
• 3 skeins of Hooplayarn [T-shirt yarn] (I bought mine aaaages ago online. Don't worry -the pattern suggests other yarns you could use, too)
• Bean bag filling (I bought mine from this great seller here on eBay)
• Lining material to match your yarn choice (details below)

 

This is what I did:

I worked with doubled yarn, cast on 24 stitches and followed the instructions to make the cushion.

It grew quite quickly as the pattern is very easy.

 

 

I made mine until it measured 120 cms in length and boy, did it weigh a tonne to work with by the end.

 

I followed the instructions for how to assemble the cushion: you'll need to gather up the stitches around the bottom first..

 

PAC-man's knitted cousin

 

...sew up the sides and insert the filling.

Now, the pattern suggests you could use feather duvets. Not something I have going spare in my house, so I opted for bean bag filling. Luckily, the beanbag I bought came with an internal bag o'beans, so I stripped it of its outer cover and attempted to stuff it into the cushion.

 

 

Hehehe. Comedy failure.

Too many beans and the white material showed in a not-good way through the stitches.

 

 

 

So I bought lining material. No I didn't. I bought a £4 grey jersey snood from Primark, which happened to be the exact size I needed.

 

I used elastic bands to secure the bottom of the lining, added my beans (having removed a fair few first), stuffed the bean-filled grey snood into the cushion cover and secured the top with another elastic band.

 

 

I then gathered the stitches around the top of the knitted cushion and voila!

 

One floor cushion-y thing!

 

And my kids have already sat on it.

(I admit to holding my breath in case it all came unravelled, but so far, so good)

These would look great in different colours, and you can easily adapt the number of stitches/ rows to make bigger or smaller sizes.

Have a try. It really was a nice beginner's project.

Enjoy your week. Xx

 

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