Fun Crochet Bracelet Tutorial
Posted by Leah on Oct 12, 2008
Found this fun crocheted bracelet tutorial via craftypod.com (it’s by Sister Diane, the host of Craftypod).
I don’t think I’m going to make a bracelet, but this looks like an easy way to make all kinds of cute crocheted accessories.
Whimsy by Jess in Belle Armoire
Posted by Leah on Sep 15, 2008
Can you tell I’ve been reading a lot of magazines?
I saw a great article by Jess of Whimsy by Jess in the new Belle Armoire. I’ve met Jess a few times when we were both doing craft shows - she makes the cutest crocheted accessories. In her article, she shares her pattern for crowns and slippers that will fit a toddler. I’ve seen these in person, and they are completely adorable.
Habu
Posted by Leah on Sep 11, 2008
I think I have discovered the best brand of yarn EVER for jewelry designers - Habu. It is imported from Japan, where it’s sold under a different name, and the line has more thread-weight and lace-weight yarns than I’ve seen anywhere else. Also, they have really interesting fibers - one yarn is a silk and stainless steel blend, there’s a wool/stainless blend, and I just heard about one that contains copper…
I bought a few skeins of assorted Habu yarns locally, (if you live in the Berkeley/Oakland area, Stash on Solano and Article Pract on Telegraph both carry a selection of Habu and have some swatches you can look at to see how they knit up) and I’m now swatching with them to see how they look, and how I can hopefully use them to make some really fun necklaces.
Is anyone else knitting, crocheting, or otherwise using Habu? I’d love to see what you are making, leave a link in the comments if you’d like to share. There’s a great sweater made out of one of the stainless steel blends in the summer issue of Knitty - I can’t imagine actually knitting a sweater out of that yarn, but how cool would that be?
If you are on ravelry.com (an online fiber community - mostly knitters, but there are plenty of crocheters, felters, etc as well) there is a Habu group - I love seeing the garments people are making out of these very interesting yarns. (*I’m on ravelry as leahmichon if you’d like to be friends - and by the way, there are plenty of groups for people who bead and do other jewelry-type fiber crafts, so don’t be intimidated if you, like me, are more of a jewelry person than a fiber person.*)
I’ll share some of my swatches & thoughts on how I’m going to use these, once I have a better idea of how they work up. I have a thread-weight wool, some silk/stainless, and some ramie that I’m playing with. So far, the silk/stainless is much easier to work with when held together with a strand of very fine wool. That’s as far as I’ve gotten…
Crochet Me
Posted by Leah on Aug 21, 2008
I went to the library in search of new-ish craft books, and they had a copy of Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution
It’s a really fun book, with more fashion-forward patterns than the average crochet book, lots of useful information, and profiles of the designers. I really enjoyed the designer profiles, and appreciate that their website URLs are provided so I can go check out more of their work. A few of the patterns are things I could see myself wearing, which is rare in a crochet book. While I love crochet as a craft, I tend to find crochet garment patterns too…bulky? frumpy? old fashioned? It’s nice to see a collection of patterns that is a little more modern and stylish.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but wanted just a little more. A couple more patterns, just a bit more of the technical information, and definitely more of the essays and designer profiles which, to me, were the best parts of the book. Kim’s passion for crochet really comes through and makes me want to design something. I hope she will be writing some articles for Interweave Crochet and not just doing the editing, because I enjoyed her writing style and enthusiasm for the craft.
Easy Crocheted Headband
Posted by Leah on Jul 10, 2008
Headbands seem to be back in style, and they are really easy to make - and a great way to use up partial skeins of yarn.
I made one recently for myself using worsted weight cotton yarn (cheap stuff - sugar ‘n cream, I think, which you can get at big chain craft stores). Here’s what I did:
- Chain 5
- Single crochet into second chain from hook, single crochet in each chain across (you now have a row of 4 single crochet stitches)
- Turn and chain 2
- Double crochet into each stitch across (row of 4 double crochets)
- Turn and chain 1, single crochet in each stitch across
- Repeat these two rows over and over - so you have alternating rows of single crochet and double crochet
- Stop when your fabric will almost stretch around your head, weave in the ends
- Weave a length of ribbon or decorative yarn back and forth through each end, kind of like if you were lacing a pair of shoes. Leave enough length to tie a bow.
- Tie your headband on your head - you’re done!
You could really use any stitch pattern you like for this, but the one I used is really easy. The important thing is not to make it too wide, since it needs to go under your hair in the back - wide bands will show a lot more in the back.
My how-to articles
Posted by Leah on Jul 7, 2008
I thought it might be useful to post links to some of my past how-to articles for any new readers to my blog. Now that I’m looking at the list, I can think of a bunch more to write - so check back soon if you want more jewelry and craft tutorials. Is there a basic jewelry technique you want information about? Leave me a comment & if I can, I’ll write up a how-to for you.
Jewelry Making Info, Techniques, and Projects:
Tools for Wirework
Pickle
Wire Gauge
Making Headpins
Seed Bead Sizes
Finishing Wire Ends
Flux
Felt Bead Earrings
Crochet Projects:
Bobble Cuff
Easy Crochet Flower
Easy Crochet Pendant
Crocheted Mesh Scarf
Crocheted Mesh Scarf
Posted by Leah on Jun 26, 2008
This scarf is made with a very easy lacy mesh pattern that could be adapted to make a choker, cuff bracelet, or headband. It’s a very simple pattern: chain 4, then slip stitch into the next chain 4 space.
To start, chain a multiple of 4 (plus 1 extra) the width that you want your scarf to be. Then slip stitch into the fifth chain from the hook, chain four, and slip stitch into the fourth chain from the slip stitch. Do this across your row, then start the pattern of chain 4, slip stitch into the next chain 4 space. I love simple patterns, and this one makes an open mesh so it’s great for summery projects.
My scarf is about 20 chain stitches wide, or 5 repeats of chain 4, slip stitch. I used exactly one skein of Vickie Howell Collection “Love” from Southwest Trading Company. It’s a bamboo/silk blend that I love, so soft, and has a nice sheen. If it was a little thinner, I’d make jewelry out of it, because the slight shine would look great with beads - but its thickness is sport or DK, which would make kind of bulky-looking jewelry. It would be great for crocheted flowers though.
Crocheted Flowers - update
Posted by Leah on Apr 28, 2008
Recently I wrote a post about a book I saw online for making crocheted flowers. Imagine my surprise when I got a comment from the author - how cool! She gave a little more info about it, and of course said that it’s a good book. 
Browsing Amazon, I discovered that there are quite a few books on making flowers with crocheting, knitting, felting, beading….you name it. Flowers make great jewelry and accessories, so I think I will check out a few more books on crafting flowers and I’ll report back about which ones I liked the best. Maybe I’ll even make some flower jewelry to test out project ideas from the books.
Crochet Flowers
Posted by Leah on Apr 17, 2008
I just saw this book on Amazon that looks like it would be a lot of fun: Crochet Bouquet: Easy Designs for Dozens of Flowers
Crocheted flowers are a great way to use up a little bit of leftover yarn if you are a fiber artist, and they can easily be made into accessories like pins, or sewn onto hats, scarves, sweaters, etc as a cute embellishment. The jewelry maker in me wants to crochet up a whole bunch of flowers and stitch them together into a fun necklace, or dangle a couple from earwires. I even have some very thin yarn and tiny crochet hooks so that I could make appropriate sized flowers….so I think I would have fun with the patterns in this book.
If you’ve seen this book please leave a comment and let me know if it’s any good.
Good Crochet Book
Posted by Leah on Jul 17, 2007
Donna Kooler’s Encyclopedia of Crochet
It includes basic instructions, project patterns, stitch patterns, and for jewelry makers, a section on wire crochet which includes a necklace project by Arline Fisch. Since I’ve been learning some new crafts recently & knitting/crocheting some jewelry, garments, and handbags for myself, I started reading craft books that aren’t as jewelry specific. So far, this is the best book on crochet that I’ve read, and I love that it includes information about using crochet techniques in jewelry. There is also information on all kinds of other crochet techniques, and quite a few patterns for things to make using the techniques. The patterns range from very easy to very complex, as do the techniques covered.
