Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Crocheted Jewelry

In my efforts to get back into crafting again (now that I am feeling better and HUMAN) I have decided to take a few classes here and there as I find interesting ones at the local craft stores.

Last night I went to Roberts craft for a fun jewelry class. We learned to make necklaces by crocheting wire and interweaving beads. It was so much fun! And… it was relatively easy. If you can crochet a single stitch chain from here to eternity you can crochet a necklace. :)

My husband’s aunt and cousin were there with me and it was loads of fun seeing how different everyone’s necklaces turned out. Tammy (aunt) did a necklace for one of her coworkers using a mix of smokey beads. It turned out gorgeous and I picked up the bead collection this evening to make one for someone for Christmas. Raette used a variety of “sea themed” beads and made a really fun big and chunky necklace. She works at a place called “Pirate Island” so it is perfect for her!

I chose a variety of shades and shapes of blue beads, silver findings, Swarovski crystals and silver 26 gauge wire. I don’t like how the 26 guage wire was a little difficult to work with, but loved the 26 gauge sterling silver wire that Tammy used, so I picked some of that up tonight, too.

Here’s my necklace:

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I am down in my guest bathroom trying to snap a photo of the necklace while it’s on my neck. Not an easy task. Brent is still at work (it’s 7:30pm) and not around to help… and I’m too lazy to find my tripod. (Please ignore the fact that I have no eyes on… I think I rubbed them off during my INSANE day today at work. LOL!)

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Zoomed in on a better mirror picture. That one bead on the right is a pain in the bootay. I had to twist the wire to get it to lay back properly after this photo.

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The full necklace. I extended the chain so that it would fit better on my and lay where I wanted it to lay on my neck.

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A close up of the bead and wire work.

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This morning before I went to work I made a quick little ring to go with the necklace. I need to redo it because I twisted a couple of the end wires too much and they snapped at work and kept stabbing me in the finger while I typed. OUCH!

The basic idea of the necklace is making 3 strands of beaded, crocheted wire and then braiding them together.

If you can

* braid hair
* crochet a single chain from here to eternity
* choose 45-50 misc beads (I worked in extra beads)

You can create one of these! SO get to it!

Last night I Googled “crocheted necklaces” and found a GREAT video showing exactly how to make these. So, rather than re-do a whole tutorial, here’s a video courtesy of Auntie’s Beads for you:

Inky Smiles!


PS... and I met someone SUPER COOL at the Robert's store during my class...

9 comments:

Stacey said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! I LOVE it.
I want to learn how!!!! Didn't watch the video yet........

Nichole W. said...

Ok, that is so cool and now I'm itching to try. I love how chunky the one you made is!

Sarah said...

Ohhh wow this is wonderful. Our GS are doing bead work for their first Cadette badge...and this video is awesome. Love the beads you chose.

Jeanne said...

Wow, Erin, this is fantastic! I will come back and watch the video for sure. If you can create something like this, you CAN crochet! So no more excuses my friend.

Love it and love you for sharing!

Sparkplug17 said...

Such a pretty set!

CreativeMish said...

Beautiful! I love the colors that you chose! What a great gift idea! OH! and an another addiction!

Stacey said...

JUST watched the video! LOVE IT MORE!!!!!
I don't know if I can find the stuff locally but I'm gonna look TODAY!!!

bren yule said...

Love it! Is sterling wire the best to use???? I'm all new at this stuff...

mE said...

Bren - You can use whatever wire you want, I like to use the silver plated stuff that has a brassy glow, when I can find it... my local craft stores are usually out.

:)e.