Hat Pattern!

I've been crocheting a lot the last couple of weeks, and the other day I made a lovely snuggly hat! I had bought six balls of emu snowball wool off ebay in a gorgeous dark brown colour, and have decided to turn it into a series of small items instead of one big thing.

This wool is really chunky which makes it lovely to work with as the piece grows so fast! Here is me modelling my lovely new hat :) which is keeping my head warm today.

Now for the pattern.... you can make it longer or shorter easily by adding more or less rows, but I just kept going until the ball of wool was used up! I crocheted it in the round, something I love doing as it means there is no sewing up to do at the end!

abbr:
ch - chain
dc - double crochet
htr - half treble
tr - treble
ss - slip stitch

Wool: emu snowball
Hook: 9mm

Foundation: ch4, ss into a loop

1st: 3ch, 8tr into loop, ss into 3ch
2nd: 3ch, tr into same stitch as ss, 2tr into each tr on previous row, ss into top of 3ch
3rd: 3ch, into first tr from previous row: 2tr, into second tr from previous row 1tr, continue (2tr, 1tr, 2tr, 1tr) to end of row, ss into top of 3ch
4th: 2ch, 1htr into each tr
5th: 2ch, into first htr from previous row: 2tr, into next 4 htr from previous row 1htr, continue (2htr, 1htr, 1htr, 1htr, 1htr, 2htr...) to end of row, ss into top of 2ch
6th: 3ch, 1tr into each htr on previous row, ss into top of 3ch
7th: 2ch, 1htr into each tr on previous row, ss into top of 2ch
8th: repeat row 7
9th & 10th: repeat row 6
11th: repeat row 7
12th: 1ch, 1dc into each htr on previous row, ss into 1ch and finish off.

Enjoy!

This is my own pattern: feel free to recreate it for personal use but please do not use the pattern or products produced from it for commercial purposes or resale, thank you.

Make a necklace with me!

This is the first of my tutorials; how to put findings on a necklace, an essential skill!

Many of my necklaces are made on tigertail, a brilliant wire that's incredibly flexible but makes very strong jewellery. To finish the necklaces I use a number of different clasps, but almost always attach them in the same way.

First off, you need a necklace to put findings on! For the sake of argument, and in true Blue Peter style, here's one I made earlier...

Now you need to gather together the relevant findings. To put a basic clasp on a necklace you need the clasp, two jump rings (I normally use 6mm), two crimp beads (small metal beads that can be crushed flat with pliers) and two wire protectors. You can see in the picture that I've put one of the jump rings on to the clasp - depending on the clasp this may or may not be necessary.

Now you take the crimp beads and put one one each end of the necklace before the final bead. Once you've done that, thread on the wire protector, then slide the clasp into the horse-shoe shape of the protector. Pass the tigertail back through the first bead, the crimp bead and four or five more beads.

Pull the end of the tigertail tight, so that the clasp and protector lie next to the end of the necklace and there are no gaps.

Take your pliers, and squeeze the crimp bead hard (you can't do this too hard) to flatten it around the wire. If you tug the wire now it should be secure. You can cut off the end of the tigertail up close to the necklace using wire cutters.

Now do the same to the other end of the necklace, using the jump ring instead of the clasp this time. And you have a finished necklace!

I hope you find this useful and like the finished product!