Ever tried crocheting with beads? Yeah, me neither. But, I'm in a festive spirit, and need a break from this ridiculous order of 11 scarves due in 11 days. Soooo, I decided to make a little cuff bracelet with some jingle bells. I've kind of seen beaded crochet done before, but I don't really know what I'm doing, so I decided to wing it. I also took lots of pics, to help out any other newbies. You will only see the pictures of my successes; believe me, there were many failures. LOL!
I used worsted weight yarn, 12 bells, an I hook, some holiday buttons, and a needle and thread.
First things first, in beaded crochet, it's uber important to string the beads, or bells in this case, on to your yarn BEFORE you begin. Just keep sliding them down the yarn until you are ready for them. Unfortunately, this means you kind of need to plan ahead and really know how many beads you need. Of course, you could always put extra beads on the yarn just in case. Also, I learned the hard way to make sure your beads are in front of your work when you move them down the yarn. Otherwise, the bead moves to the back of your work.
OK, so on with the pattern...
Jingle Bell Cuff Bracelet
Ch 11
Row 1: Turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook, and all the way across (10 sc)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sc in ea sc all the way across (10 sc)
Row 3-5: Repeat Row 2
Row 6: Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, attach bell (slide bell right in front of your work, insert hook into next sc with bell and working yarn in front of work, complete sc as normal. See pictures), sc in next 6 sc, attach bell in next sc, sc in last sc
Row 7-11: Repeat Row 2
Row 12: Repeat Row 6
Continue this pattern until you run out of bells.
Repeat Row 2 five more times.
Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, ch 4 (more or less depending on the size of the button you use), sk next sc, sc in next 6, ch 4, sk next sc, sc in last sc.
Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, 1 sc in ch 4 sp, sc in next 6 sc, 1 sc in ch 4 sp, sc in last sc.
Repeat Row 2 one last time.
Sew buttons on near the original ch.
Voila! You are done! I hope these pics made it easy to understand. I can't believe I've finally crocheted with beads! I am looking forward to making other stuff too...whenever I get a minute. :)
