Make it: Crochet Charm Necklaces

Make it: Crochet Charm Necklaces
from the Teen Time episode of Creative Juice

This is a great beginner crochet project. When I was growing up, my grandmother made me hundreds of chain stitch necklaces for me. She would dangle peace sign charms and trinkets from her travels from the yarn chain. I still have many of them in my jewelry drawer.

Materials:
ball of yarn
size-K crochet hook
needle-nose jewelry pliers
jump rings
charms
optional: necklace clasp


1. Begin by making a slipknot: lay the tail of the yarn over your palm, open your fingers and loop the yarn under and back over your first two fingers, creating an X .

2. Pull the lower piece of yarn, forming an X through the top piece of the X. This loop will create the slipknot.

3. Place the hook end of a crochet hook through the loop and pull the loop tight onto the hook.

4. Loop the loose yarn end around your pinkie and up around your index finger. This step lets you to control the yarn tension.

5. To start a stitch, loop the yarn from the back side to the front around the hook and pull the loop over the hook.

6. Repeat making loops and pulling over the hook to create a 14" chain.

7. Cut the yarn approximately 6"-8" from the end of the chain and gently remove the chain from the crochet hook.

8. Loop the loose end of yarn through the last chain loop, and loop again through the resulting knot. Gently pull the knot tight at the end of the chain.

9. Optional: attach a necklace clasp piece to either side of the necklace.

10. Using round-nose jewelry pliers, open a jump ring and thread on a charm.

11. Fold a crochet chain in half and use as a guide to find the center of the necklace. Thread a jump ring through the crochet link and close the ring with needle-nose pliers.

12. Continue threading charms with jump rings. Ensure the charms are distributed evenly along the necklace by counting the necklace links.

Make It: Felted Necklace

Make It: Felted Necklace

With just a small amount of wool roving you can make this simple felted necklace. After you learn the basic technique of making the balls you can make lots of different jewelry and accessories.

Materials:

felting wool roving in different colors
hot water
dish soap (hypoallergenic is preferred)
2 large glass bowls
large needle or safety pin
silk cord and needle
Aleene’s Stop Fraying
2 clamshell jewelry findings
magnetic jewelry clasp

Steps:

Fill a bowl with 6 c. hot water and one Tbsp. dish soap. Working over a towel, form a wad of wool into a ball twice the size the finished ball will be.

Dip the wad into the hot soapy water, squeeze out some of the excess water and begin rolling the ball in your hands. Don’t use too much pressure at this point; keep rolling for approximately 4-5 minutes, dipping back into the soapy water if the ball cools or dries out.

You can also roll the ball on a towel with the palm of your hand. If the ball becomes too wet and/or soapy, roll it on a towel to remove excess moisture. If the ball needs to be smaller, apply more pressure to lock the fibers closer together.

When the ball is the desired size, rinse it in the bowl of water, squeezing out the soap. Continue felting until there are enough balls for a necklace.

Poke a toothpick or sharp needle through each ball before they harden. Allow beads to dry overnight (a cookie cooling rack works well for drying). Once the beads are dry, lay out the design of the necklace.

Using a small "clamshell" jewelry finding, thread beading cord through the loop of the finding and tie a knot.

Thread a needle to the other end of the beading cord and thread the felt beads onto the cord. Place small beads or charms between each felt bead for added effect. At the end of the necklace, unthread the needle and tie a clamshell jewelry finding to the end of the beading cord. Clip away extra cording and apply a small amount of fabric glue to the knots in the cord to prevent possible fraying. Close clamshells using a pair of round-nose pliers.

Attach a necklace or magnetic clasp to the necklace by threading each piece of the clasp onto a clamshell finding at each end of the necklace.

Make it: Pom Pom Scarf

Make it: Pom Pom Scarf
from the Citrus in the City episode of Creative Juice

Materials:
pompon maker
yarn in various textures and colors
scissors
plastic canvas needle or yarn needle

1. Following loom instructions, unhinge one of the arms and begin wrapping with yarn. Wrap evenly until the entire arm is covered with yarn. Next, snap the arm into the center of the loom and cut the end of the yarn.

2. Repeat the wrapping process for the second arm, fold arm in and snap in place.

3. With small scissors, insert one scissor blade into the groove of the loom, between the loops of yarn, and carefully snip along the tops of the loops.

4. Wrap a small piece of yarn around the groove on the loom and tie in a single knot.

5. Remove the pompon from the loom and pull the tied string tight. Tie a double knot.

6. If desired, use scissors to trim the pompon, giving it a more uniform appearance, or leave it as is with a "wilder" look.

7. To string the scarf, thread a yarn needle with a long length of yarn (at least a foot longer than the finished scarf). Thread the first pompon by pushing the needle through the center area where the pompon is tied off. Tie off the strand of yarn being used to thread the scarf.

8. Continue threading pompons, tying a knot after each pompon is added until scarf is the desired length. Tie off the end of the yarn and snip the end.

Stocking Stuffer: Felted Critters

Colorful balls and clumps of rolled wool roving are the perfect ingredient for creating playful little monsters. Great stocking stuffer or mini gift!

Materials:

felting wool roving in different colors
hot water
dish soap (hypoallergenic is preferred)
2 large glass bowls
large needle or safety pin
embroidery floss
Buttons for eyes or base

Steps:

1. Fill a bowl with 6 c. hot water and one Tbsp. dish soap.

2. Working over a towel, form a wad of wool into a ball twice the size the finished ball will be.

3. Dip the wad into the hot soapy water, squeeze out some of the excess water and begin rolling the ball in your hands. Don’t use too much pressure at this point; keep rolling for approximately 4-5 minutes, dipping back into the soapy water if the ball cools or dries out.

You can also roll the ball on a towel with the palm of your hand. If the ball becomes too wet and/or soapy, roll it on a towel to remove excess moisture. If the ball needs to be smaller, apply more pressure to lock the fibers closer together.

4. When the ball is the desired size, rinse it in the bowl of water, squeezing out the soap. Continue felting until there are enough balls to create your critter.

5. To create a teddy bear style critter: Poke a toothpick or sharp needle through each ball before they harden in the spots where you will join the balls to form a bear. Allow balls to dry overnight (a cookie cooling rack works well for drying). Using embroidery floss sew the balls together to form the bear and add eyes and a mouth.

6. To create a monster style critter: form the roving into a blob. Allow the blob to dry overnight. Glue a button to the bottom to form a base. Sew facial features with embroidery floss and buttons.