Pattern: Black lace earrings

Hi everyone!

These days I have been experimenting a little with the beautiful book Bead Romantique by Lisa Kan, so after the Autumn Sparkle and the Romantic Vintage earrings, I decided to create a new pair of earpieces using one more pattern from this amazing text.

This time, however, I based my creation on the instructions for making a necklace (the Black Lace Lariat at page 100). At first, I wanted to make one of the flower medaillons on page 102 and then simply attach it to a fish hook component but I soon realized that I did not have most of the beads suggested (and, after seeing such an inspiring project, I wanted to make the earrings right away!) so I adapted the pattern.

While the instructions of the lariat in the book are covered by copyright, my adaptation takes only a small part of the pattern, changing materials, bead counts and adding extra steps, hence creating a quite different pattern. I therefore felt free to share with you the step by step instructions of my variation. So, if you also would like to create these elegant lacy pieces, just follow the step by step tutorial and pattern below.

Time to complete the project: 1 hour

Difficulty: 2/5

Hope you enjoyed the pattern…if you did, don’t forget to leave a comment ;-)

Have a wonderful day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Tiny blooms

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share with you a little pattern. It’s a very easy, fast (less than 5 minutes) to stitch crocheted flower I created while a was trying to find a tiny decoration to add to some of my pieces.

As you probably already know, my crochet skills are quite limited. I can only make very simple designs, provided I also have the help of excellent tutorials. You can therefore imagine how basic a pattern I created myself can be, so keep your expectations low.

Well, now, if you didn’t stop reading the post yet, I infer you are very motivated, so let’s go straight to the step by step instructions*:

1. Make a magic circle (wait, what? Seriously? Was this supposed to be an easy pattern? I can’t do this!  - This was my reaction when I first encountered this enchanted crochet creature, so, if you are a beginner like me,  you will find the super-easy video I used to learn how to make it right below the instructions)
2. Chain 3
3. Make 1 double crochet in the loop
4. Chain 3
5. Attach to the loop with a slip stitch
6. Repeat from step 2 (4 or 5 times depending on the number of petals you want. In the first picture below, you can see flowers made with 5 petals, while the ones in the second have 6)
7. Weave the leftover thread through the stitches or use it to attach the flower as decoration

* Since the design is truly trivial, probably many other people have already made it in the past, so please, if you know of some pattern/tutorial already published, leave them in the comments, and I will quote them (I really do not want to steal anybody’s work!)

For any further doubts about stitches, you can read my post on how to start crochet here (and, if you have more doubts, please leave a comment and I will do my best to help you ;-) ).

As for every crocheted creation, you can change size and texture by using different yarns (you can read this post to find out more on the topic). In the first picture below, for instance, the brown bloom was made with a thick cotton yarn and 3mm hook, for the purple one I used a thinner yarn and 2.5mm hook, while for the blue one I worked with a thin mercerized cotton thread and 2mm hook.

But now that you finished your tiny beauty, what can you do with it? I love to embellish my flowers by sewing a 4mm bead in the center and then attach them to any creation I can think of. In the last picture, for example,  I glued them to some Easter eggs decorations I crafted last spring (you can find out more about them reading the full  post here), but they can also be attached to Christmas decorations, gloves, wreaths, or anything you can think of, just let your imagination fly…

…and have a creative day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)