Skill Level

Crochet Potholders for Mom

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I’ve been looking for nice little gifts for my mom whose love for cooking has been such a blessing every special occasion. She enjoys cooking and sharing her special recipes to all of us.

When I started looking around for a special gift for her, I thought I should make one this year and searched for some nice ideas. I found this potholder idea that is easy to make and can be finished in time for Mother’s Day.  The colorful potholder pattern was posted on the blog Knitting and Some More. 

You need:

Cotton yarn (as potholders gets filthy with food, the yarn must be washable in hot water)

A hook that goes with the yarn (read the label that comes with the yarn)

A needle (to weave in ends)

A pair of scissors (to cut the tread)

Use either thick yarn, or double thread of thinner yarn

Pattern (in UK terms. I think):

Ch 6, join to form a ring.

1. ch 3 to make first tremble, work 13 more tr in the ring; join with a sl to the top of the beginning (14 tr)

2. ch 3, make 2 tr in every tr from the last round(28 tr); join

3. ch 3, 2 tr in the next stitch, *1 tr in the next, 2 tr in the next* continue all the way around; join 4. ch 3, 1 tr in the next stitch, 2 tr in the next, *2 tr in the next 2 stiches, 2 tr in the next*; join

5. ch 3, 2 tr in the next 2 stitches, 2 tr in the next, *3 tr in the next 3 stitches, 2 tr in the next*; join

6. make 7 rounds of increasing in the same way

Make the border:

Make a chain stitch in one of the st from the last round, skip 2 st, *make 3 tr into the next st, ch 1, 3 tr into the the same st as the last 3 st, skip 2 st, make 1 slip stitch* Keep on working like this, until you’ve finished the round..

Before cutting the yarn, ch 10 and make a slip stitch into the last st (forms the loop for hanging).

Weave in all ends.

 

Adjustable fashion bangles

I enjoy wearing bangles. I have a small collection of cute bangles, some are bought, others are gifts to me. The bangles I buy are usually of unique designs such as those I found during my trips. Recently, I was inspired to create my own bangles after checking out some fashion items from a high-end store. I looked around and found one project from the website of Lower East Dry Good (LEDG). I already tried a set and they look nice. I also gave some bangles to my friends who love to wear them.

What you need:

Jewelry wire – preferably the smaller, memory wire coils for bracelets but any jewelry-specific wire will do. Just make sure that the wire itself is rigid and not that maleable.

Wire cutters

Assorted jewelry charms

Assorted beads and seed beads

Round needle nose pliers

A round cylinder to shape the wire to

Small jump rings

What to do:

With all your supplies handy, find one of the ends to the wire coil and snip off about a coil and half. Slightly pinching the meeting point of the coils, slip it over your hand making sure that it’s a good fit for your wrist or with extra allowance or space around your fist. The main idea of the bracelet is that it is adjustable. It can only work if there is enough space so it can open as you put it on but it still has to snap  back to a comfortable fit once on your wrist.

With the right size you can now begin making the loops that allow the bracelet to grow and shrink. Using your round needle nose pliers, take one of the overlapping ends and bend the wire crossing it back over the main coil. Create a small, but loose loop over the main coil.  Make sure it’s not too tight or it will not stretch or shrink easily. Next take the other loose coil end and repeat. Add your charms and wear out

Next, cut off a larger piece of wire, at least 2 coils. String along some beads; you can create a pattern or mix it all up. Leave at least a 1/2 inch of plain wire on either side. Create the loops over the part of the wire like before and wear them all out together with your other favorite arm party essentials.