My First Try At Wire Crochet

Petals to Picots published 25 Crochet Patterns to Spruce Up Your Home and the wire tea light holders caught my eye. I got a few wires stashed somewhere among my craft box and decided to try my luck in making some. I ended up making only ONE. I'm not even sure if I want to do more to make it a set. Why, you ask? Because it was tiring, difficult to manage, has no room for error, and confusing.

Now, I'm no expert, but I'd like to share my experience with making the said tea light holder and elaborate on my rather negative perception of wire crochet.

Tiring and difficult to manage

Unlike yarns, wires aren't soft, and if you bend it or twist it, it'll be difficult for you to straighten it out. You also have to be more forceful in pulling the wire through a loop, but you also don't want to put in too much force. If you pull too hard, you mind end up tightening the loop too much. I tried doing that when I wanted to use the chain 2 trick instead of a magic ring (follow link above for the pattern).

After frogging

No room for error

I say there's no room for error because, like I mentioned above, if you bend or twist it, you won't be able to straighten it out properly. Plus, it is difficult to frog. I had to use a plier, poke the wire with my finger, and pull gently so the wire won't twist and make tiny curls.

Confusing

I had to trace the loops to ensure that I was poking my hook through the right (top) loop.

Sometimes the top loops are hard to find.

I will not close my door to wire crochet. It really added a nice touch to the tea light, and there are many more things you can make with wire crochet. I know after a few more tries, I'll be able to make wire crocheted projects without my inner self whining.

My very first wire crocheted project!

Coin Purse with Curly Flower

My 6-yo loves to drag my mother-in-law to arcades. One time, I saw that she used an old plastic container for the tokens. I think it was an old cotton swab container. So I decided to make her a coin purse as a gift for Christmas. 

This is the purse that I made for her. I didn't use any available pattern for the purse it self, just freehanded it. I think I did it wrong because it wasn't my intention to have a tapering body, but it still turned out nice. I added a lining inside and a zipper on top to close the purse.

As for the curly flower, I used the pattern from ellej.org. It was a little difficult to follow the pattern, but through trial and error, I was able to successfully make one. And once I got used to it, I couldn't stop making 'em. For this particular embellishment, I made a cream-colored center, with two-toned petals: maroon and a baby pink trimming.

Boxy Fox Amigurumi Keychain

I made this Boxy Fox Amigurumi to give as a gift to one of my book buddies. It was easy enough to follow, and fun to make! What I love the most about this pattern is that there is no need to sew most of the parts.

In the pattern, this was supposed to be a big toy, but I used a small thread and hook to make it the right size for a key chain. I also didn't use safety eyes and nose, as I do not have them on hand, and used a cross stitch instead to make the eyes and nose. My original plan was to switch colors where the nose and eyes should be, but it was ugly and it'd ruin everything. Plus, the wonderful ladies from the Facebook group that I belonged to suggested to just sew/embroider the eyes and nose. And the result was wonderful!

original plan with the nose

Primrose & Proper Cowl

I made this cowl as a token to my husband's Aunt in the US. I got the pattern on Ravelry (link to pattern) for free. It was really easy to make, it took me at most an hour to make this. I followed the length on the pattern, but soon found out that it was a tad bit smaller than I wanted, so I changed the position of the buttons. I will definitely make this again, probably in a different color and make it bigger.

Useful tip for the pattern: the pattern did not indicate the weight/thickness of the yarn used. So work the length of the base chain according to your preferences.

Rose Pencil Topper

I made this rose pencil topper months ago. The rose that I used here was rolled and sewn. Although it's prettier and fuller, I cannot recreate it anymore. And if memory serves me right, I had a hard time sewing the tube, or the cylindrical body of the topper, to the rose itself. 

So I searched for a no-sew rose pattern. This is the best that I've seen so far: No-sew Ruffle Rose Pattern

It's easier to sew on the body, and I think I can even do these toppers without sewing or doing the two pieces separately. I'll try to do that next time.

How to make the topper:

1. Make the rose using the pattern above.
2. Make the body/tube/whatever that part is called. Pattern below.
3. Sew together.

Pencil Topper Body or Tube:

Chain 10. Slip stitch to first chain. You will work in rounds.

Rows 1-10: Chain 1. Single crochet on each stitch. Sl st to first stitch.

You can change the base chain and the height of the body by increasing or decreasing the rows.

Coffee Sleeve with an Enormous Heart Pocket

Continuing my obsession with coffee sleeves, I found this pattern on Ravelry (link: Open Heart Pocket Hot or Cold Drink Sleeve) and tested it out.

Materials:

1. Yarn, two colors - I used acrylic yarns, with the red yarn thicker than the cream one
2. Hook - I used a 5 and a 5.5mm hook
3. Tapestry needle

Tips:

• Use a smaller hook and yarn for the heart pocket, unless you want the pocket to be big.
• The pocket I made has a tendency to spill its contents, so be careful when sewing on the heart applique.
• Be creative, try other appliques as a pocket.

I won't go into the specifics of the pattern since I didn't deviate from it while I was working on my sleeve. Follow the link at the top of the post for the pattern.

Wired Little Owl Bookmark

I made these beauties (and more!) for my sister. These bookmarks are the same as this one here, but with a thin wire on the branch and using a smaller hook. (Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-owl-bookmark)


So here's how I worked with the wire:

1. Curl the end of the wire, but don't close it yet. Leave a gap so you can insert it in one of the stitches.
2. Work on your base chain (45 ch). Insert the wire on the second chain from the hook - the chain where you'll do the first single crochet (in the pattern it says dc - UK terms - but I'll be referring to the stitches in US terms). Don't close the loop yet.
3. Line the wire along the length of the base chain. The wire should be on top of the yarn. Do a couple of single crochets, working over the wire and the chain. When it's long enough (about 4 or 5 sc), close the loop on the wire, making sure that it's still hooked on the chain.

Aside from adding a wire, I also worked the leaf on the branch, instead of stitching the leaves on the branch.

Make the first half of the leaf as instructed: ch 6, ss on 2nd ch from hook, sc, htr, dc. On the last stitch, you're supposed to make 4 dc's. Do the first dc. On the second and third dc, before doing the last yarn over, insert the hook (which has 2 loops) on the stitch where you want to place the leaf. Yarn over and pull through all the loops. Continue working on the second half of the leaf.

Don't get frustrated if the wire cuts through the yarn or if it's taking more time to work on a piece. I had several do-overs because of this. Just be patient and you'll soon get the hang of it.