Freya, the Steampunk Necklace &TGIF...

And ..... RELAX!  It's nearly the  beginning of the weekend (depending on when your day ends of course, and if you don't have to work over it!)

I thought I'd pop up a tutorial for the weekend, this time taking my inspiration from the naming of  'Friday' which appears to have many origins including several Goddesses of Love:  Venus (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek) or Freya (Norse) 

I have chosen Freya as my inspiration. As well as 'Love' she was also a goddess of Fertility, Divination and one of the Valkyries  (great wiki explanation of them here).  Freya was also known for her magical necklace, the 'Brisingamen' which was forged by dwarves.


So, with all that spirited-warrior-women-flying-around thing and love going on I think I found the perfect focal Steampunk style charm in my stash for a necklace for Freya  which I've also strung on layered chains.  Here's the step-by-steps...


You will need..... your jewellery pliers, a focal charm, two different sizes of chain, large jump rings and a toggle clasp. I've used gunmetal/antique silver tones.

Start with 2 x lengths of the smaller link chain that each measure approx. 37cm

Take the first piece of chain an loop both end links onto a jump ring...

Then lie the chain down so you can find the middle link...

Slip the middle link onto the same jump ring (it doesn't really matter if the chain twists when you do this).

Now add the focal charm to the same jump ring and close it.

Repeat on the other side with the second piece of chain.

Use a jump ring to connect the small linked chain bundle to a piece of the larger link chain.

Repeat on the other side of the focal charm...

Measure the chain per your preferred neck length and use jump rings to attach the toggle clasp pieces

Here's the finished piece - fit for a warrior love goddess!

It also has a bit of  'Biker Chic' to me too - just imaging it teamed with a denim jacket & boots....


Have a great weekend!


All text & pictures (c) Addicted to Making 2014

Doodles & How to crochet a Granny Square.....

Crafting in the sunshine.. it doesn't get much better than that does it?! 

Last week it was tempting to spend every day outside but I had a website to build and a stack of other paperwork-y stuff to do so all the creative moments were a bit snatched or guilty because I knew I should be inside.

However, by Friday night the paperwork was done and the website launched which meant I did get to soak up a few rays & chill in the garden over the weekend  - total bliss - and play with a new blog project idea bubbling round in my head which was largely triggered by two things:

The first bit was inspired by accidentally hitting the I'm feeling lucky button on my browser when I was web building last week which took me to all the 'Google Doodles' (try it but be warned you can loose time real fast!) - it got me thinking about the colours of the word Google....

The second bit was having had a couple of friends bemoan the fact that they would love to crochet granny squares but couldn't quite get the hang of it....

Now you probably already know how much I ❤️ Granny Squares (any excuse will do!) so I just put the two thoughts together and came up with the idea of a Google inspired Granny Square tutorial!

So, if you are having trouble with your naughty Grannies I hope this will help you sort them out..(I've even added proper 'Step' number headings so you can keep track of where you are if you have to break in the middle of making one!)

Here goes....

Step 1
Gather your hook, scissors & Google colour yarns..

Step 2 (Round One)
Begin by attaching your blue wool to your crochet hook...

Step 3
Make 5 chain...

Step 4
Make a circle by joining the last chain back to the first chain with a slip stitch..

Step 5
Now make 3 new chain stitches - these will act as the first treble stitch...

Step 6
Now make 2 (real) treble stitches into the circle and then make 2 chain stitches....

Step 7
Now make a new 'cluster' of 3 treble stitches into the circle...

Step 8
Make 2 chain stitches and follow that with another 'cluster' of 3 x treble stitches...

Step 9
Make a further 2 chain stitches and follow that with another 'cluster' of 3 x treble stitches and 2 more chains...

Step 10
Now slip stitch to the 2nd chain in your first 'treble' and fasten off.   

Well done - that's the first round done!

Step 11 (Round Two)
Now connect your red yarn into one of the chain spaces & make 3 chain stitches as your first treble..

Step 12
Make 2 treble into the same space to make your first red cluster, followed by 2 chain...

Step 13
Now make another cluster of 3 trebles into the same space, followed by a single chain stitch...

Step 14
Now make a new cluster of 3 trebles into the next chain space, followed by 2 chain stitches, 3 more treble stitches and a single chain stitch...

Step 15
And repeat (Step 14) into the next chain space.. 

Step 16
And repeat (Step 14) again...ending with a slip stitch to the 2nd chain in your first 'treble' and fasten off. 

                        And that's the second round done!

Step 17 (Round Three)
Now hopefully you are getting the hang of this by the time you are connecting your yellow yarn?  

The basic trick is: 
Make 1 x treble cluster in the side spaces plus 2 x treble clusters in each corner space  (I make 2 x chains between the clusters on the corners but only 1 x chain between each cluster on the sides)...

Once you have mastered that idea you can happily add as many round as you want to your squares! To make it a 'Google' themed granny you need to add another round in blue....

The another round in green...

And finally, one more round in red...

Don't forget to tidy up your granny by sewing in all the loose ends!

 Ta-dah.... 

The Google(inspired )Granny Square!

I'm actually thinking this could make a fun blanket or retro style cushion cover for a boys room (I know it's not only my son who's addicted to all things electronic!)..


Happy Making :-)




All pictures & text (c) Addicted to Making 2014

The World Cup & Funky Neon Necklaces Part II (the clasp!).....

Well, the sun is still shining and even the football players in the World Cup seem to be embracing the trend for neon (their boots were so bright in that first game I could hardly watch the game!)  I shall have to think of a World Cup inspired make - especially with Fathers Day coming up!

In the meantime here is part II of the neon necklace project that I promised to post - and a great way of making your own cord 'clasp' which you will be able to adapt to use on all sorts of other necklaces.  

We pick up where we left off at the end of the last post  - i.e. where your necklace is pretty much complete with just a simple set of 'ties' at the back.   Here goes...

The first thing you will need is some fairly sturdy craft wire - I used 1.0mm gold plated. You will also need some cutters, round nose pliers & flat nose pliers. Oh - and a pencil... it's very useful for this project!

Working from your reel of wire, wrap the end around a pencil several times to make a nice coil  - not too tightly though or you won't be able to remove it!

Slide the wire off the pencil and use your round nose pliers to turn a loop on one end...

Then use flat nose pliers to 'straighten' the loop so it sort of sits on top the coil of wire...

Now turn the coil over and do the same on the other end.  If the wire end is a little long simply trim it. 

Use flat nose pliers to sit the loops nicely on either end of the coil....

Now all you have to do is thread the cords through the coil clasp and gently give the top & bottom wires of the coil a tiny squish with your flat nose pliers - just enough so that you can still slide the clasp up & down the cords but also enough that it won't slip off them easily...

And there you have it... simple, cheap and useable for many other things too :-)

(don't forget you could plait the cords too if you wanted too....)

Happy Making!





All text & pictures (c) Addicted to Making 2014