OK, they won’t keep the bad guys out, but they’ll give you a heads-up if they try to come in, and sometimes that can make quite a difference.
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Specialty feathers, faux butterflies and silk-flower leaves Rhinestones, beads and sequins Hot-glue gun |
This week’s Craft Corner – we call it “burglar bells” – was a last-minute save.
We had planned another project and were down to the last step when it all went bad (that happens sometimes when crafting), so we fell back on a craft from our younger days.
Crocheting yarn spirals is relaxing, quick and the finished product can be used in a variety of ways.
In this week’s column, we’ll give you the basics for making spirals and share our idea for creating decorative burglar bells to hang on doors and windows throughout the house.
While people have been attaching bells to doors and windows for years to warn of (or scare off) intruders, we haven’t seen any spruced up with our crocheted yarn spirals.
It took us a few hours to remember the exact procedure for making the spirals, but once it came back to us, we were ready to roll.
To crochet a yarn spiral, you’ll need yarn, a crochet hook and a basic knowledge of crochet stitches, specifically the chain and double crochet.
Rather than trying to illustrate or describe how to do the actual stitches here, we refer you to either a local craft or fabric store (staff should be able to demonstrate the basic stitches), or to online instructions, most of which are easy to follow. We have, however, included a photo of a crocheted chain and the beginning of a spiral.
The first step in making your spiral is choosing the yarn. As you can see from our samples, you can use a variety of different yarns to achieve the result you desire.
From left to right, we used three strands of nubby yarn in black, white and brown; two strands of red-based/multicolored boucle yarn; two strands soft-colored nubby/fluffy yarn; and two strands of sparkly gold fun-fur yarn. All of these yarns will cost you between $3.99 and $6.99 per skein; and one skein of each will suffice.
We used double and triple strands of yarn to give the spiral more of a presence: the thinner the yarn, the thinner the spiral.
The next step is choosing the proper size crochet hook. Keep in mind that the thinner the yarn used, the smaller the crochet hook that’s needed. The smaller crochet hook gives a tighter stitch, which makes the spiral curl better.
For our samples, we used large, plastic crochet hooks by Susan Bates (available in packages of four; see photo illustration) for all but the gold spiral. We used a regular aluminum hook, Size K, also by Susan Bates, for the gold spiral.
The choice of crochet hooks is a personal thing, depending on the style that fits you best. Our best fit is the Susan Bates line, but there’s nothing at all wrong with the Boye brand. The only difference is that the hook is slightly more pronounced on the Boye hooks, and we find that it hangs us up more often than the Susan Bates hooks.
When your yarn and hook are selected, begin by making a chain of between 27 and 42 stitches, depending on how long you want the spiral to be.
When you reach the end of the chain, turn and double crochet twice in the fourth stitch from the end, then double crochet three times in each chain stitch back to the beginning of the chain.
Your spiral should form naturally as you proceed with the three double crochets per chain stitch, but if it looks like the spiral is too loose, start over using a smaller crochet hook.
Upon reaching the end of the chain, finish off by cutting the yarn about 6 inches out and pulling it through the final double crochet, running it through several stitches to the starting piece of yarn and tying off with a double knot.
To make a hanger, make a loop of yarn large enough to fit over a doorknob and run it through the tied-off end of the spiral.
To add your bell, cut a generous length of yarn and double it, then run it through a stitch at the opposite end of the spiral, then run the ends through the loop in the bell and secure by tying off. Cut the remaining ends of yarn off leaving a bit of length to make a tassel.
Hang your burglar bell on a door or window and sleep just a bit easier knowing that you’ll have advanced warning should an intruder attempt to enter.
Your assignment – should you decide to accept it – is to master the art of crocheting spirals.
Your reward for accepting the assignment? In next week’s Craft Corner column, we’ll show you how to use your new-found skill to make a variety of yarn-spiral projects.
Contact Jonetta Rose Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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