Blingy Socks

I have been working on a HUGEMUNGUS order of beaded bobby socks. I struck a deal with a neighbor. You see, I hate....no....loathe yard work. Really, I will scrub toilets all day if I don't have to mow the lawn. It just so happens she enjoys yard work and needed something special for baby shower gifts. 2 ladies in her life were expecting little girls, and after showing me a photo of some beaded bobby socks, I knew I could make them for her. She requested 2 dozen socks in return for mowing my lawn until the first freeze. Done deal!

I have been working on these socks for a couple of months now in between Etsy orders. I have fallen in love with the look of these socks, and I wanted to share with you how easy they are to create. These socks are meant for photo props only, under supervision since they are made with beads. Here it is! One of the easiest projects you will ever create!

What you'll need

*Aunt Lydia's crochet thred

*1.5mm crochet hook

*Bobby Socks (these are gerber brand)

*beads of any sort

Aunt Lydia's comes in a varity of colors that you can use to match your socks. It is small enough for the beads to slide onto easily, as well as small enough to fit through the gaps of the knit on the bobby socks.

A small hook is perfect for pulling the thread up through the gaps in the socks

Bobby socks are exactly what you need for this project. They are knit, which means the lines you can see visibly will have little gaps where you can insert your hook.

Colorful beads of any sort that will easily slide onto your thread. You can get creative too! I was given some beads to you, and I picked up a few of my own as well. Big, small, and everything in between. 

Now, lets get started! The first thing you will want to do is string the beads onto the crochet thread. You should add about 20 beads for one sock. I always add a little more.

When you unfold and stretch the sock, you will see the little gaps I have been speaking of. You will want to make sure you are not crocheting around the top hole. You want to reinforce it......

That means you will be inserting your hook in the 3-4 gap down from the hem. 

You are going to attach the thread to the back of the sock, then chain. The number of chains is up to you. The more you have, the longer the bead will lay on the sock. In this instance, In this case, I used 6 and 3 chains.

Next, you are going to pull the first bead towards your chains. I like to measure the loop I will create by pinching the 6th chain with the top of my thumb, and holding the bead about mid thumb to make a loop. You are going to slip stitch into the 6th chain to make the loop that the bead will lay in, then chain 6 more.

Here is the loop

Then, you are going ot stretch the sock enough for you to see the gaps, and you are going to slip stitch into the fourth gap from your previous join. Next, chain 3, and repeat the loop, chain 3, and slip stitch again into the fourth gap. This will create a verigation in the beads. You will repeat this all the way around the hem of the sock, and tie off when you are done. 

Here is the finished prodct. See! It is really freaking simple! All you have to do is chain, slip, and create that loop. 

Here are some examples of some of the other socks I have made. Once you figure out how to make them, you can do all sorts of fun things! I have experiemented with fun fur, as well as crocheting through the beads rather than stringing them onto the thread first.

Fun fur turned out to look like Tinker Bell

These are triangle shaped beads that I crocheted around rather then stringing onto the socks I was able to get this wavey shape by crocheting in every gap rather than skipping 3.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial! If you have any questions, please let me know. These make fantastic baby shower gifts! 

Charisma Yarn and Azel Pullover Pattern Review

About a year ago, I was given some Charisma yarn as a gift. It was soft and gorgeous and I had no idea what I was going to do with it. There it sat, waiting for the perfect idea to inspire. There it continued to sit while mermaid tails took over my life. Then, I was asked if I could make something for a silent auction, and suddenly, new life was found within these threads!

The silent auction is for my friend Jamie's dad. He has Multiple Myeloma and has had a very long road, and continues to face challenges ahead. You can read a bit more about Jon and the Mulitple Myeloma here.

I had purchased the Azel Pullover from The Velvet Acorn on Etsy a few months ago after a friend asked if it was something I could make. I decided to put it in my stash of patterns, and I am so glad I did! I had about a week to make something for the auction and I was looking for something both sweet, versitile, and would work up quickly.

Let me just say that between this pattern and that yarn, I had found the perfect match! The Charisma yarn is so soft and warm, and my favorite part....it doesn't split when you are working with it. I have worked with soft yarns that are so fuzzy and nice, but when you insert the hook, it's hard to tell where you inserted it, and the yarn tends to split. Charisma, on the other hand, stays together very well!

I had just enough to make a child's sized 5/6. I was able to work it up in a few hours. The pattern was incerdibly simple to follow, I found some fun buttons to add to it, and suddenly, I had an adorable poncho style pullover that will make some little girl happy and warm this winter. If you have a chance to work with Charisma yarn or to use a pattern from The Velvet Acorn, you really should!!

Crochet Pattern Review: Knee High Socks

Months ago, a friend of mine tagged me in a photo of knee high slipper socks on facebook, asking me if I was able to make them. The problem was, her photo was of a knit pair of socks, and I just never was able to pick up on that particular craft. After catching up on mermaid tails, I decided to set out to find a crochet pattern for these adorable socks!

They kind of remind me of Punky Brewster! Something about all the colors make me smile. These are the pair I made from the pattern, and they are now available in my shop . 

The pattern comes from the creative mind of a gal named Clarissa at AspenCustomCrochet on Etsy. The pattern is listed for $3.50, and worth every penny! It is listed as "intermediate", and I think this is a very accurate description. I would not attempt this as a beginner. What you need to know for this pattern:

Single Crochet (sc)

Half Double Crochet (HDC)

Double Crochet (DC)

Front Post Double Crochet (FPDC)

Front Post Triple Crochet (FPTC)

Magic Circle (MC)

Slip Stitch (SL ST)

The description when you purchase also mentions that you will need to know how to increase and decrease which you use when creating the toe and the heel. Knowing how to chaneg colors on each round will also be helpful. You will also want to have a good needle for sewing in the ends, as there will be a lot! 

Another reason why the intermediate rating is accurate, is becuase you may have to do some of your own tweaking to make these fit you around the calf. There are a few rows of SC just above the ankle that work to keep the sock from slipping off, however, that same stitch up around the calf muscle didn't work for me. It was too tight. Instead, I decided to continue with DC, and then towards the top where the rows of blue are I decided to do a HDC and crochet behind the stitch to give it a knit look. This allowed for a bit more flexability around the calf, yet still snug enough to not fall down.

The other fantastic part about this pattern is that it comes with 3 different sizes, and you can adjust the colors ot fit any style you want! It is also versitile enough that if you need to make the sock wider, you can easily add a few more stitches. You can add your own flare using a ribbon through the top, a larger flower, or buttons. There are endless possibilities here.

All this said, go check out AspenCustomCrochet!! These will make some great gifts for any gal in your life!

Happy Hooking Y'all!