How To Make Your Own Knit Chain Necklace

I saw this photo the other day and knew immediately that I had to make one of these. It's a fairly simple project for even the most basic knitter so I thought I'd share how I made this lovely necklace for myself. Of course, this pattern could easily be extended to make a scarf or even modified to make a bracelet.

I started with some brightly colored ends of yarn skeins I had in a box. I loved how the pinks and oranges looked with the grey and blue. If you don't have left over yarn, you could make this entire necklace with less than one full skein, your necklace will just be one color. Any worsted weight yarn will work for this.

Supplies needed:
Size 5 or 6 needles
Worsted weight yarn (about a skein worth)
Darning Needle

Start by Casting On 6 stitches with size 5 or 6 needles. *(Knit row 1. Purl row 2.) Repeat from * until your piece measures 7.5 inches. It will start curling in on itself and you can help it along with your fingers. Cast off. Stitch the short ends of your piece together using the darning needle. You should have a chain piece that looks likes an oval.

Stitch your second piece the same as the first only once you cast off, wrap the piece around your first chain oval and then stitch the short ends together. For the length shown make eight chain ovals, stitching them together as you go. On the eighth piece, make sure to wrap the piece around both end chain ovals and then stitch the short ends together.

The chain necklace should easily fit over your head. I think it looks best paired with a plain top since it's so bright and cheerful.

Fabric Braided Headband.

I was inspired when I saw this instructional on a blog today. The one I made using the easy to follow instructions, is a spring-y orange, pink, blue and yellow. There are so many different types of fabric and changes you could make to this basic headband. I just made the simple cotton fabric scrap one but I saw these at the mall a few weeks ago and picked up a gold "leather" one and now I'm kicking myself because it seems like by using different types of fabric I could have made the same exact thing.

Right Now.

So far 2010 looks like the year of turquoise. Everywhere I turn, bright blue trim on a house, blindingly blue truck driving past me at the bus stop. It's nice to have spots of clear blue in the sea of grey that dominates January in Portland.
I'm looking forward to February. I start a new quarter at school. We're headed to Puerto Vallarta Mexico for the boy's birthday. And I should be starting a new job which I'm currently training for.
I have been making things which I really want to share so hopefully I'll get some photos together this week. I just looked out the window and I see some sunshine I must enjoy until it's gone again for another week.

Monday Monday

We spent most of the weekend with my family and they were kind enough to bring us their old chair for our living room. It's huge, particularly for the small space we live in, but after a couple hours yesterday of rearranging and arguing and saying "I give up", I think we made it work.

Gift Time.

I've been working on some really cute gifts for the past couple weeks for birthdays and baby showers. I can't share them yet and it's killing me so you'll have to be satisfied with this cute picture of Bianca. I will just say that I recently visited Happy Knits and I really love their selection and set-up. I usually frequent Yarn Garden down the street but I can never find the right color/material combo. Happy Knits had fun, young colors and lots of different choices. I highly recommend checking it out particularly if you're looking for yarn that can be knitted with a larger needle (size 15/16) in a variety of colors.
Besides gift making, I've been tracking down some non-profits to volunteer at a few hours a week. I sent an volunteer application into Community Music Center where I would really love to volunteer so hopefully I'll hear back. I have free time this Spring before I start searching for a design internship for the summer and I think volunteering would be really satisfying.

Workspace

Now that the craziness of December is over (craft show, Christmas, visiting family) I was finally able to do some cleaning and organizing of my creative space in our second bedroom. We use this room as an office, studio (art and recording), practice space for our band and guest bedroom which means there's a lot of stuff to fit into a small space. I do my best to keep it cute and inspiring. The other day I took some photos of my favorite areas of the room.

Rain rain go away..

It's rainy here today and although I had errands to run, I wanted to share some fun stuff that brightened up my day today. I sewed a fleece cover for my kindle. Super easy project and that owl print fleece is awesome. It's Valori Wells for Free Spirit and it comes in atleast 3 different color ways. I have also been diligently working on a baby shower invite for a friend of mine. They turned out so cute. And finally, this adorable crocheted headband my step mom picked up for me in New York about a month ago. It kept my ears warm as I ran around in the rain today. I love it!