GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: I saw one of these being made at a bead show recently, and I've been thinking about it ever since. It was made by stringing beads onto crochet thread and then crocheting a tube and only the beads showed. Does anyone out there have a pattern for this? I want to make one. I'd also need to know the size of hook and what size of beads to use.

A: That was the site I meant to send, and I sent E-mail without the link. the person that has those instructions on the bead patterns site has her own site and they are really easy to read and navigate. You do not need to have 'Acrobat' to download them and all that. This page has a link to patterns and the next page has stringing order for making some of her free tubes. There is another link to 'Beads Without End', and that one has no instructions but very nice pictures. Get the recent issue of 'Bead and Button' magazine... .mine just came in the mail and it has an entire article on how to do this. It basically assumes you can crochet though - which I still haven't figured out how to do!! Since I just learned to crochet a chain and a single crochet last summer, (I kept seeing yummy yarn I wanted to use in jewelry). I thought I'd stick my nose in and recommend the book, "I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting" put out by 'Leisure Arts' to learn the basics of crochet. I know, cheesy name...and there's NO way I'm going to do any of the just-crochet projects in the book- but it's got good instructions on the basics AND nice, clear diagrams (For those of us who are visual learners). It's really pretty simple, once you get the hang of it, too. I've seen the books in just about every store where I've seen yarn, so it's easy to find - and affordable at about $7.00. Oh yeah... and if you DO decide to learn, don't start out with the thin thread and small hook you eventually will want to use... it's MUCH easier to learn with some nice thick yarn, and a big hook. I speak from experience. I just downloaded directions at Bead-Patterns.com (I think that's the URL). They are under the free patterns and the ones that actually tell how to crochet the rope are under "Beaded Crochet Rope Instructions". You will need to have 'Acrobat Reader 4.0' installed to download these instructions. There are also instructions for the crocheted bead rope in this current issue of 'Bead and Button'. One thing that I noticed about the authors instructions is that she said that with the old time instructions the thread stretched over time but she figured out a way to "lock" each of the beads in place so you won't have to worry about that. I want to make a lariat out of bead rope. I'm still selling beads. On Amazon only right now. I don't have a lot of time to spend on it or on making much, because I'm taking care of my mom who has Alzheimer's and that's a pretty time consuming job. I have made lots of interesting pieces in my head though. I wish I could show them to you.