Saturday, May 12, 2012

Glamorous Crocheting

Hello Dynamos!
When Mims was about 4 months old, I tripped on my neighbor's front porch step and broke my left pinky.  I am left handed, so it was extra tough.  It won't surprise you that Mims did not seem to take it easy on me because I had a broken finger.  Four-month-olds are selfish like that...

Ahahahahahahahaha!!!

Okay, so my finger was broken at the knuckle, and it still (five years later) doesn't close into a fist all the way.  And it hurts when it rains, but that is not the point I am making.  Where I was going with this story is that I need  to crochet with those ergonomic big-handled crochet hooks or my pinky aches for the rest of the day.  Alas, the big-handled crochet hooks are four times the price of the skinny aluminum ones, and I have a set of the skinny aluminum ones, so OBVIOUSLY I needed to make my own handles.

Yippee! I could make anything I wanted. And I wanted glitter!  I saw a video awhile back that The Crafty Chica did on glittering a floor.  That was what I wanted my crochet hook handles to look like!  Fabulously, glamorously, Zsa Zsa Gabor-worthy glittered!

When I got to the craft store to pick up some polymer clay, I found that the Premo line of polymer clays had glitter colors!  Hooray! My job was half done! I picked up a package of red and blue glitter clay and went on my merry way.

I made my hook handles (1/2 oz is about right for a handle, 30 min at 275 degrees!), and they were glittery and beautiful, in a subtle subdued sparkle sort of way.  A coat of resin helped bring the sparkle out, but it wasn't the fabulous over-the-top blinding-myself-when-I-crochet effect I was looking for.

So, I got out a hook that I had made a handle for in a flat turquoise color, and I got out my micro-glitter.  I gave the handle a thin coat of uv curing resin, and then glittered the heck out of it.  When it had cured, I went for round two, making sure to cover all the spots that weren't sparkly enough!  When the 2nd layer had cured, I gave it a thicker top coating of resin to seal all the glitter inside, so it wouldn't get on me and my projects.  Glitter hook, super awesome. Glitter on my face, not so much.

All in all, this project was super fast and so much fun I would highly recommend you glitter yourself some fabulous hooks.  And my pinky doesn't hurt!

Oh yeah, one last thing, I couldn't help myself.  I crocheted a cover for a green handle with my favorite Aunt Lydia's Size 3 Crochet Cotton.  So soft and squishy, and I like that the green shows through!

xoxo

7 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Olivia! I've been using the hook for a couple of days now, and it's awesome. It isn't scratchy, and more importantly, the glitter hasn't come off on anything. Yippee!!
      Jaime

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  2. Do you put the hook right in the oven???

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jessie! Yep, I did. It's not a problem with aluminum hooks. I wouldn't do this with a plastic hook, or a wooden one though. Good question!
      xo Jaime

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  3. So how did you do the crochet cover?

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    1. Hi theborn2live! It's just a tube of single crochet. Really simple! I didn't do a pattern for it, since it really depends on the diameter of the polymer clay handle.
      Hope this helps!
      xo Jaime

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  4. once it is baked does the clay secure to the hook, awesome job

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