Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Recycled Rose Necklace

I am learning to love big statement piece jewelry.  I have fruit-punch colored hair, people are going to look at me anyways.  I have not always adored such large pieces of creativity, in my blonde/black/brown haired days, I liked simple and plain necklaces.

In fact, this is the toothbrush holder below the medicine cabinet in our bathroom.  I use it to hold Mims and my costume jewelry (the good stuff is squirreled away in hidey-holes).  We've got quite a collection of inexpensive necklaces.  Some of them get worn all the time (like the fimo octopus necklace! Love!) but sadly, most of them don't get worn very often.  Everything bright and fun and silly in the picture belongs to Mims... Humph... 


I decided to take a necklace that didn't get much use and turn it into a (bright, fun, silly) necklace that I would wear all the time.
It seemed like a good idea at the time... Let's recycle it into something fabulous!
If you like jewelry that makes people look twice, this giant rose statement necklace will be right up your alley!

Recycled Rose Necklace
Supplies:
Necklace that you don't want to wear anymore (16-20" long)
Small amount of worsted weight yarn in rose colors (I had a bunch of worsted weight cotton, so I used light orange, dark pink, yellow and medium pink)
Small amount of worsted weight yarn in leaf colors (I used lime green and sage green cotton yarn)
Size G crochet hook
Scissors
Yarn needle

Rose Base:
(make 6 - you need 2 pieces for each rose)
Use the darker of your rose colors (or, if you choose to make all of your roses a single color, just use that color! LOL!!) I made 4 orange bases for my 2 yellow roses, and 2 dark pink bases for my 1 pink rose.
R1: make 8 hdc in a magic loop, pull loop tight and sl st to first hdc to close round (8 st)
R2: ch 1, 2 hdc in each st around, sl st to first hdc to close round (16 st)
Fasten off, leaving an 8" long tail for sewing.  Weave in the center end.


Starting with the base for the center rose, sew the rose bases together, sandwiching the necklace in between the pieces. Stitch the bases together where they touch to make the piece more sturdy. It should look like the picture below (on both sides!) when you're done.  Weave in any loose ends.

Leaves:
(make 7)
ch 6
R1: dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc, hdc, (sc, dc, sc) in last ch sp, continue to the back of the chain and  hdc, 2 dc, sl st to center base of leaf.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew leaves on to roses.  Weave in other end.


Using picture below as a guide, sew 3 leaves to the outer edges of the rose base.


Rose Embellishment
(this is the same technique that I used to make the roses on my Think Pink Lapghan)



For the first petal:
Attach yarn on outer edge of rose base, ch 1, 5 dc, 1 sc

You're going to want to made a circle of petals, so move to the next spot on the edge of the rose base and go for it!

For the 2nd petal (and each additional petal):
sc, 5 dc, sc
Add more petals in the same manner, placing them so that they form a ring. Connect the last petal to the first petal with a slip stitch to finish the first "round" of petals.



Now, add a second (smaller) circle of petals in the center of the outer ring.  There will be a little hole in the center, add a petal right in the middle for the center bud of the rose.


I recommend doing an outer ring of 5 petals, a center ring of 3 petals, and 1 petal in the center.

Repeat with the other 2 roses on your necklace.


Now sew in the remaining leaves, so that it makes your floral arrangement look full and lush!


No one will ever guess that your gorgeous designer statement piece was made out of yarn scraps and a recycled necklace!  Looking fancy has never been this good for the environment! LOL!!

xoxo

For more recycling with crochet projects, see the January 2013 section of my Free Crochet Patterns page.

22 comments:

  1. First thing's first: I LOVE YOUR HAIR. End of story. (My mother would find that color unacceptable.) ;)
    The necklace is a great idea! I might do this sometime...I have a TON of necklaces I don't wear that are all tangled up in my bedroom.

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    1. Hi Kaleigh! Thanks! My mom let me dye the sides of my hair blue when I was about your age, because I promised that I wouldn't drink at parties if she let me do it. It was a good deal for both of us.
      But she would not have been cool with me dying all of it bright pink... Being a grown-up is so much better than being a kid! ;D
      It was really fun to make this necklace. I'd love to see you do your own version, maybe with some of your own designs!
      xo Jaime

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    2. I dyed my hair bright red for the first time when I was 14, my mom helped. Love the shade your hair is now. I wish I could do mine right now but I have to wait a few months till I have money.

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    3. I got blonde highlights shortly after I turned 15! I think last March was when we did it the first time. My parents just aren't fond of unnatural colors. I would do ANYTHING for some bright pink in my hair. I keep telling my mom that I'm homeschooled, so there's no teachers to get mad at me so I should be okay, ya know? ...but then she comes back with the "I'M your teacher" thing. Moms come up with GREAT comebacks, unfortunately.... ;)

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    4. I was home schooled, I think that is how I got away with it ;)

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  2. This is simply great! You just gave me another idea! Thank you so much!

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    1. Hi Eve! Thanks! It was really fun!
      xo Jaime

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    2. I was able to make 2 of this already. Can't wait to blog about it! Thanks to your innovative ideas from your very creative mind.

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    3. Hi Jaime, you might want to check this out! http://gardenchefsneedleandpen.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-crochet-dynamite.html

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  3. Ooh, I feel a new project coming on. I know lots of my girlfriends would love these...maybe birthday gifts this year.

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    1. Seriously! I do too! Rose necklaces for everyone!!
      xo!!! Jaime

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  4. Oh how adorable, and springy
    Oh Girl work that pose :D

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    1. LOL!!! I am sooo not comfortable being my own model, so I always make goofy faces because I can't take it seriously! There are so many bad eyes-half-closed-doing-a-weird-thing-with-my-mouth pictures, I'm just happy to find ONE that works! :D
      xo Jaime

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  5. rofl my do you think I stand FAR from camera rofl I know i would make goofy faces rofl

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  6. This is a wonderful way to recycle and a beautiful way to as well. I flipping love your hair, it makes me want to go back to my magenta stripe I had in cosmetology school, but you carry it off so well! :D The necklace is fabulous! <3

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  7. So adorable!!! Love the colors! Thanks so much for sharing the great tutorial! Would love to have you visit me sometime.
    Have a fabulous sunday!
    Hugs from Portugal,

    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

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  8. I seriously doubt that I would wear such a large piece around my neck, but....this is too gorgeous to ignore, and as such I will work to figure out where to use this.

    My thoughts are....that this would work extremely well on one of my large straw hats which has nothing in the way of accent and is needing a bold hat band that will not be diminished by the size of the hat itself. THIS Rose Necklace...is purrrr-fect!!

    THANK YOU. *S*

    Lisa

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  9. When my middle son was 15 he wanted to dye his hair green. I agreed on two conditions: 1) I'd buy the dye to ensure it was safe and would wash out over time and 2) if his grandparents came to visit he'd disappear cuz it definitely would cause problems & lectures of what a bad parent I was. He readily agreed. Just about the time the dye had washed out my wonderful sister-in-law (and his beloved aunt) passed away from cancer. Days before he asked if he could dye his hair again, and because we knew her passing was imminent I asked him to wait until after the funeral. Again, he agreed, and while I was serious about getting him more dye, he never asked again. His friends thought I was the coolest of moms and their moms thought I'd lost my mind..lol.

    Btw, I love your necklace. Thanks so much for sharing the pattern with us. :)

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  10. HI....i just started crocheting in may..and im in loooove with it....i cant get enough....i came across your blog and i love it...such great idea...but what really got me is the tardis purse...i love dr.who...i just got my weeping angel crochet hook specially made from a good friend...love the necklace...but can you please o please tell me your hair color!!!!!! im searching for that color....thank you...i also have a blog to...not much to it yet just my ramblings...

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    1. Hi Danielle!!
      My hair in that picture is Flamingo Pink by Manic Panic, but I colored it over the top of very faded Vampire Red (also Manic Panic, LOVE that stuff!).
      I love Dr. Who too!!
      xo Jaime

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