March is National Crochet Month, so here at theyarnfix, we’re kicking things off right with this fundamentals piece. What better way to start of a big month of fiber crafting then at the basics? Chaining is the starting point for Crochet and then you move to SCs, HDCs, DC, and TCs (click here for your crochet stitch helper guide), which can get very confusing and hard really fast. While re-learning crochet, I went back to fundamentals and started looking at pictures with simple chaining as the basis for patterns. You can actually make a lot of chic jewelry simply by using chaining. Below are some pictures of my chain necklaces (Shameless plug, also available for purchase in my Etsy store!):
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- Six chain necklace made 130, twisted and anchored by three straps to keep its shape.
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- Four chain necklace made 100-140 with a matching flower set.
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- Three crochet chains made 120-130 with a contrast color flower set.
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- Two 130 chained necklaces, then made a second row of sl st for each to make strands thicker.
This is really something any seasoned or un-seasoned crocheter can do and actually use. If you want to try making your own fiber accessories, here are some tips:
1) Have fun. Let your imagination run wild. It might “just” be changing, but as you can see, I tried my hand at multiple looks with this simple technique.
2) You can chain multiple necklaces separately and sew the ends together; or you can SC or sl st a couple of stitches at each end to keep them whole. But you can always just wear multiple chain necklaces at once and have fun color pairing.
3) If you want a smaller, tighter necklace use 100 stitches as your base number. If you want one that falls a little lower on your breast bone use 120 stitches, and for one even lower use 140-160. To make a multiples necklace with two or more chains, increase the next necklace by five to seven stitches. This means 120 for the first one, 125 for the second, etc., that way you get a little bit of gap between them.
4) Add embellishments. Whether it’s a flower, buttons or an anchor strap, test out some looks to make your neck piece a little more snazzy.
It only takes me about one to three hours to make a necklace, depending on my design. A three-tiered number, sans embellishment takes me about an hour. Accents take a little more time, maybe 20 minutes to an hour. So, if you’ve made all the hats and scarves you could give a person, try thinking of creating one of these beauties that can be worn in any season. Now’s the time to refine technique, make it unique and create your own patterns. So, the next time you make a crack at how you can “only” make really long chains there’s actually something cute you can do with them!
If you have any questions about how I made specific necklaces shown above leave a comment and I will be glad to impart some of my design secrets.
Back to my creativity zone,
-Stacy C.
theyarnfix 
Great ideas, thanks!
Glad it could help!