Sure a hoop earring with dangling beads or charms in the middle are cool, but what if you want something a little more? The hoops usually don’t come with a way to open them, so stringing beads is out. However, you can crochet around the hoops and make your handmade earrings even more unique. These earrings can be made with hoops of different shapes and sizes–they’ll just have a different look.

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So you’ve already set up your first row of crochet entrelac blocks. What’s next? Well that’s the easy part. It’s just like working in the chain in the first row except now you have stitches and the sides of stitches to work in.

If you haven’t completed your first row yet, check out the How to Crochet: Entrelac (part 1) tutorial or the How to Crochet: As-You-Go Entrelac tutorial.
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Have you tried our other entrelac tutorials yet? If you have, you’ll find this one a breeze to follow, but even if you haven’t, you should be able to follow along. This method for starting entrelac is a lot like the Tunisian entrelac method, but unlike Tunisian entrelac, this method only works for blocks that have an off number of rows.
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Entrelac is a fun technique to use to create all kinds of projects. While toying around with the technique in my head and on my hook, I found an easy way to start off an entrelac project that eliminates one of my least favorite parts–the long chain. If you’ve been wanting to do a big project like a blanket but dread starting it, this technique will help make things much easier and more palatable.
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Felting is one method you can use to give your crochet projects a whole new look. One benefit of it? Once it’s good and felted, you don’t have to worry about it shrinking and getting ruined in the wash. Give felting a try by making this easy felted decorative bowl. Remember that to make a project felt, you have to use the right yarn. Break out your natural animal fibers for this one.

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Who loves fiber festivals? I do! And if you haven’t been to one yet, I wholeheartedly recommend looking up ones near you and going. This year, I was fortunate to be able to make it down to Maryland for the annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and between festival itself and time I got to spend with friends, I had a ball! As with any event, it’s more fun when you keep some things in mind.

Aren’t these little guys cute? Look at those spots!

Felting is something that I wasn’t originally interested in, but over time, the idea has grown on me. For my first pattern, I wanted to start with something small. An accent is a great first felted project because even if you don’t felt it enough or you felt it a little too much, the difference in size won’t be disastrous. Try adding a cluster of felted flowers to a finished hat or scarf or wearing one as a brooch to finish off an outfit.

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A nice cotton thread bracelet works as a great accent for a casual summer outfit. With the right thread and beads, you can have a combination that goes with your favorite outfit or mix summery neutrals to work with any outfit you come up with. Make sure to take a look at the adding multiple beads to a crochet stitch tutorial if you aren’t familiar with the concept.

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I have a nice steel thermos with a sleeve that had a small carrying strap. That sleeve seemed like it would be useful until the first time I used it, and my thermos full of tea slipped out of the sleeve and clattered to the ground. Since then, I’ve been meaning to make a cozy with a bottom for it. This cozy is easy and quick to make and will make carrying your drinks (or soup) easy as pie.

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It can be hard to find a project for variegated yarns with short color repeats, so sometimes it’s best to think small and simple. A square scrubbie with a checkerboard pattern fits the bill quite nicely. This pattern requires some knowledge of Tunisian crochet. Be sure to use the chart linked below to brush up on abbreviations if you need it.

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