How to Crochet Floral Jewelry

My flower garden is a great joy and one of the major sources of inspiration for my fiber art jewelry as well as my knitted and crocheted accessories. Each of my pieces begins with an image. In the case of this necklace, the image was of the humble morning glory. I'd like to invite you to share in my design process for making this piece.

Once the image is determined, I gather my materials: *crochet hooks *threads in cotton, bamboo and silk *beads and other findings. I then experiment with shapes. I'm not seeking to duplicate nature, but to interpret it in order to design versatile wearable art. The Morning Glory may be worn as a long lariat, a doubled and twisted choker, and even as a dainty looking headband. This is made with fine threads, but it's crocheted so tightly that it's very durable and even hand washable to last for many years.

Many people view morning glories as weeds because they're so invasive. I go after them in my garden too, but they're so lovely that I wanted to preserve them in this necklace. You can find my Morning Glory Lariat / Choker / Headband in my Etsy shop. To see all of my current Fiber Art Jewelry please click here.  I'd be glad to speak with you about any questions you may have about this work. Just comment below to begin the discussion.

Lily of the Valley Necklace & Flowers - Harbingers of Spring

When my Lily of the Valley first bloomed I made this necklace to celebrate the arrival of High Spring.

Here's the necklace on a mannequin to give you an idea of the dimensions.

The necklace is large and makes a big visual statement, but because I crocheted it with fine threads, it's actually very lightweight. I'm fond of using French embroidery floss for my fiber art jewelry because it has a beautiful sheen and comes in an almost limitless number of colors.

Today I was delighted to see that the flowers are still blooming. This is unusual for Lily of the Valley which generally only lasts a short time in the garden. I'm assuming that the cold weather has lengthened their lifespan.

This picture shows them just after a rainstorm last week. I like the sparkly water on the sturdy leaves of these very delicate looking flowers.

These are the flowers I picked this morning. Not only do they look like little ivory bells, but they also smell so intensely sweet that the whole room is deliciously scented.

I'll leave you today with a close-up of the necklace showing my interpretation in crocheted thread of these lovely flowers.

To make this necklace I crocheted a band in a braided stitch with a vintage button fastener. Then I applied the flowers and stems to a leaf I crocheted, and sculpted the leaf around the flowers. Finally, I sewed the leaf and flowers to the necklace band. This is a very labor intensive, but also very satisfying process. My necklaces are strictly one-of-a-kind. You can find out more about this one by clicking on my Etsy shop.