Candied Color Charms: Beaded Lotus Chips

Crochet your own reference set of colors in your yarn stash, and how they pair with beads from your bead stash.

This set of wee patterns includes three ways to crochet with beads and five new “color chip” shapes. I designed them to be a wearable, visual catalog of how beads from my bead stash combine with my Lotus yarn colors. Although I had DesigningVashti.com Lotus yarn samples in mind, many other yarns and color combinations can be used.

It’s a “booster pack” for the non-beaded Lotus Chips Color Charms. They can all be used like paint color chips for inspiration and planning new crochet projects.

The yarn samples that correspond to this booster pack are long enough (45″ or 1.25 yards) to yield a set of twenty chips (one shape of every current Lotus yarn color).

Skill Level

Projects Range from Easy to Advanced Intermediate. I’ve kept pattern abbreviations to a minimum and include International English equivalents for American terms.

?After using this pattern, you will know (if you didn’t already):

• How to use a crochet hook to add beads to stitches while crocheting without string them onto the yarn first.
• How to add pre-strung beads to crochet stitches two different ways, including “super-hoisting”.
• How to crochet a jewelry cord variation of a love knot.
• How to add beads two different ways in one love knot stitch.
• How the color of a bead can change the look of a yarn color, and vice versa.
• How to slip a loop for a smooth join that uses less yarn than a slip stitch does.
• How to identify the bump loop of a chain stitch.
• How to crochet a lean picot that uses very little yarn to add definition to corners. See issue #56 of Crochet Inspirations Newsletter for more.

Finished Dimensions

Wreathlets: ¾” {1.9 cm} wide; 1¼” {3.17 cm} from hanging loop. The fancy stitch texture of this shape creates a decorative front. It’s a good example of a reason to use a perpendicular hanging loop, so that the charm is strung from side to side onto its mounting cord and always faces the front.

Tricorns: ⅞” {2.2 cm} wide. This simple three-cornered round can be quickly beaded if the bead holes are large enough. The beads accent each corner equally when viewed from every angle, because no stitch loops cover them.

Candied Pony Beads: ¾” {1.9 cm} diameter and ⅜” {0.9 cm} thick. These beaded crochet beads are pure slip stitch crochet. (If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s a great way to get hooked on crocheting classic beaded tube jewelry.) The weight of this beaded bead feels luxurious. The way the colors interact with each new yarn and bead combination is fascinating.

Flounces, unbeaded: 1¼” {3.17 cm} at widest edge; 1⅛” {2.85 cm} from hanging loop.

Flounces, beaded: 1¾” {4.45 cm} at widest edge; 1¼” {3.17 cm} from hanging loop. Like the Color Poptabs in the original Lotus Chips kit, Flounces feature a “fat-free picot” for a nice corner edge.

Lovebud Vines: ⅝” {1.6 cm} wide; 4⅛” {10.47 cm} from hanging loop. My goal when creating this one was to catalog how the different bead colors in my stash look with the same yarn color.

ChipDrop: approx. 3″ {7.6 cm} long. Use this with any chain, such as the Necklace or Bracelet Chipchain from the original set. Requires less than 1 yd {91.44 cm} of black yarn.

Materials

Crochet Hook: For most of the candied chips in this booster pack, size US C/2 {2.75 mm} was used. Size US D/3 {3.25 mm} was used for the Flounces and the ChipDrop. Gauge is not important for this project, so choose a hook size that is comfortable for you. Tighter stitches are generally better than loose stitches for these projects. For steel crochet hook sizes needed, see Beads below.

Yarn: DesigningVashti.com Lotus (52% Cotton, 48% Rayon; 256 yds {235 m} per 3.5 oz {100 g} ball), about 36” {91.44 cm} per color chip, plus about 3 yd. {2.74 m} of Black Gleam for mounting. A complete set of chips is 20 colors (19 chips strung onto a 20th color, black). Request a sample set of Lotus colors in the comment box when you check out.

Substituting a yarn: To achieve the same finished dimensions stated above, choose a #2 Fine Weight yarn with a recommended crochet hook size range of US E/4 {3.5 mm} to US G/6 {4.0 mm}. These yarns may also be referred to as Sport or Heavy Sock {Light DK, 5-Ply}.

Small spray bottle filled with water for light blocking.

Beads: All of the beads shown except those in the Tricorns are size 6/0 seed beads (a.k.a. size 6º, E-beads, and large seed beads). The holes are large enough to be strung onto the yarn with a beading needle, or with a steel crochet hook for the “hoisting” method.

About size 1/0 beads (a.k.a. 1º or pebble): The beads in the Tricorns are even larger seed beads than size 6/0. The holes are larger to accommodate three strands of yarn and a steel crochet hook. Choose a steel crochet hook size that is small enough to fit in the bead holes, but large enough that it doesn’t fray the yarn as you pull it through a bead. If you lack a beading needle or a small enough steel hook, you can make your own with fine wire; I blogged about this.

Beading supplies needed for each project:

1. Tricorns, if beaded: Bead stringing needle; a small enough steel crochet hook to fit through the bead holes and pull a strand of chain stitches through them; 3 large-holed beads (see Beads above).
2. Flounces, if beaded: Small enough steel crochet hook to fit through the bead holes and pull a loop of yarn through them; 8 beads.
3. Candied Pony Beads: Bead stringing needle and 24 beads.
4. Lovebud Vines: Bead stringing needle; a small enough steel crochet hook to fit through the bead holes and pull a loop of yarn through them; 32 beads, 8 each of four colors.