Keys to my Art

Who doesn't love a beautiful, warm, sunny Saturday?  I enjoy these summer days so much from the wonderfully air conditioned indoors.  While the kids were outside enjoying the beautiful day, I sat down at my art table and worked on my project some more.

I had an idea in my head: keys in wire.  Beautifully suspended together.  So I pulled out my crochet hook, my spooled wire and my keys to see what I could come up with that would bring my vision to life.  I chose two different types of wire. It is much easier to work with wire on a spool when crocheting. The higher the guage the easier the wire is to manipulate. 

 Parawire brand; Vintaj Natural Brass colored copper wire; 24ga 

Bead Smith brand; Copper; 24ga

I used a size E4/3.50mm crochet hook.  The size of the hook and the size of the wire can be altered depending on the look that you wish to achieve.  Keep in mind, though, that the thicker the guage of the wire, the more difficult it is to manipulate.

The pictures that I am using below are to illustrate only. The pieces that I made will be pictured at the bottom. Although each step is followed, for illustrative purposes, I only did a few loops versus all that I needed to create my pieces. There is a wonderful video tutorial on how to crochet a necklace with beads from Auntie's Beads on YouTube http://youtu.be/QZMh1YqX8GE .

To begin, I placed the key that I wanted to work with on the wire while the wire was still on the spool.  It is important that the items that you want to include in the crochet piece be on the wire prior to going to any next steps. 

I attached the wire to my crochet hook by simply wrapping the wire around the hook and twisting it a few times leaving a tail.  This is the first loop, so it shouldn't be tight on the hook. The loop should be able to move up and down the hook easily.

 I crocheted 12 single stiches and then turned the work.  Note that I still have not pulled my key into the work yet.  The loops can be as tight or loose as you like again depending on the look that you are trying to achieve.

Once I completed the number of loops that I wanted to include, I turned the piece and started adding a second row.  After completing a few loops, I pulled the key up so that it could be included in the piece.

Notice how the wire is going through the key hole.  This is because I already had the key on the wire before I started working.  I completed a few more rows, pulling the key to a lengthwise position, and used my crochet loops to hold it in place. When working the key into the crochet, I always kept the key on the side of my work furthest from me. 

Once I completed the last loop in my last row, I removed the hook, cut the wire, and then pulled the loop tight. Then simply work the ends in and trim them. Check to be sure that you haven't left any pointy parts poking out that may snag on clothing or irritate skin.  Once you complete the piece, you can manipulate the wire to even out the shape. 

And here are my two completed sections.  I am going to use these in the creation of the chain part of my necklace.

More to come soon.

Much Love,
Shell