When I was around 13 or 14 years old a jewelry craze swept through my group of friends. We sat around and crocheted what we thought were the prettiest rings. Just recently a fellow crocheter reminded me of this craze as I still have some of the jewelry in my jewelry box. I kept them at first, because I thought I might wear them again some day. 30 plus years later I keep them now as a fond rememberance. The person who reminded me of the crocheted jewelry asked if I didn't wear them because they needed to be sized. I had to chuckle to myself. I don't wear them because they are dorky not in fashion. Unfortunately, They could be worn at any size, because they were made with elastic thread.
So, just in case you want a flash back to the 70's I found a pattern on the web that looked just like the rings I use to make. Who knows I may even give it another try.
Crocheted Cocktail Rings
1. String 25 bead, sized 4mm-6mm, on metallic elastic thread. You can dab clear nail polish on the end of the thread to make it stiff. Keep a little bit of tension on the thread--not completely loose, but not stretched to capacity. There is no gauge for this ring because it's mostly trial and error. My ring was worked with a size 5 hook.
2. Chain 4, and join with slip stitch to form ring.
3. *Slip a bead down, single crochet into ring, repeat from * 4 times, for total of 5 sc. Make sure the beads are not too loose or tight. They should be flexible, but they also need to stay in place on their own.
4. Make 2 sc without beads, in each sc of the previous round (10 sc).
5. *Slip bead down, sc in each sc, repeat from * around (10 sc).
6. Sc in each sc (10 times) without beads.
7. Repeat round 5.
8. Repeat round 6.
9. Chain 20 stitches (more or less, depending on the size of your finger) and join with slip stitch to the previous round to form a ring. Turn, slip stitch into each chain stitch, fasten off, leaving a 6" tail.
10. Pull tail through the center of the 5 beads crocheted in round 3. String an extra bead onto tail, pull back through center hole, tie off securely inside bead cluster.
Oh and PS... I made crocheted necklaces too. These could probably be worn today without any snickering from your friends.
