Crochet Beaded I – Cord Chain Garland

For many of us, the thought of chain garland conjures up memories of the elementary school crafting “right of passage” comprised of endless strips of construction paper and globs of thick school glue.   Now, we can “adult” our childhood crafting classic into a versatile and durable decoration that doesn’t leave us with sticky glued fingers.

This “pat – torial “(combined pattern and tutorial) will take you through the creation of and the beading of crochet I – cord to create any size and style chain of your choosing. 

SUPPLIES

4 Ply worsted weight yarn in any combination of your choosing.

2 same size crochet hooks (5mm or “H” hook was used to create the cording pictured)  **Note that you will want 2 straight shank (thumb rest is okay) hooks as you will be using them much like knitters use dpns (double pointed needles) when they create I – Cord.**

Beads of your choosing (6 and 8mm were used in the cording pictured)

Small piece of wire (thin or 24 gauge) or dental floss, or threaded needle to place the beads on the yarn.  **Note that this is a bead as you go project**

Other supplies include scissors, ruler or tape measure and large eye tapestry needle to whip stitch ends together.

STITCHES USED

Ch – chain

Whip stitch

Slip Stitch

Working yarn is the yarn attached to the ball / skein

 Pattern

Some I – Cords will use an odd number of stitches to encourage the roll that occurs with the stitching. In this pattern, we will be working with 5 stitches.  DO NOT turn the work.

Ch 5,

Step 1, Draw up a loop in each chain until you have 5 loops on your hook

Step 2, Now slide these 5 loops over the thumb rest and to the “non – hook” side of the hook

Step 3, Insert your 2^nd hook into the 1^st loop on the 1^st hook, *Transfer the loop to the 2^nd hook and work a chain stitch* Repeat from * to * until all 5 loops are transferred to the 2^nd hook

Steps 2 and 3 equal a row of I-Cord. Repeat these steps until you have approximately 7 inches of I – Cord (there are 27 rows for the example) 

 

The rows will begin to curve to create the cord as you work.  You do not have to use the 2^nd hook as some people will place the “live loops” on a cable needle, waste yarn or just hold them in the non hook hand and work the chains.  All processes lead to the same results.

When you get to the desired length, bind off by inserting hook into first stitch, y.o with working yarn and slip stitch through the first stitch, Insert hook into the 2^nd stitch and slip stitch through the previous stitch. Repeat across through last stitch, Leaving a long tail for sewing, cut and secure yarn.

Fold in half and whip stitch ends together. 

Create 2^nd chain. Interlace chain through the previous chain and whip stitch ends together. Repeat until the garland is a desired length. 

 

ADDING BEADS

This is written as a “bead as you go” project. Beading as you go can be a bit fiddly, but the results and the variety (as you can add beads that are much smaller than your yarn) are well worth (in my opinion) the extra fiddle.

 You can pre – string and stitch the beads with each chain – BUT – this method places the bead on one leg of the chain and will encourage the bead to drop to the side of the fabric that is facing away from you. This is the side of the crochet fabric that will naturally turn under as you work the I-Cord, so you will be inadvertently beading the inside of your cord. Yes, you can reposition the beads which can be just as fiddly as “bead as you go”. (and the beads may not stay repositioned.)

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 of the   I – Cord.  Work step 3 until you get to your designated stitch for beading.

Place your wire (dental floss, thread and needle) through the loop of your designated stitch

                          

Add a bead to your wire and slide the bead on to the stitch. (this encases both legs of the stitch, so you don’t have to be concerned with front side, back side, etc)

Work your chain stitch

 

 

Work the remaining I – Cord as previously designated. 

 

Karen Glasgow Follett Designs 2016

Here is an additional note: The last I – Cord pattern that I published was the  I – Cord Curtain tie backs.  I had one person “comment” that why would you crochet something that you could knit? (this person wasn’t so nice with the comment)  And yes, you can knit I – Cord and make the same garland.  I wrote the pattern with 3 things in mind;

• Sometimes crocheters just gotta crochet
• Sometimes knitters just gotta knit
• And Sometimes Snarks just gotta get snarky.

Enjoy creating your garland however you choose to do it!

Creatively Yours,

Karen