The Knitting Fiend

I had some left-over Caron Christmas Glitter yarn last year, so I fiddled around while watching tv, and made twizzlers to hang on the Xmas tree. I did something different each time I fiddled, so every twizzler is different.

If you know how to crochet, these are simple to make. Here’s how to make your first twizzler:

First, using white, and a suitably sized crochet hook, make a foundation chain the length you’d like the twizzler to be. Turn, chain 2, work a half double crochet in the the top of the second chain from the hook; work a second hdc in the same chain. Then work 2 hdc in every chain across the foundation chain. The chain will begin to twist because one side is longer than the other, forming a single helix.

When you reach the end of the row, attach red yarn. Chain 1 and turn. Now work 1 hdc in the top of every hdc, and a second hdc in the space between every hdc. So, there are roughly twice as many hdc’s in this row as the row below.

If you like how your twizzler looks, break the red yarn, pull through the loop on the hook to anchor, and finish off the loose ends of yarn. Then hang on the Christmas tree.

You want an even gaudier twizler, right? So, don’t break the yarn.

Now, you are going to work in the underside of the foundation chain. Work an HDC in the side of the white HDC on the edge of the chain, then one in the bottom of the first “stitch” in the underside of the foundation chain. (Don’t stress out– just poke through anything that looks like a hole. The bottom of the foundation chain is just one strand of yarn.) Work 2 HDC in each stitch opening on the underside of the foundation chain. As you do this, you will notice the “double helix” taking shape.

When you get to the end of the row, break yarn, pick up white glitter yarn. Chain, turn, work 1 hdc in the top of every hdc and a second one in every space betwen hdc’s. Now, break the yarn leaving a long strand, pull through to anchor the last stitch. Then, form the white yarn into a loop for the Xmas tree hanger. Tidy up loose ends of yarn, get a tree hanger, and hang on the tree.

By the time you’ve made the first one, you have probably figured out how to make the other two, right? Just vary the yarn colors used in each row. To avoid too many broken strand of yarn, you may also vary the order you work the rows. When I worked the twizzler with the green in the center, I worked the a row in the top of the foundation chain, then continued with green to work the row in the underside of the chain. Then, I broke the yarn, and worked the red on the top of a green row, then I broke the yarn and worked the white on top of a green row.

There are other fun things you can do. If you want the twizzler to twirl more tightly, substitute sc’s for the hdc’s in the first row. If you want it to twirl less, substitute DC’s for HC’s. I made one with sc’s in the first row, and DC’s in the second. I made one with three treble crochets worked in each chain loop of the first row, and sc’s in the second row. These take about 10 minutes each, and all look pretty neat. So, find some cheap glitter yarn, and experiment.