• About
  • Start Here!
  • Knitting for Charity Mosaic Bookshop
  • Nav Social Menu

Knitting for Charity

Knitting for Charity

Everything you need to knit patterns you love for people you care about

  • Charity Knitting Solutions
    • Knitting Charities by Donation Item
    • Knitting Charities by Recipient
    • Knitting Charities by Location
    • General Charity Knitting
  • Free Knitting Patterns
  • Knitting Solutions
    • Knitting Instructions, Techniques & Tips
    • Knitting Supplies
    • Frugal Knitting
    • Answers to Your Knitting Struggles
You are here: Home / Free Knitting Patterns / Accessories / Knit Jewelry and Recapture Your Leftover Yarn

Knit Jewelry and Recapture Your Leftover Yarn

Accessories, Free Knitting Patterns, Frugal Knitting, Scrap Yarn Knitting

Have you ever tried knitting jewelry? You might not have even realized you could knit jewelry. I didn’t know it until I began to stumble upon knitting patterns for jewelry. You can knit necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings, pins, bangles, anklets, rings.

One great thing about knitting jewelry is that you don’t need much yarn with which to do it. I love collecting patterns that I can use with yarn I already have, but many projects like blankets, sweaters, and scarves use a lot of yarn; many others like hats, socks, mittens and/or gloves require either full balls of yarn or enough leftover yarn to equal full balls.

I have actually knitted jewelry before, although I didn’t really think of it that way. My daughters own several necklaces, but young, active girls frequently break the very thin chains their pendants and charms swing from. I have often knitted I-cords in place of those thin broken chains.

It’s very easy; just knit a thin (no wider than 3 stitches unless you’re using very thin yarn; then you may be able to use 4 stitches) I-cord until it’s long enough to fit comfortably over a person’s head when the ends are together. Then bind off the cord, place the charm or pendant on the I-cord, and sew the ends together. It’s a great way to use leftover sock yarn!

Knitting I-cords is a great starter project to the world of jewelry, but if you’re like me and are always on the lookout for more interesting and beautiful designs, you can find many more. Some projects require wire, hooks, backing pins, and so on; others don’t. Pick and choose from whatever appeals most to you. You’ll start looking at your yarn stash in a whole new way!

Free Knitting Patterns for Jewelry

Harry Potter House Pride Bracelet
Photo: Diana Fisher

Harry Potter House Pride Bracelets: If you’ve seen the Harry Potter scarves, these are basically the same sort of project sized way down to make bracelets. A great project for an HP fan, or as a gift for a fan.

Flower Brooch: This is another project that makes a wonderful gift. You can also attach the flower to a clip barrette or a bobby pin to make a hair accessory.

Cross Pendant: This pattern calls for extremely thin copper wire and a bead. I think there’s a good chance you could use fingering or lace weight yarn in place of the copper wire. This looks like a fun and incredibly quick pattern that gives you room to experiment.

Butterfly Project Bracelet: This beautiful bracelet was designed as encouragement for a person suffering from depression and recovering from self-injury. (Download from the “free Ravelry download” link rather than from the site link, because the site is no longer up.)

Alea’s Knitted Necklace: I love this pattern because it looks like a real chain necklace, only in yarn. Be sure to click on the “free Ravelry download” link, unless you know German and can understand what’s written on page linked at the bottom of the page!

I-Cord Bracelets: This is the same basic idea as the necklaces I mentioned earlier, only shorter so that it makes a bracelet. I love the idea of adding buttons, beads, or charms.

Loopsi: This is another I-cord-based pattern; it joins together a series of I-cords and adds a lovely button at the end.

Embossed Leaf Trinket Bag: This might be my favorite idea in this collection. It’s called a “trinket bag,” but you know what I call it? A knitted locket! The “trinket bag” is designed to hold anything you might want to keep tucked in it and held around your neck. The designer suggests items like guitar picks or love letters. That sounds like a locket to me! (Let me add that as I was growing up, I loved the movie/play “Annie” and always wanted a locket like hers. That might explain my fascination with this pattern!)

Knitted Watchband: It’s exactly as it’s called. What a clever idea!

Loopy Loop Necklace: Here’s another I-cord-based pattern, but this one uses I-cords to develop a pretty and fun pendant.

Berry Trapezoid: If you were wondering when we’d get to earrings, here you go. These are chandelier-style earrings that will be much lighter on the wearer’s ears than traditional dangling earrings!

Picot Earrings: Even easier than the preceding earrings; all you’re doing is knitting a picot edging for a pair of hoop-style earrings. Simple, fun, cute. Click on the photo of earrings near the bottom of the page to access the pattern.

Hearteenies: These tiny hearts can be attached to earring hooks as shown, or they can be used as pendants or charms or any number of other purposes.

Squarish Earrings: If you’re feeling really adventurous, try this earring pattern. You’ll be knitting with ultra-fine wire and beads. (Though you could probably use a very fine yarn and beads as well, much like the earlier Cross Pendant pattern.)

I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to try my hand at knitting jewelry!

Share

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
  • Bio
  • Get Your Free Guide

Nicole

I believe there's someone who needs what you love to knit. If you'd like to knit patterns you love for people you care about, I can help!
Get your free guide, "How to Get Your Handknits to Local People in Need: What You Need to Know" with your subscription to the Knitting Nuggets Newsletter! When you join this community, you'll receive resources & inspiration to knit patterns you love for people you care about.

Last Updated: January 4, 2018 ·

About Nicole

I believe there's someone who needs what you love to knit. If you'd like to knit patterns you love for people you care about, I can help!

Previous Post: « The Joy of Felting: Easy Tutorials & 11 Free Patterns
Next Post: Bundles of Love: Helping Newborns and Their Families in Minnesota with Charity Knitting »

Primary Sidebar

Get your copy of Swaying with the Wind: a Charity Knitting Pattern Collection here!

I’m Nicole, and I believe there’s someone who needs what you love to knit!

Footer

Disclosure Policy

Privacy policy

nicoleatknittingforcharity

I believe there's someone who needs what you love to knit. I'm here to help!

Nicole Haschke
Are you missing your in-person knitting nights? If Are you missing your in-person knitting nights? If so, let me tell you about a virtual knitting event you won't want to miss! 

The great folks at Knit + Escape are holding a Galentine's Day virtual celebration from Feb. 4 to 6. A $10 ticket will give you access to vendor virtual booths and a whole lot of free content that includes fiber demos and lectures, farm tours, charity knitting, and much, MUCH more. 

And here's a bonus that I hope you'll love: your Marketplace Ticket includes access to the Friday Evening CHARITY KNIT NIGHT, an exciting event led by Kristy Glass, where I will be a special guest. We’ll have several opportunities for participants to ask questions and celebrate the spirit of giving!

I'm going to be talking about creating Bonding Hearts and how these wonderful little creations can help preemies and their families through an amazing organization called Mighty Miracles Foundation. 

I would LOVE to see you there, so I hope you'll join us! You'll find a registration link to this event in my profile.
(Please note: the following has nothing to do with (Please note: the following has nothing to do with charity knitting. But I can't be silent any longer. If I - and Knitting for Charity - am going to be for making the lives of others better, I have to speak up.) I've been wanting to say something for well over a week. But I felt like it wasn't my place to talk. This isn't my experience. I should be listening. 
But I want to make something clear. 
Systemic racism is not a theory. It's not a kooky idea. It's a fact of life. And whether white people feel like they've benefited from it or not (I'm sure most of us feel like we haven't)... we have. 
Sure, slavery is no more. Sure, Jim Crow laws are no more. But racism? It's still very much here. And it pushes down our brothers and sisters of color every. single. day. It makes them fear for their lives, no matter what they're doing. It makes their very existence a risk. 
And I've finally realized that it's not enough for me to believe these things in my heart and go on with my life as if there's nothing more I can do. It's not enough to be proudly "not a racist." By my silence, by my inaction, I'm perpetuating a system that feeds off black and brown human beings. 
So: this is my first step. 
I discovered Brownicity.com. And there, I discovered this book. It's a workbook, actually - kind of like a course in book form. Here's what the page says about it: "This journey guide was designed to lead the ‘beginner’ through an enlightening and introspective first steps of race/ism analysis and healing. It can be used to support a group or individual’s study." I've dived in and I'm already getting an education. And I can't wait to learn more. 
We're not going to change the world in a day. Or even a week. But each of us can start taking steps to unlearn racism. (Yes, even a proud "non-racist" like me has racism to unlearn.) This doesn't have to be your book or your path. But do *something* to start listening. In the barest glimpses of social media, you're bound to find lists of books, movies, documentaries, podcasts, and so on. I've already seen more of those than I can count. (Cont'd in comments)
Proof that I've been in quarantine waaaaaay too lo Proof that I've been in quarantine waaaaaay too long. Check out the paragraph above the divider line. This is from the newsletter I sent out today that goes to over 7,500 people. 🤦
My first sock knitting lesson is LIVE on YouTube! My first sock knitting lesson is LIVE on YouTube! Link is in my profile. Comments are very welcome! #learningtoknitsocks
Spent some time this weekend recording the first v Spent some time this weekend recording the first video lesson of my spiral rib tube sock knitting class. It will be releasing very soon... who's excited? #charityknittersofinstagram #learningtoknitsocks
I've been so inspired by all the people releasing I've been so inspired by all the people releasing free help during this time of crisis. Zoos and aquariums and nature livecams all over... Broadway offering free videos of their shows... musicians offering free living room concerts...and so on. 
So I decided to offer my own kind of help. 
If you're a knitter, I want to teach you how to knit socks!

Visit my profile for the link to my video explaining what I'm teaching and why, and the supplies you'll need. 
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for notifications, or you can subscribe to my newsletter to get email notifications of new videos. The link to subscribe to my newsletter is also in my profile. 
#charityknittersofinstagram #sockknittersofinstagram
How is everyone doing? I've got a set of socks goi How is everyone doing? I've got a set of socks going on my new Hiya Hiya Sharps, so I think I'll be good to go for a while. How about you? Are you staying home as much as possible? And, of course, what are you knitting? #KnittingTogether
So this happened. 😭 Thank God for Friday nights So this happened. 😭 Thank God for Friday nights in which there's nothing going on, so we can drive to the nearest yarn shop (40 minutes away). #SockNeedleCrisis
We voted! (Well, technically we shared a vote. Sad We voted! (Well, technically we shared a vote. Sadly, owls can't vote...even if they're hand knitted. 😆) #SuperTuesday
Just finished a very special project: creating the Just finished a very special project: creating these pocket prayer cloths for our community's Blue Christmas service. This is a service for folks who, for myriad reasons, don't feel merry or joyful as they think they ought to. Praying that these cloths will remind them of God's love and constant presence. #charityknittersofinstagram #prayerclothknittersofinstagram

Copyright © 2021 · Nicole Haschke, Knitting for Charity

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you agree to its use of cookies. Find out more.