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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain

June 17, 2013 4 Comments

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Also known as sweater guards, sweater chains are an accessory that’s nearly been lost to the passage of time. This is unfortunate for cardigan lovers like myself. They’re a nice alternative to stretched out buttonholes, and as someone who works in public service, it’s nice to have something to keep your, umm, chest covered from the occasional creeper.

Also, aren’t those little crabs holding the chain super cute? I’ll admit it, I’m down for making a project for cuteness’ sake alone!

Supplies

2 Martha Stewart Crafts enamel blanks
Martha Stewart Crafts jewelry enamel
Martha Stewart Crafts jewelry enamel activator
toothpicks
jewelry chain
ruler
2 jewelry pliers
2 jewelry clips
E6000 craft adhesive

Directions

Apply enamel 

Following packaged directions, mix 1 part enamel and 2 parts activator on a safe surface. How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Use a toothpick to very carefully apply a layer of the enamel to your enamel blanks. I used the cute crabs from the Martha Stewart line for this project, but you can really use any enamel blanks you like. They don’t even have to match – I just think those crabs are adorable.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Letting each layer of enamel dry for 72 hours between application, apply 2 or 3 layers to completely cover your blanks. My big tip? Be careful when applying the additional layers. After my first layers, I had some enamel overflow, and it was really hard to clean up.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Assemble sweater chain

When your blanks are all set and completely dry, you’re ready for part 2 of this project. Begin by using jewelry pliers to bend and snap off the long ends of two jewelry clips.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Glue the clips, sharp side toward the back of your charms, to the charms with E6000 craft adhesive. Check out the next photo for how to place the clips. Instead of the charms hanging from a chain, the chain will be hanging from the charms. Remember that when you’re determining the placement of your clips. Let the E6000 dry for 24 hours.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

I’m really embarrassed by the next picture since it shows off the effect of my enamel accident. But it shows the right placement of the clips, which is important to get right since the E6000 will dry HARD. There are pluses and minuses to working with industrial strength adhesives. (And jewelry enamel, apparently.)

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Use jewelry pliers to break your jewelry chain into three pieces: one 3″, one 4″, and one 5″ in length. Save two open pieces of the chain to use in a minute.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Connect the three pieces of chain to one of the open chain rings and close the ring, with the chains attached, to the ring of your charm.

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Using another chain ring, connect the other end of the chains and attach them to the second charm. Then you’re done!

How-to: Crab Grabby Sweater Chain at HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: DIY Style, How-to Tagged With: accessories, cardigan, crafts, diy, jewelry, martha stewart, sweater chain, sweater guard, vintage

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Comments

  1. Rachel | 52 Weeks Project

    June 17, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    Great tutorial, this is super cute!

    Reply
  2. Nicole | gawkerverse

    June 18, 2013 at 11:00 am

    This is such an adorable project! A friend of mine will love this. Thanks for the inspiration! And for submitting to stylegawker!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 18, 2013 at 1:48 pm

      No problem! Thanks for commenting, Nicole :)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Weekly Reader, June 21, 2013 – Hands Occupied says:
    June 21, 2013 at 12:01 am

    […] On Monday, I shared a cute tutorial showing you how to make a crab sweater chain. […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s c Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s coincidentally International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day today, so I’d be remiss not to share a first look at this project finished JUST in time to wear while I watch some rasslin’ on a pirate ship in a football stadium in Tampa! 💪🏻 I’m excited to watch tonight’s women’s matches the most. Eee!
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Pictured: A blond woman in a denim dress and glasses wearing a giant belt made with punch needle. The belt is made with wool in primary colors and was inspired by the WWE Universal Championship title belt. 
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This is just a preview - after jab 2.0 tomorrow (feeling grateful 🙏🏼), I’ll be editing together a vlog about the design process for this wooly waist cover. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to make some of your wilder craft ideas come to life. Stuff you’ll never find a pattern for, you know? I’ll finish editing that ASAP, but I might take a few days to edit if I feel like trash from 💉 and only want to watch wrestling and wrestling YouTube for a day or two. 😂
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#ipnrhd #punchneedle #wwe #wrestling #championshipbelt #wool #yarn #handmade #universalchampionship #universalchampion #rugmaking #wrestlingfan #wrestlemania37 #wrestlemania
A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-ins A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-inspired punch needle project! It’s interesting to see how fuzzy the handspun beige yarn is compared with the primary color sections of @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. ❤️💛💙🤎 
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Pictured: The back of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool sits on the work.
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#punchneedle #woolrug #rugmaking  #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #griefproject #handsoccupied #wrestlingfan #universalchampion #yarn #yarncraft #wool #needlepunch
Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishin Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishing up the punch needling part of this crazy @wwe inspired project by tonight. 💪🏻🧶 Anybody else have crafty plans for this fine spring day? 
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Pictured: A blond woman sits, smiling and holding an in-progress punch needle project inspired by the Universal Championship belt. Houseplants are in the background and there’s lots of sun. 
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#punchneedle #griefproject #handsoccupied #heidigustad #wrestlingcrafts #wwe #universalchampion #universalchampionship #wool #wooloftheandes #primarycolors #oxfordpunchneedle
I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back from the past few weeks, and as I dip my toe back into production mode, the long-promised seamed sweater knitting YouTube series is at the top of my list. I've got FOUR versions of a simple sweater I've been playing with since last JULY to feature as a free pattern for folks who want to knit along during the series. Pictured is the first prototype for the series, knit in 2 colors of @knit_picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I imagine this soon-to-be short sleeved number will come in handy as an emergency Waldo costume or Christmas sweater. 🌲 
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I've got my own list of topics I think folks would like to see in a series like this: things like tips for construction, working with vintage patterns, how to seam as invisibly as possible, and more, but as always, I'd love to hear from you: What scares you about knitting seamed sweaters? What would be helpful to cover, especially since we'll be doing more long form video content. I get so much positive feedback on my series of 20 minute+ intarsia tutorials, so I'm using those as a starting point as I produce this series. Seamed sweaters using vintage or self-improvised patterns are one of my favorite things on the planet, so I'm eager to share some seamed sweater skills with y'all super sweet folks. 😉 
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Pictured: A red and white striped, short sleeved sweater knit in pieces that have yet to be seamed. They are laid out on a yellow and orange colorblock background and one sleeve is yet to be bound off. 
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#handsoccupied #seamedsweater #kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #waldo #waldosweater #wip #yarncraft #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #heidigustad #vintageknitting #sweaterknitting
Work continues this evening on my absurd punch nee Work continues this evening on my absurd punch needle pro wrestling inspired championship belt project. I’ve finished most of the front pretty quickly thanks to the @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky yarn I’m using. For now, I’ve got a couple more weeks until Wrestlemania, & I’m on track to finish this in time! 
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The biggest question I have is what to do with the “plates” - the open circles in the picture. Should I try to closely replicate the Universal Championship belt or go rogue and make it wool themed? Please advise in the comments. ☺️🧶🙏🏻🐑 
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Pictured: The front of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool with navy yarn running through it rests on top of the work. 
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#kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #punchneedle #rugmaking #primarycolors #punchneedlerughooking #punchneedlelove #wool #wip #yarncraft #yarn #yarnaddict
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