Beaded Granny Pendant – Crochet Pattern Review

This is a crochet pattern review of the Beaded Granny Pendant designed by Rafaella for Raffamussa Designs. Review done by Kami Jones for Cre8tion Crochet.

Find the crochet pattern review below, or click here to view the free crochet pattern on the Raffamusa Design blog!

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The humble granny square invokes so much nostalgia, some crocheters even started out with these as their first project. I however did not, I have always been enamored with them though. Being born at the end of the 70s meant that there was definitely one in my house growing up; I don’t think there was a household that didn’t have at least one at the time. The one I remember from my childhood was a stained glass look afghan made by my one of my aunts, how I loved the colorfulness offset by all the black!! Absolute perfection, I remember staring at it in utter fascination, how do you get the colors to do that!?! I never saw anyone make a granny square growing up even though there were several crocheters in my family and obviously some of them had made granny squares, they were like a mystical unicorn or some type of magic. I always thought they were far too difficult or that you needed special tools to make them. I didn’t even make my first granny square until about 6 years ago even though I have been crocheting forever. If only I had known how easy they actually are, all the time I wasted being intimidated by such a simple thing!

With Granny Square Day coming up on August 15th I couldn’t think of a better way to pay tribute to such an iconic part of crochet than with these Beaded Granny Pendants from Raffamussa Designs. Still the nostalgic simple granny of the past with a more modern twist of added beads. Just like the original granny there are so many ways that you can make this project your own. I made two samples, one for each of my girls. I let the younger one pick the yarn colors and the older one pick the beads.

What Materials Do You Need to Crochet a Pendant?

• Fingering Weight #1 Yarn – I used Hobbii Cotton Kings 8/4 : Sample 1 used White (01), Light Blue (17), Sky Blue (28): Sample 2 used Nude (38), Dusty Rose (31), Dark Pink (32)
• C2/2.5 mm Crochet Hook
• Tapestry Needle
• Scissors
• 2.5″ (6.4 cm) Beadalon Beading Needle
• (36) 6/0 Czech Seed Beads
• (36) 6/0 Japanese Toho Beads (“E” Beads)
• (2) 6 mm Jump Rings
• 1.5 yards 2 mm Silky Cord
• Jewelry Pliers
• Beaded Granny Pendant Free Pattern by Raffamussa Designs

Material Notes:

The designer used Schachenmayr Catania for their samples. Although I had some that I was going to pull out of my stash, my Hobii order had just arrived and I decided to use the Cotton Kings that I had bought instead, since there were more colors to choose from. These pendants take just a little yarn so they would be great for just using up any scraps that you may have on hand. I chose to change colors each round but these can definitely be made in a single color as well if you don’t want to deal with those extra ends or don’t like changing colors. Although I opted to leave mine plain these would also look great with a tassel (or 3, like in Rafaella’s sample), or even with some fringe or some additional beads.

This pattern is very versatile and could be used with any size yarn you prefer. How cute would it be to work two of these in matching worsted yarn, add a long string and it could be a small purse or cell phone pouch.

I chose to use cord (because I just happened to have some leftover from a previous project) to hang my pendants but you could also use a chain or just add it onto an existing beaded necklace; alternatively if pendants aren’t your thing these would be great as a keychain.

For the beads I used Czech Seed Beads for my blue sample and Japanese Toho Beads for the pink one. The Toho beads are a little more square and look slightly larger. Any small beads around 4 mm would work here but the hole needs to be big enough to get your yarn through.

If you don’t have a beading needle on hand you can make one with some thin wire (I have used the wire from a twist tie, just pull the paper coating off) twist the ends together a bit and leave a big loop for the eye.

For the jump rings you can use any size as long as you can get your hanging material and the corner of your pendant through without it being tight, you could also join two rings if necessary to keep everything sitting properly.

How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Pendant?

These pendants work up fairly quickly, I was able to make one in less than 30 minutes. If you haven’t used beads in crochet before it may take you a little longer.

Measurements:

(6 cm) 2.5″ when finished (I added an additional round that is not in the pattern; see Pattern Notes for details). My pink sample was closer to 2.25″

Gauge:

There is no gauge listed in the pattern, smaller items like this are hard to gauge accurately. Mine measured approximately:

(2 cm) .75″ after round 1. (4 cm) 1.5″ after round 2.

Pattern Notes:

This pattern is amazingly simple and can be altered to however you prefer to make your granny squares. I didn’t follow the instructions for the chain 4 method that is used in the pattern; instead, since I changed colors each round, I started each round with a standing double crochet in the ch2 corner. I also took out the ch1 since my my work does not look as neat when I add it, I just work the granny cluster in between the previous rows clusters (where the ch1 space would have been). Plus I added a fourth round to give it a more finished look and add more stability. For my blue sample I used the crab stitch (reverse single crochet) turning the work back to the front I put one stitch in each stitch plus one stitch in each ch2 corner. For my pink sample turning back to the front I used a simple slip stitch in each stitch and three single crochets in each ch2 corner.

When adding beads in crochet the bead ends up on the back side of your work. It is very important that you pay attention to the third round and turn your work, if you don’t all of your beads will end up on the wrong side of your square. For this pattern the beads also need to be added to your yarn beforehand, meaning if you are using a single color you would thread all your beads before starting your first round, if you are using different colors you can add them to the yarn you are using for your third (beaded) round. Some people prefer not to add the beads this way since when you’re sliding the beads up and down the yarn it can weaken the yarn, especially if your hole is just big enough for the yarn. I didn’t have any issues with this on this particular pattern but if you prefer you can use the method that I used for my Alma Fan Earrings.

I absolutely love how mine turned out and I am already thinking about ideas for more!! What options will you use to make one?

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