Here’s a pretty way to organize your pierced-earrings! Embellish a sheet of plastic canvas with crochet trim and crocheted flowers. Sew on a crocheted cord for hanging. Reinforce the top edge of the plastic canvas, so it won’t buckle when you hang it up. Finally, add earrings.
You will need:
- A sheet of plastic canvas, available in the needlework section of craft stores
- No. 10 crochet cotton in matching and contrasting colors (I used Aunt Lydia’s Classic No. 10 Crochet Cotton in lavender, violet, and shaded yellows for the trim, wasabi for the leaf, lavender, violet, yellow, shaded violets for the pansies)
- Crochet hook, 2.00mm (size 4 steel U.S.) or size needed to achieve a firm gauge
- Sewing thread and sewing needle
- Tapestry needle
- A crocheted flower or flowers and leaves from Crochet Bouquet, using No. 10 crochet cotton (I made two Plain Pansies and one Spiky Leaf, pages 63-64, 121-122)
Crochet around the edge of the plastic canvas:
Rnd 1: Begin anywhere along the edge of the plastic canvas. Place 1 sc in each mesh square along the sides. In each corner square, (1 sc, 3 ch, 1 sc). Needle join last sc to first sc (find step-by-step photos of needle joining here in photos E, F, and G.)
Rnd 2: Begin a new color in the ch-3 sp at any corner of rnd 1 with ** (sc, ch 3, sc), * sk 1 sc, ch 2, sc in next st; rep from * to within one st of next corner, sk 1 st, rep from ** around, ch 1, needle join to first sc of rnd.
Rnd 3: Begin a new color in the ch-3 sp at any corner of rnd 2 with * (2 hdc, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook) twice; working along the side, (2 hdc, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook) in each ch sp to next corner; rep from * around, needle join to first hdc of rnd.
Flowers and Leaves
Crochet desired flowers and leaves for embellishment.
Hanging Cord
Leaving a long tail for sewing, ch 2, sc in 2nd ch from hook, * insert hook into side of sc you just completed, draw up a lp, yo and draw through both lps on hook; rep from * until cord is about 1″(2.5cm) longer than the top edge of the plastic canvas. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Finishing
Weave in ends. Arrange flowers and leaves on plastic canvas. Sew in place with sewing thread, making stitches around the inner rounds of the flower, leaving the outer edges of the flowers free for a more natural look. Make sure you catch the meshes of the plastic canvas as you sew. This sounds silly, but I found this part to be challenging!
Use No. 10 cotton to sew the dowel rod to the top back of the plastic canvas. This keeps it from bowing out when you hang it up.
Sew the Hanging Cord to the top corners of the plastic canvas.
Hang fish-hook style earring from the meshes in the canvas. You can also store stud earrings on the plastic canvas, as long as the earrings don’t fall through the mesh.