Beaded Flower Garlands – Crochet Course – Starting 28/04/25

I love teaching this course! We use thread crochet, small hooks and beads to make beautiful floral garlands or lariat necklaces. I provide a few patterns which can be mixed and matched – each student gets help designing their own garland if they need it.
These make pretty necklaces but are also gorgeous for weddings or for draping romantically over your dressing table mirror!

Dates & Times

This is a 3 week course (3 x 2 hour sessions).

• Week 1: Monday 28th April 2025, 12:30-2:30pm
• Week 2: Monday 12th May 2025, 12:30-2:30pm
• Week 3: Monday 19th May 2025, 12:30-2:30pm

Skill Level

You must be confident with basic crochet stitches such as sc (UK dc), dc (UK double crochet), chaining, slip stitching and counting stitches. All other techniques will be taught in class.

Venue

Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre
Studio (in courtyard at the back of the Riverhouse)
Manor Road
Walton-on-Thames
Surrey KT12 2PF

Materials

Thread crochet (with a count between 3 -20 …the higher the number the thinner it is). If you’re unsure how you’ll get on with the thinner thread, I’d recommend going for DMC Petra 3.

Hook (depending on thread count 1 – 2mm).

Beads with holes large enough to get your thread through.

What is Thread Count?

For finer types of crochet, we use a yarn, usually cotton, that’s called “thread”. This has a different naming system to what we are used to with other yarns. The thickness of the thread is indicated by the “count” number from 3-200, with the thinnest threads having the highest numbers and the thicker threads having lower numbers. There is some overlap with the naming system for standard knitting and crochet. For example, a 3 count thread (which is the thickest thread available) is comparable to a 4ply/fingering weight yarn and a 10 count being similar to a lace weight yarn.

Which Thread?

The red flower necklace is thread count 20 cotton. The daisy necklace is thread count 3 cotton and the cream roses are made from linen, thread count 10 (I would not recommend using linen thread as I found it tough on my hands). These are just examples. The provided patterns can be worked in thread 3-20.

Recommended threads:

DMC Petra 3 or 8 (remember 3 is thicker than 8)
Hobbii Rainbow Lace (equivalent to 10 count)
Scheepjes Sugar Rush (equivalent to 10 count)

Purple Linda Crafts has a good selection of thread crochet but be aware that the shipping isn’t the fastest.

Hooks

For the 3 count thread you’ll need a 1.75mm-2mm hook, depending on your gauge.
For the 10 count you’ll need between 1.5mm – 1.75mm.
For the thinner threads you’ll need between 1.0mm – 1.5mm.

Clover and Tulip hooks are the best for this. Cheap/knock-off hooks will have poorly tooled tips and they will not be nice to work with.

Note: As a general rule, I’d say you’d need a hook on the smaller side to get a nice firm gauge so that your flowers/leaves have good form.

Beads

You can use any kind of bead, wood, stone chips (as in photo), glass beads…get creative! You can even use beads from broken necklaces or jewellery from charity shops.

I would suggest they are not too large though as they might weigh the piece down and make sure the holes are not too small or you will have a nightmare threading them – I will be showing you 2 techniques to use for placing beads in your work as you crochet.

If you want to use seed beads you’ll need the larger ones which are size 6 (again, with seed beads, the larger the number, the smaller they are).

I like BeadaciousUK on ebay for the Toho Size 6 beads.

Kits

I have some kits available with 3 balls of cotton, thread count 10 and Toho glass beads. Each kit consists of 2 colours of cotton for the flowers and a green, along with a small packet of matching or neutral Toho beads. If you are very particular about what colours you want, I recommend that you source your own threads & beads as I will have a limited selection to choose from.

Cost

• £60 for the course – 3 x 2 hour sessions (no materials).
• £72 for the course – 3 x 2 hour sessions, 3 x 50g cotton, small bag of Toho beads (no hook).
• £76 for the course – 3 x 2 hour sessions, 3 x 50g cotton, small bag of Toho beads + Clover hook.

Booking

Bookings are only secured through completing the payment process. Please ensure you read the terms and conditions and cancellation policy: here.