Your Easter-Craft Projects: Antiqued Golden Eggs

 Project 3: Antiqued Golden Eggs

What you need:  

• Gold leaf paper
• Adhesive "size"
• soft bristled paint brush
• red acrylic paint
• eggs, wooden or blown out

What to do:

1. Paint the eggs, either wooden or blown out with red paint and allow to dry completely.
2. Apply a coat of dry adhesive "size", spray or paint on.
3. When the shine disappears from the surface of the eggs wrap the gold leaf around it using gentle brush strokes and smoothing surface as you brush. The paint will show through slightly to create an antiqued look.

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Knitted Easter Egg Decoration

 Project 2:  Knitted Easter Egg Decoration

This pattern uses oddments of  4 ply yarn and uses 2.75 mm needles. My tension works out to 8 stitches and 10 rows per inch. The egg is knitted flat and then seamed using mattress stitch. You can stuff the finished egg with polyfil / wool / cotton wadding or it will fit around a polystyrene egg.

Row 1: Cast on  11 stitches (leaving a length of yarn about 6 inches for sewing up later)
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K2, (*M1, K1) 8 times, K1 (19 stitches) *M1=make one,
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: K2, (M1, K1) 16 times, K1 (35 stitches)
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: K3, M1, (K2, M1) 6 times, K3, M1 (K2, M1) 7 times, K3 (50 stitches)
Row 10: Purl

Row 11: Change to yarn color for pattern band - work chosen pattern band over the next 12 rows (see charts below for pattern suggestions) or simply use a contrasting color for middle 12 rows.

Zig zag pattern using 3 colors:

Polka dot pattern using 2 colors:

Stripe pattern using 2 or more colors:

gingham pattern using 3 colors:

Or why not design your own band (50 stitches x 12 rows):

Row 23: change yarn color and work 2 rows without shaping
Row 25: K3, K2 tog, (K2, K2tog) 11 times, K1 (38 stitches)
Row 26: purl
Row 27: K2, K2 tog, (K1, K2tog) 11 times, K1 (26 stitches)
Row 28: purl
Row 29: knit
Row 30: purl
Row 31: K1, (K2 tog) 12 times, K1 (14 stitches)
Row 32: purl

Cut the work from the yarn leaving an end around 6 inches long, thread end through stitches on needle and pull up tight. Use this end to begin sewing up the seam. Sew around 1 inch of seam and then begin seaming at other end of egg. If you want to hang the egg as a decoration then cut a length of ribbon and tie the ends together. Thread the loop through the gathered stitches at the pointed end of the egg leaving the knotted part inside.

At the other end of the egg thread the length of yarn left by the cast on and use to catch up the 11 stitch loops and up pull tight. Continue in mattress stitch to close the seam - leaving around 2 inches of unclosed seam to stuff the egg (if using polyfil or similar). If you are fitting it around a polystyrene egg just sew around half an inch of seam at either end and close the rest of the seam with the polystyrene egg in place. When the seams meet tie off ends and thread inside trimming off any excess ends.

Copyright © Julie Williams 2006.

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Yarn Eggs

Lent just started today and it is time to begin with your Easter craft projects if you want to be ready on time! 
Here are some cute and easy to do ideas for you and your family.

Project 1: Yarn Eggs

Materials

• Thin cotton yarn
• Balloons
• Craft glue
• Newspaper

• Waxed paper
• Clothespin
• Clothes hanger

Instructions

 

For each egg, cut twenty 3-foot-long strands of cotton yarn and blow up a balloon to a 6- to 8-inch diameter. Mix equal parts of glue and water in a shallow disposable container.

Cover your work area with newspaper and a sheet of waxed paper. Hold a strand of yarn by one end, dip it into the glue mixture, then wrap it around the balloon. Repeat with the other strands, randomly overlapping them and tucking in loose ends, until the balloon is evenly covered.

Using the clothespin, suspend the balloon from the clothes hanger and let it dry overnight. (Cover the area below it with newspaper to catch drips.) Once the egg is completely dry, carefully poke a hole in the balloon, then pull it away from the string as it deflates. Hang your finished egg with ribbon or yarn.