Mini-Mandala Necklace

Here is another mandala project for you!  And it makes a great last-minute gift in less than an hour!  I found the silver metal piece at Hobby Lobby – it is called a “bezel” and is just right for adding a small crocheted item into the center (click on “bezel” in supply list below to see where to buy).  Even though I made mine in blue, you can make yours in any color since the crochet thread comes in all kinds of great colors and is very inexpensive.  With one ball of cotton thread you would be able to make several mini-mandalas.

Don’t worry if you haven’t worked with the thin crochet thread before  – you can first practice with medium weight yarn and a larger hook while you watch my video tutorial (see video below or here) and how I crochet the mandala with chunky yarn and a large hook.  And if you don’t find a bezel like I did, you can also do the optional Round 4 and stiffen your project (instead of gluing it inside a metal piece).

(For more of our necklace patterns, see the bottom of this post)

**UPDATE: Check out the Christmas version of this project here with another idea of how to turn this mini-mandala into earrings!**

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner

Supplies: (click on name of supply to see a photo and where to purchase)

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Size 10 cotton crochet thread

Size 7 (1.5mm) steel hook

1 ½” (38 mm) bezel

E6000 craft glue

Toothpick

Jewelry pliers

Necklace cord with clasp included

Optional: Flatback Swarovski gem and gem glue

Special Stitches:

Beg. Cluster Puff – Ch 1, (YO, insert hook into next st, YO, draw up a loop) 2 times; YO, pull through all 5 loops on hook

Cluster Puff  – (YO, insert hook into next st, YO, draw up a loop) 3 times; YO, pull through all 7 loops on hook

Instructions:

Round 1: In an adjustable ring: [ch 4, (hdc, ch 2) 9 times]; join with sl st to 2^nd ch of starting ch 4. (10 hdc – starting ch 4 counts as first hdc and ch 2 sp)

(**For a video tutorial on how to make an adjustable ring, click here)

Round 2:  Work 3 sc in each ch-2 around; join with sl st to 1^st sc. (30 sc)

Round 3:  Beg. Cluster Puff, (ch 5, Cluster Puff) 9 times around; ch 5, sl st in top of Beg. Cluster Puff. (10 “Cluster Puffs”). Fasten off (or do one more round)

Optional – Round 4:  5 sc in each ch-5 sp around. (50 scs) Fasten off.

Finishing:

Lightly steam block mandala and let dry completely

With toothpick carefully apply small drops of glue to inside of bezel

Lay mandala in center of bezel and press into glue spots

(*Note: If you are not able to find a bezel like I did, then you can stiffen your mini-mandala and attach a jump ring to the top and hang it from a necklace cord without the bezel backing.  For a video tutorial on how to stiffen your crochet projects, click here.)

Optional: With gem glue and toothpick adhere gem to center of mandala

Thread end of cord through top ring on bezel and fasten clasp

(*Note: You may need to remove the clasp temporarily so you can fit the end of the cord through the ring – this probably just involves opening the jump ring that attaches the clasp to the cord end)

And that’s all there is to it – the Mini-Mandala Necklace!

Please post a photo of your project here on its Ravelry page.

Thank you for stopping by – Happy crocheting!

 Jennifer

PS – If you liked this project, you might like our other necklace patterns:

Here is a photo collage for your Pinterest board so you don’t forget about this quick project:

Copyright 2018 – Jennifer E Ryan, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher but please do link to this page to share this pattern with others.

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