Watermelon Necklace

Who else loves watermelon? It’s one of my favourite summer treats. So much so that last year I bought myself a sequined water melon evening bag, which I enjoyed taking out on several occasions. But this year I wanted something just as trendy but maybe not quite so glitzy so that I could wear it during the daytime as well. And so the idea of crochet watermelon necklace was born. This easy-to-make crochet accessory can add a little bit of fun when worn with a summer t-shirt or can be teamed with something sparkly for a funky evening look.

When making this necklace, I used some jewellery making techniques. However, the water melon necklace will work just as well if you use the crocheted watermelon slice simply as a bead and instead of the chain, simply thread ribbon or cord through the stiches at the side of the melon and then thread a couple of beads on to the ribbon. So there is an alternative if you don’t want to get into jewellery making with tools and all.

Below is my free watermelon necklace pattern. The necklace is approx. 45 cm and the watermelon measure approx. 7 cm. You can check out my other free accessory patterns here.

Materials

2.5 mm crochet hook

Yarn and Colors Must Have – Cardinal

Yarn and Colors Must Have – Cream

Yarn and Colors Must Have – Green Beryl

Approx. 8 black seed beads of scrap black yarn

Bead needle

Black sewing thread

For the necklace

2 8mm red rondelles

4 6mm green rondelles

4 silver/metal jump rings (6 mm)

1 silver/metal clasp

2 silver/metal pins or jewellery wire (approx. 4 cm)

Silver/metal chain (approx. 32 cm)

Jewellery round nosed pliers and wire cutters

You can purchase yarn and materials at lovecraft and amazon. (Using these links does not cost you any extra but I will earn a small commission, will help me keep posting free patterns).

Pattern notes

The pattern is written using UK terminology, for a conversion chart to US terminology click this link.

Special stitches

mc – magic circle

inc – 2 dc the same stitch

sl – slip stitch

Melon

Round 1: Using cardinal, 6 dc in mc. (6)

Round 2: inc in each stitch (12)

Round 3: 1 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (18)

Round 4: 2 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (24)

Round 5: 3 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (30)

Round 6: 4 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (36)

Round 7: 5 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (42) Cut yarn and fasten off.

Round 8. Using cream, 1 sl in each stitch around. (42). These stitches will appear to lie flat on the red stitches from round 7. Cut yarn and fasten off. When fastening off make sure all the ends are pulled through to wrong side.

Round 9: Using green beryl and working into the stitches from round 7 (make sure you do not insert your hook into cream sl from round 8). 6 dc, inc. Repeat 6 times. (48). Cut yarn and fasten off.

Using the black thread sew approx. 8 seed beads on to the front of your work, making sure that there are at least 4 beads in each half.

Then fold your work in half with the wrong side facing in. Using the black sewing thread sew the melon together. Using the thin black thread gives the melon skin some dark stripes, just like a real watermelon.

Making the necklace

As I said in the introduction, it is possible to make this necklace using cord or ribbon so without the need for jewellery supplies. However, for my necklace I wanted to give it a slightly more dressy style and so I used jewellery findings and rondelle beads. I inserted a jump ring into the cream slip stitches that are now at the top of the melon slice and added into each jump ring a pin with the coloured rondelle beads to form the hanging. Adding the beads rather than just the chain means that the melon doesn’t just hang down from the chain but is nicely framed and lies in a more open and natural looking way. I then cut the 32cm chain into 2 16 cm pieces, which I then inserted into the loops on other side of the pins. The clasp is then added to one of the chain pieces using a jump ring. The final jump ring is added to the other chain and the clasp can latch on to it.

Congratulations, now you have made your very own crochet melon necklace. I hope that you have a lot of fun wearing it.

As with all my free patterns please feel free to make and sell the crochet items, however, please credit me as the designer where possible and do not sell the pattern itself. If you want to find other jewellery making tutorials, you can check out the jewellery section on favecrafts.