I love old, tarnished pennies. If they are all battered and scratched up, stained with time then I want them. I like finding all the details and imperfections in them. I like them enough to break out the thread crochet and turn them into something wearable.

I know I’ve warned that thread crochet can be dangerous. It can make you go blind and drive you crazy. I still believe that with all my heart. But these are so quick and so easy that I only went a little bit crazy making them. I don’t think anyone noticed.

Penny Bracelet – a free crochet pattern with photo tutorial

What you will need

• Crochet cotton thread size 10
• A really small hook! I used a Steel size 5 (1.7 mm). I would recommend you use something that small or smaller. The tighter your sticthes are, the better the fit will be.
• A tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• scissors
• jump rings and a clasp.

And a penny of course! I forgot to put that in the picture. Oops.

My gauge is approximately 11 sts per inch. These things are so small that its hard to figure your gauge accurately. Just keep in mind that cotton stretches quite a bit. Smaller is better.

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The crochet part:

Start with a magic ring.

Round 1: work 6 sc in the ring. Join with a sl st to first sc. (6sc)

Round 2: ch 1 (counts as a st), sc in same place as join, work 2 sc in each remain st around. Join with a sl st to first sc. (12 sc)

Round 3: ch 1, sc in same place as join, sc in next, *work 2 sc in next st, sc in next* repeat until end. Join with a sl st to first sc. (18 sc)

Round 4: ch1, sc in same place as join, sc in next 2 sts, *work 2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts* repeat until end. Join with a sl st to first sc. (24 sc)

Round 5: ch1, sc in each remaining st around, Join with a sl st to first sc. (24 sc)

Break thread leaving a nice long tail.

It won’t matter much if you are off by a stitch or two. As long as your piece is mostly round- shaped and has a rolled up edge it will work just fine!

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Securing the penny:

Turn over to the back side. Weave in the starting tail using a tapestry needle.

Place penny on this (the back) side.

Roll the edge up and over the sides of the penny.

Thread the long tail you left into a tapestry needle and, working clockwise, go down (towards the center of the penny) through the top of the first stitch.

Skip the next stitch. Go up (away from the penny) through the top of the next stitch.

Repeat until you have worked all around the edge, threading through every other stitch.

Then pull tight, as tight as you can. This is the part that will secure the coin and keep it from popping out!

Weave in that end. Then make more!

Once you have enough, connect them with jump rings and add a clasp.

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I’ve been thinking that they would make nice pendants for necklaces too. And maybe buttons.

I was also thinking of of working out the crochet base/pattern for other coins. Quarters might be too heavy but I’m sure dimes would work. But I like pennies. I’ll stick with them. Maybe someone else will work out the stitching for other coins and post here.

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If you are into free patterns (and who isn’t?!) I have more for both crocheters and knitters. Enjoy!

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