FO Friday: Clock Makeover

I have wanted to make-over a plain clock for the last few months after seeing some lovely knitted clocks on various websites. But I didn't have a spare clock. Or, ironically, the time to do it. Until yesterday... when I spotted this plain inexpensive clock in the supermarket (£4) and had nothing on the needles.

Quick clock makeover

With limited wall space, this is to go above the doorframe and I decided to use a knitted fabric in a colour which co-ordinates with the room for the circumference, as that will be on view as much as the face.  For the face, a simple crochet mesh to sew buttons onto in a plain colour to prevent it being too overpowering. It took very little time, used up some stash yarn (scraps) and buttons and I'm pleased with the results which gave a very quick FO fix!

Untitled


Materials:
  • Round clock 
  • DK weight yarn in two colours (which co-ordinate with the room)
  • 4mm knitting needles
  • 4mm crochet hook
  • Assortment of 12 buttons in different colours
  • Needle and thread for attaching buttons
Method:
  • Measure the depth of the clock frame/edge and knit a small swatch - yes, really! - to determine the number of stitches to cast on. The knitted section should be just wide enough to cover the sides of the clock with a very slight overhang - as it's stocking stitch, the sides naturally curve around to hug the edges. My clock is 33mm deep. Based on the swatch I had to cast on 12 stitches.   
  • Using the main colour, cast on the required number of stitches and knit in stocking stitch until the work measures a few cms less that the clock circumference for a snug fit. Check by stretching the knit fabric around the clock. Mine has a 69.5cm circumference so I knit for 65cm before binding off.
  • Sew the ends of the knitting together to make a loop. It should fit quite tightly. 

The crochet section depends on the depth of the border around the edge of the clock face, so you will need to determine how many rounds are appropriate for your clock. Mine was worked as follows:
  • Using the crochet hook, join the second colour onto the front edge of the loop and make a single crochet stitch into alternate stitches around the loop, as seen in the photo at the top of this post.
  • At the end of the first round, join with a slip stitch and chain 2 then work a treble crochet into each of the crochet stitches from the first round. At the end of the second round, join the first and last stitches with a slip stitch. 
  • Chain 1 to start the final round, then work a single crochet into alternate stitches around the edge to decrease and give a neat finish. Make sure it's not too tight! At the end of the round, join with a slip stitch and sew in ends. 
  • Put the clock in place and sew on buttons or other embellishments. (As the sewn join is  slightly visible in the knitting, I made sure that the join is positioned to be in the least visible spot, on the side that will face towards a wall.)
It's the long Bank holiday weekend here, so I'm not sure whether I'll make it back to the blog in the next few days but I wish you a lovely weekend whatever you're doing. 

4 comments

  1. What a clever way to turn a plain clock into a unique one. A great result.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Genius, I love a knitting/crochet mash up (wow look at me all down with the young peoples lingo!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic! Never would have thought of knitting as a method of creating a new clock from a plain old one. Clever you.

    ReplyDelete

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