Easy Beaded Shade Pull

A while back I showed how to make a few different designs of Crocheted Shade Pulls. They are listed as Vintage Shade Pull #1, #2 and #3 here under Crochet Patterns if you would like to take a look at them. This time, however, I have made a very easy Beaded Shade Pull to share with you.

I love getting out all my Beading Stuff to play around with colors and designs. I had fun making my Beaded Stitch Markers for knitting. They are very pretty and very practical if you're a knitter. Today I was looking to make something a little more homey, and my old inexpensive (read CHEAP!) roller shades in my bedroom sure could use a little lift, so here's what I did:


I got out My Stuff -- once again all the usual suspects: various boxes of beads and accessories, my handy never ending roll of monofilament, the large plastic rings I bought for the crocheted shade pulls but didn't use, a package of various sizes of sparkling gems I found at Michael's, my fancy scissors all dressed up in their own Beaded Scissor Fob, and of course my glasses.

I started playing around with bead combinations and this is what I ended up with:

At the bottom, I wanted something substantial so I chose the small diamond shaped "gem" from the box of Sparkling Gems. They also came in faceted ball shapes and a much larger diamond shape. I wasn't looking for Gaudy, and would have preferred something more colorful, but I did want something that would be easy to grab on to, so the small diamond gem was it.

I strung it onto a length of fishing line and then strung a round red bead and a diamond white bead onto each end of the line. I picked out a flat red bead to bring the two lines together and fed both ends of the line into it, thus making a single string of beads continuing to the top. I continued picking out and stringing beads until I had the length I wanted.


After I had strung all the beads to make the length I wanted, I wrapped the remaining line around the large plastic ring several times and then tied it to the line at the top of the beads to secure it. I fed the tails of the line back down through several of the beads and trimmed off the excess. Here you could put a dot of glue or clear nail polish onto the knot for extra holding power, but I did not.


I brought my newly made Beaded Shade Pull and my scissors up to my bedroom and picked the lucky shade that was going to get a little makeover today. I pulled out the plastic stick thingy from the pocket at the bottom of the shade so the end was just past the halfway point and I cut a slit straight up from the bottom, making sure I didn't cut through to the body of the shade itself. (As much as I'd like to replace these shades with something nicer, I don't really want to do it today!)

Then I put the plastic ring up into the slit, pushed the shade stick through the ring and back through the other side of the shade pocket


You can see how it's put back together in this picture.



And there's my Easy Beaded Shade Pull hanging pretty in my bedroom window! If I had waited about six more weeks to take this picture, you could have seen how beautiful the leaves are here in the fall.



Here you can see the shade pull hanging quite long in the window. You can make your own shade pulls as long as you need them to be. Being vertically challenged as I always have been and always will be, longer shade pulls are necessary on every shade in my house!

The walls in our bedroom are a deep rich red so the red beads in the shade pull work nicely in this room.

Pick a shade in your house and dress it up a little. I'd love to see what you come up with.

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Crocheted "Vintage" Shade Pull #3

I have always loved crocheting with thread, making doilies and dresser scarves and table runners and the like. But I also really like making something nice that can be finished quickly. The crocheted shade pulls which I shared with you recently are just two examples of practically instant gratification. And here is another original pattern for a vintage looking crocheted shade pull.

Start out with a small plastic ring and work 20 single crochet stitches into it. Join with a slip stitch.

Chain 2 and work one double crochet into the joining stitch. Work two double crochets into each stitch around and join with a slip stitch. You should have 40 stitches on your ring.

This is what your work should look like now.


Chain 8, skip the next 7 stitches and work a single crochet into the 8th stitch. Do this 4 more times. Into each of the 5 loops, work two single crochet, two half double crochet, two double crochet, one triple crochet, two double crochet, two half double crochet and two single crochet.

This is what your work will look like after finishing three loops.



Slip stitch in the first single crochet and this is what you will have.



Now work 150 chain stitches, or however many you need to make your hanging loop as long as you want it. Slip stitch at the base of the chain, cut thread, pull through the last loop and secure. Weave in ends and hang.



This is how mine looks in the front window. I think I'd like to come up with a little different pattern for each window in the house. If I do, I'll be sure to share them here!

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Another "Vintage" Crocheted Shade Pull

Here is another original 'vintage' shade pull for you. This one is similar in its beginning rounds to the first one I posted here and the overall look is still what I would call Flower-ish. But it's very easy and quick to make and looks pretty hanging in the window. Here are the directions:

Using a 1/2 inch plastic ring, #10 crochet cotton and a size 7 steel crochet hook, work 24 single crochet into the ring, joining with a slip stitch to the first single crochet.

*Chain 3, skip 1 single crochet, work one single crochet in next stitch.* Continue working from * to * around the ring, joining with a slip stitch at the base of the first chain 3.

Work 1 single crochet into the first loop, *chain 5, 1 single crochet in next loop* ending with a single crochet in the first chain 5 loop.

Work 6 single crochets in each loop around.

Work 100 chain stitches, or whatever number you need to make your hanging loop the desired length. Slip stitch at the base of the chain. Weave in ends and hang.


This is a close-up of the finished design. I think it is pretty and sort of delicate looking, but I also think it would hold up to years of use hanging on a window shade.



This is how it looks hanging in my front office window. Don't you think it's much more attractive than the old tassel?

If you like these shade pulls for a change, soon I will show you some beaded shade pulls that add a little color and shine to your windows.

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Make your own "Vintage" Crocheted Shade Pulls

A few years ago, a friend of mine asked if I could replicate some very old crocheted shade pulls that had been hanging in her house for as long as she could remember. She had lived in this old New England farmhouse for over 50 years, so they must have been quite old! She brought one to me to use as a sample, and I worked out the pattern and made her as many as she needed.

I never kept a picture of them, nor did I write down the pattern, and have since regretted both. How often I have thought how nice it would be to replace the $1.50 tassel shade pulls that I got from Home Depot with something pretty, unique and vintage looking! So here's what I did...


I gathered my materials which consisted of...

... a new ball of #10 white crochet cotton thread, some plastic rings in two sizes because I didn't know which size I would end up using, and my #7 steel crochet hook with Comfort Grip.

Then I started to think up a pattern and here's what I came up with...

Starting with a slip knot on my hook and a small plastic ring, I put my hook through the ring, drew up a loop around the ring...



...then drew up another loop through the two loops on the hook to complete the first single crochet.



I worked 22 single crochet stitches on the ring in the same manner and this is what it looked like after the first 8 stitches.



I joined the ring of stitches with a slip stitch into the first single crochet as shown above.



This is what my ring of 22 single crochet stitches looked like when finished.



Then I worked three chain stitches, skipped one single crochet and worked one single crochet into the next stitch. I continued this all the way around the ring until I had eleven loops and joined with a slip stitch at the base of the first chain three.



Then I did one single crochet in the first loop, worked five chain stitches and then one single crochet into the next loop.


I continued all the way around the ring working five chains and one single crochet into each loop, joining with a slip stitch into the first single crochet of the first loop. This is what it looked like.



In each loop around, I worked one single, one half double, one double, one triple, one double, one half double and one single crochet to make the little flower petal like curves. Then I joined with a slip stitch in the first single crochet as before. This is how it looked after four petals were complete.



And this is how it looked when all the petals were complete.



Then I crocheted 150 chain stitches and joined with a slip stitch at the base of the chain to complete the hanging loop. You could make this part however long you need for your own shades.



This is the old shade pull purchased at HD at the same time I purchased the shades. I removed the pull, leaving behind the little white button that screws into the bar at the bottom of the shade, and replaced it with my own brand new, handmade, original, unique, 'vintage' crocheted shade pull.


What do you think? The picture isn't the greatest and I apologize for that. I had a hard time trying to get the camera to focus on the shade pull instead of the scenery. But you get the idea.

They only took me about an hour to do each one, and that included time for taking pictures along the way, so they work up quickly. Make a few for yourself and see what you think.

I have a few more patterns that I worked up and I will share them with you soon!

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