What do you do when you have lots of scrap yarn that can’t really be used to make anything but you still can’t really throw away?  You can throw them around and create a tangled mess?  You can put them in a bag and wait for something to come up.  You can use them to make colorful headbands, but having only one head that many headbands isn’t really useful.  You could make baby headbands so your 2 year old daughter can wear them for 2 minutes then throw them in the trash.

-OR-

You make magnetic photo frames!  And then you make more photo frames.  And then you think about posting about it because you are a crazy yarn obsessed chic who also happens to love blogging.  Then you decide to post about it AND write up a tutorial.

Yes, I blurred the photos because I wouldn’t want other people posting pictures of my daughter without telling me first, but trust me they were sooooo cute.

You are going to need:

• Scrap yarn (you can always use a new skein but then it wouldn’t be a stash busting project).  I used DK Acrylic yarn in green.
• A pair of siscors
• 3.5mm hook.
• A tapestry needle
• Magnets ( I have the kind that just stick on but you might need glue too if you just have regular magnets)
• And some felt

How to make them:

The pattern is for a standard photo size 15 x 10 cms.  You can customize it to fit any size photo.

Make a slip knot and chain 86.  I got to 86 by chaining until the chain was 8.5 cm long and that was my first side and it took 17 chains, then I chained until it got to 13.5 cm and that took 26 chains (86 = 17 + 26 + 17 + 26).   You want the frame overlap the picture a bit because there is no plastic to keep the photo from falling out.  If you want to  change the size or if you are using a different sized hook or yarn weight just figure our your own starting chain length, just keep in mind the number of chains it took for the lengths to be right.

Round 1: Join to the first chain with a slip stitch, chain 1, single crochet in the next 16 stitches (this creates your first side), single crochet 3 in the next stitch (this creates your first corner), single crochet in the next 25 stitches (this creates your second side), single crochet 3 in the next stitch (this creates your second corner), single crochet in the next 16 stitches (this creates your third side), single crochet 3 in the next stitch (this creates your third corner), single crochet in the next 25  stitches (this creates your final side), single crochet 3 in the next stitch (this creates your final corner). [94 stitches in total]

Round 2: Join to the first single crochet with a slip stitch, chain 1, single crochet in the next 17 stitches, single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 27 stitches , single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 18 stitches, single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 27  stitches  single crochet 3 in the next stitch, single crochet 1. [102 stitches in total]

Round 3: Join to the first single crochet with a slip stitch, chain 1, single crochet in the next 18 stitches, single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 29 stitches , single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 20 stitches, single crochet 3 in the next stitch , single crochet in the next 29  stitches  single crochet 3 in the next stitch, single crochet 2. [110 stitches in total]

Slip stitch into the first sc to join.

Now you have yourself a nice rectangular frame.

You can finish off and weave in ends or you can go on to add a picot edge or a bobble edge.

To make the bobble edge:

Lucy at Attic24 has this really amazing tutorial on how to make bobble edging.  Just slip stitch 10 between each bobble, you will end up with 10 bobbles along your edge.

To make the picot edge:

*Chain 3 then slip stitch into the sing crochet where the chain comes out from, slip stitch 3*.  Repeat what is between the ** until you reach the very first slip stitch, finish off and weave ends.

Make the back:

Cut out a rectangular felt piece 18 x 12.5 cm. I snip off the corners to give it a cleaner finish.   Using the tapestry needle and the same yarn you used to make your frame whip stitch the felt to the crochet.  Make sure that the felt is straight. If for any reason the felt is a bit larger than your crochet piece you can trim it.  Sew only three sides leaving one of the wider sides open so you can insert pictures easily.  Stick the magnets on.  I used five because 3 were not enough.  Voila!  Insert photo, stick on your fridge and enjoy.

Other tips:

• You can use iron on interfacing to make the back sturdier, I tried one that way but decided it was not worth the hassle.
• If you have stronger magnets you can use two pieces of felt and glue the magnets inside for a cleaner finish, unfortunately my magnets did not work underneath the felt.
• You can sew on a loop and hang these on a nail on the wall or use paper backing instead of felt and use blue tac on the wall.
• Experiment with different edges and color combinations.