Skill Level
Advanced Beginner
Materials
Size 4 Yarn for shells (gray and color to match beads, use your scraps)
Size 10 crochet thread for adding beads (neutral or color to match beads, just a bit)
6 mm Faceted beads (a few handfuls)
Hooks, Size F (3.75 mm) and C (2.75 mm)
Techniques
Magic Ring
Increasing in the round
Surface crochet
Beadwork
Abbreviations
MR – Magic Ring Yarn
SC – Single Crochet
INC – Increase (2 SC in same stitch)
ST(s) – Stitch(es)
FO – Fasten Off Cut the yarn.
REP – Repeat
RND – Round
SURF SS – Surface Slip Stitch Crochet
BEAD SS – Beaded Slip Stitch
CCW – Counterclockwise
YO – Yarn Over Wrap it.
Outer Shell
Gray yarn (or other rock color), Size 4
Size F (3.75mm) hook
RND 1: SC 6 into MR (6 sts )
RND 2: INC in each st around (12 sts)
RND 3: (1 SC, INC) REP around (18 sts)
RND 4: (2 SC, INC) REP around (24 sts)
RND 5: (3 SC, INC) REP around (30 sts)
RND 6: (4 SC, INC) REP around (36 sts)
RND 7: (5 SC, INC) REP around (42 sts)
RND 8: SC in each st around (42 sts)
RNDs 9–14: REP RND 8
Do not FO
Inner Shell
Beige yarn or matching bead color, Size 4
Size F (3.75mm) hook
RND 1: SC 6 into MR
RND 2: INC in each st around (12 sts)
RND 3: (1 SC, INC) REP around (18 sts)
RND 4: (2 SC, INC) REP around (24 sts)
RND 5: (3 SC, INC) REP around (30 sts)
RND 6: (4 SC, INC) REP around (36 sts)
RND 7: SC in each st around (36 sts)
RNDs 8–11: REP RND 7
FO
Beaded Center
String a few dozen faceted beads onto size 10 crochet thread( I used a big eye needle)
2.75 mm hook
Begin at the center the inner shell.
Using SURF SS, crochet in a CCW spiral, sliding one bead per stitch and completing a BEAD SS each time.
- Create a slip knot with the crochet thread. Insert the 2.75 hook into the back of the center of the inner shell.
- Grab the slip knot loop and pull it through the hole.
- Then insert the hook into a hole to the left, slide down a bead past the hook, yarn over, pull the loop through the hole and through the loop on the hook.
- **Insert the hook into a hole to the left of the current hole, slide a bead down past the hook, yarn over and pulled through the hole and through the loop on the hook**.
- Repeat **to ** until you run out of beads.
- String more beads.
- *Then create a new slip knot, insert hook into next hole to the left, slide down a bead past the hook, yarn over and pull through the hole and through the loop on the hook. Repeat ** to ** until you run out of beads. *.
- Repeat *to* until the inside of the inner shell is full of beads.
Weave in all ends.
Assembly
Set inner shell into outer shell. Join the last row of each shell using a slip stitch, catching the back loops of the outer shell and front loop of the inner shell. FO. Weave in ends.