Back to School -Jar Socks!

No, it's not a toddler friendly form of swearing...Jar Socks are crafty ways to make pencil pots far more interesting and house-friendly, particularly if you have to give over kitchen table space for kids homework but can't stand having the yucky neon plastic of kiddie pen tubs out on your sideboard. Pretty easy to make too (assuming some rudimentary crochet knowledge and the ability to bodge), they can be adapted for make-up brushes, button jars, jewellery pots, key stores or pretty much anything with a couple of badges, a vintage brooch or some buttons.

You will need:

Crochet hook - I used a size 4, but shrink/enlarge depending on your yarn;

Couldn't resist a diddy one...

Scraps of DK yarn -don't go and buy a whole ball for this, odds and ends are great if you like stripes;
Scissors
Darning needle for loose ends
A selection of jam jars

The basic idea:
You have to think in 3D and imagine you are making one of those coil-type pots at school from clay...just with wool.

Start with a basic granny square principle: Ch 5, join with a slip stitch then ch 3. Treble 2, ch 2, treble 3, ch2, treble 3, ch2, treble 3, ch2 and join with slip stitch. Slipstitch along 2 until you reach the corner gap, then ch 3. Treble 2, ch 2, treble 3 ch2 and repeat until you have 8 clusters of trebles and a granny square. Join with a slip stitch.

Then start movin' on up: Ch2, complete a circle of double crochet around in each stitch, then join with slip stitch and repeat at least twice. Then I moved onto rows of trebles -make sure you ch3 at the start and join back at the top to keep your rows even and not spirally. Keep measuring against your jar for height as you go along. When the jar tapered in, I made 4 evenly spaced sneaky decreases in each row to ensure that the finished product would 'grip' the jar (no-one likes Nora Battie Jar Socks).

Up and over: When you are approaching the top, switch back to double crochet rows as this holds things together more snuggly. Think of this bit like a roll neck sweater -you need to create a roll over that holds everything in place. You can either switch colours to make a contrast neck or keep the same, but either way, another set of sneaky decreases are called for (especially if your tension is pretty loose). Four rows should create a snug neck, go crazy with more if you want your jar to slouch.

Neat and tidy: Sew in your loose ends snuggly and add buttons, badges, even a small school tie if you are so inclined. Insert Jar, feel smug and fill up with stationary (preferably fresh out of the packet).

Now on to the algebra...