Take a summer stroll down famous Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, and one of the first things you’ll notice is the beautiful landscaping, including picturesque flowerbeds and statues. Walking along on my lunch break one day, I realized that all of these statues must get pretty hot in the summer sun. It should come as no surprise that my next thought was “I should crochet them some sunglasses.”

So that’s exactly what I did. And on a particularly nice day in late July, I set off down Pearl Street with my friend Becky McKay (also known as the Cereal Baker) to help out some statues. It was by far the most fun I have ever had downtown! People really seemed to get a kick out of us. Tourists photographed our handiwork. A waiter at Trattoria got in on our fun. Even the cops were smiling. Now I just want to make more and cover the world’s statues with crocheted sunglasses, which Becky dubbed “croshades.”

Isn’t that a great name? Can you think of a better product? Okay, maybe glasses you can actually see out of would be better. I’m on it! Becky just challenged me to crochet such a pair.

I wonder what they will look like. Will they be like the shutter shades of the ’80s? Will the lenses be lacy or covered in fringe? Or will they look like LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge glasses? You’ll have to stay tuned for the Make It! Challenge, Croshades Edition, slated for early next year.

Until then, crochet a pair of these beauties with my croshades pattern. I think it goes without saying that you shouldn’t wear these while driving, operating heavy machinery, or well, moving about in any way. They’re really just for decorating your favorite inanimate objects.

Here’s one thing to keep in mind when you go yarnbombing. While croshades work really well on statues with ears, it’s good to bring a little extra yarn with you in case you need to tie your croshades on the statue.

Whatever you do, be sure to take pictures. Send them to squirrelpicnic{at}gmail{dot}com and I’ll add them to our Croshades album on Facebook and do a follow-up post here.

Check out these photos of our fun on Pearl Street.

Croshades Pattern

Materials:

(A) Small amount of worsted weight yarn in black
(B) Small amount of worsted weight yarn in a bright color of your choice
(C) Small amount of worsted weight yarn in white
2 pipe cleaners
D-3 (3.25 mm) crochet hook
Tapestry needle

Fantastic Alternative Method: Instead of using pipe cleaners to give the arms some strength, take a pair of real sunglasses and position them behind the croshades. Work each arm of the real sunglasses carefully into a hole on the inner side of each croshades arm and push the real arms all the way down to the end.

Instructions:

Lens (make 2)

With A yarn, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in ea sc around. Slst in first sc to join. (12)

Rnd 3: Ch 1, *sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * 5 more times. Slst in first sc to join. (18)

Rnd 4: Ch 1, *sc 2, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * 5 more times. Slst in first sc to join. (24)

Rnd 5: Ch 1, *sc 3, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * 5 more times. (30)

Switch to B yarn. Slst.

Rnd 6: Ch 1, *sc 4, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * 5 more times. Slst in first sc to join. (36)

Rnd 7: Ch 1, *sc 5, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * 5 more times. Slst in first sc to join. (42) FO.

When you get to the end of the second lens, don’t FO. Continue with the following instructions.

Ch 5.

Dtr 3 in next sc. FO, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Connect the lens by sewing this 3 dtr “nosepiece” to the other lens. Weave in ends.

Arms  (make 2)

With B yarn, ch 11

Row 1: Sc in 2^nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Ch 1, turn. (10)

Rows 2-3: Sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn.

Row 4: Sc, dec, sc 4, dec, sc, ch 1, turn. (8)

Rows 5-6: Rep rows 2-3.

Row 7: Sc, dec, sc 2, dec, sc, ch 1, turn. (6)

Rows 8-9: Rep rows 2-3.

Row 10: Sc 2, dec, sc 2, ch 1, turn. (5)

Repeat rows 2-3 until piece measures 7 inches long. FO, leaving a long tail for sewing.

After you’ve crocheted both arms and made sure that they are the same length, place one pipe cleaner in the middle of one arm. I recommend securing the pipe cleaner by sliding the end through a stitch toward one end of the arm. Fold the wire back on itself and twist it around the wire at the middle of the arm to make sure that it doesn’t come out through the stitches and poke someone. Repeat with the wire at the other end. Then fold arm lengthwise. Use the tail to sew up the back and sides. Sew the wider end to the side of one lens. Repeat for the other arm.

With C yarn, embroider a reflection spot on each lens.

While croshades work really well on statues with ears, it’s good to bring a little extra yarn with you when you go yarnbombing in case you need to tie your croshades on the statue… or fire hydrant.

Note: I think it goes without saying that you shouldn’t wear these while driving, operating heavy machinery, or well, moving about in any way. They’re really just for decorating your favorite inanimate objects.