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Stitch Tube Necklace |
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Great Use for
Leftover Seed Beads
This necklace is a great way to use up small amounts of leftover beads. My secret shame is a zip-lock baggie full of mixed up seed beads that I'm too lazy to separate. I had to use them for something or be forever guilty. Of course once the necklace was finished the bag was almost as full as it was before! Oh well, at least I got a great necklace out of it. I get tons of compliments on it every time I wear it. It's easy to make, if a little time consuming. Best of all, this necklace is perfectly suitable for either a man or a woman.
What you'll need:
Size 12 beading needle
Size 0 Nymo beading thread
Lobster claw clasp
Beeswax or Thread Heaven
A small amount of as many colors as you want to use. The fewer colors you use, the more of each you'll need.
I don't know if you can tell from the picture or not, but the sequence of colors repeats. This isn't absolutely necessary, but I think it gives the necklace at least a semblance of order. One thing I've noticed is that if you're going for a funky colorful look, you need to use plenty of red. I know this sounds strange, but it's true, trust me. I also used two rows of each color at a time. I wanted to give each color a chance to show clearly. I like to use a thin thread and double it for strength.
To start, pick up ten blue beads. Tie a square knot to form a circle. Thread your needle through the first bead in the direction your thread is going. This is semi-important because forcing your thread to go backwards can leave a little loop behind. It's always good to go with the flow unless you have a good reason not to.
Pick up a yellow bead to start your second row. As I mentioned, I used two rows of each color before going on to a new color. In the diagram I used a second color for the second row in order to make it easier to explain. Thread your needle through the back of the blue bead your thread is coming out of and continue through the next two blue beads in the base row.
Pick up another yellow bead and repeat four times. Essentially you are adding a yellow bead on top of every other blue bead in the base row. When you add the fifth yellow bead only thread through the first bead following it so that your thread is coming out of the blue bead next to where you added the first yellow bead. Bring your needle up and go through the first yellow bead you added.
Now you are ready to fill in the spaces in the second row. Pick up a yellow bead and thread your needle though the next yellow bead in the row. Continue around the circle filling in each space until your thread is once again coming out of the first yellow bead. Pull your thread taught so that the second row is standing up straight on top of the first row.
Keen, huh? Each subsequent row is built in the same manner as the second row. Continue adding rows until the necklace fits comfortably around your neck. (This could take a while. :-) I made mine long enough to hang down several inches, but I think it would also make a rather nice choker. I finished each end with one full row of black and one half row. Meaning I threaded through the five beads of the second black row without filling in the spaces. This tapers the ends and closes off the holes. To add a clasp, pick up three beads, the claw half of your clasp, and 3 more beads. Go through the bead directly across from the bead you came out of and go back through the beads and clasp. Repeat until you can't get the needle through again and weave back into the necklace to secure it. Do the same thing with a jump ring on the other end, and you're done!
~This content created by Emily Hackbarth
