Largely Leftovers

This beaded necklace pattern is another type of freeform, one that utilizes a wide variety of beads and works them into a cohesive piece. Making beaded jewelry in this manner helps expand our perceptions of shape and texture compatibility in finished projects.

I am one of those people who cannot throw anything away. Over time I, like most beaders, have amassed a huge collection of just one or two of many different beads. I had decided to work up this project, but was having problems organizing it. I was mulling it over one evening while fixing dinner, and suddenly remembered my mother's method of preparing and serving leftovers. The light bulb went on!

Mom would place whatever she had leftover into the cups of a muffin tin to reheat then (this was way before microwaves) and serve it to us buffet style. This was a great way to enchant five kids into eating leftovers, by the way! I decided that since my beads were leftovers, this method would work for them, too!

I placed the few beads of each color/shape/size/material in to its own paper muffin cup, set them all on my workbench, and simply reached out and drew a bead or two at random. I stopped my work and moved the cups around from time to time, so that my hands would not get into the habit of falling to the same cups over and over. I made up some rules, such as adding 3 of the same seed bead if that's what I drew, and putting the bead back if I accidentally drew from the same cup twice. I could not see into the cups, so it made the selection really random.

Like most projects of the freeform type, the instructions are pretty basic. Here's what you need to get started:

Spool of Soft-Flex or Beadalon wire

Crimp Beads, two for each strand, plus four more

Bead Caps, to fit over as many strands as you use. I used the Cone #1, item #COB001, from General Bead.

Lobster Claw and Split Ring As many different bead types and shades, in a similar color family, as you want to use. Don't worry about exact quantities. In this piece I used round, chip and oval crystals, freshwater pearls in two colors, size 11/0 seed beads in several colors and finishes, glass pony beads, bugles, silver bugles, round silver beads and more.

1. Start by stringing your first strand onto the wire, while it remains on the spool. When you have reached the length you want, add a crimp and pass the wire back through, leaving a 2mm loop. Close the crimp bead.

2. Turn the wire and cut it from the spool. Add a crimp bead and pass the cut end back through the crimp, again leaving a 2 mm loop. Close the crimp bead.

3. Continue making strands until you have as many as you want, or you run out of beads, whichever comes first! This necklace used nine strands.

4. Using the wire on the spool, place a crimp bead on it and pass it through all of the loops on one end of the strands. Pass the end throught the crimp bead again, and pull it down, so that it gathers all of the strands together. remove the wire from the spool. leaving about 8 inches. Close the crimp bead.

4. Repeat Step 4 on the other end of the strands.

5. Place an end cap onto each single wire piece. Add a few beads, then place a crimp bead onto the wire. Pass the wire through the loop on the Lobster claw and back through the crimp. Close the crimp bead. 6. Repeat on the other side, using a split loop in place of the lobster claw. The fun of this necklace is in the construction of the individual strands. Don't try to keep the strands the exact same length, but let them vary a bit. Let yourself go a bit, do as many or as few strands as you like. Have fun, and take your time making this. If you spend too much time playing with beads and forget to fix dinner, don't worry, serve leftovers tonight!