| Favorite Beaded Necklace |
What You'll Need:
Around 1000 size 8° hex-cut seed beads.
I used beads I can only describe as Metallic Olive Iris.
10 to 15 6mm spherical beads.
Semi-precious stone beads would look great. I used black semi-glossy glass.
10 to 15 Delicas that match your larger seed beads.
Lobster claw clasp
Beading Needle
Size A Silimide pre-waxed thread.
First, attach your lobster claw clasp. Use a couple of beads on either side to form a loop, tie off leaving a tail to hide later. String on 162 seed beads. Check the length to see if it needs to be shorter or longer. It isn't a choker, it should hang down an inch or so. If it's long enough, add one more bead. If it needs to be longer, add beads in sets of 16 plus one extra bead at the end. Too long? Remove beads in sets of 16. You will still need to add one extra bead at the end. Add a jump ring to the other end and hide the tail of your thread by going back through several beads. Start a new thread by entering 10 beads or so from the end and going through the last bead several times to secure it. To form the first loop, pick up 30 beads. Skip the next 16 beads and pass your needle through the 17th bead to form a loop. Go down through the last five beads you just added.
The rest of the large loops are formed like this: Pick up 25 beads, skip 15 beads and go through the 16th. Go down through the last five beads you just added. Repeat until you get to the end of your necklace.
The smaller loops inside are slightly more complicated so I've enlarged the diagram a bit so that you can see better.
From the end of the base row thread through 5 beads. Pick up 20 beads, skip 7 beads in the base row and go through the 8th. Now go back through all 20 beads and through the back of the bead that you originally left. Continue through the next 4 beads. Pick up 1 seed bead, 1 accent bead, 1 more seed bead, and 1 Delica. Skip the Delica (your turn bead) and go back up through your large seed beads and your accent bead. Re-enter the base row at the back of the bead your thread is coming out of. Continue through the next twelve beads and repeat this process. I find it easier to remember that there are 3 beads between the beginning of each large loop and the beginning of each small loop. This is true for the ends of the loops as well. This diagram of a completed section should help you visualize this.
This necklace can be made with smaller beads, just add more sections and use correspondingly smaller accent beads. They should have room to swing freely inside the smaller loop. Experiment with the size and number of loops you use.
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