1. Gather Your Supplies
A completed necklace. (Please click above for a larger view.)
You'll need the following beads and supplies to make a necklace that is about 16 inches long. I recommend keeping your necklace as short as possible, to ensure that the twists lie properly.
Beads:
- 22 size 15/0 round Japanese seed beads in black (A)
- About 305 (about 2.7 grams) size 11/0 round Japanese seed beads in black (B)
- About 48 CzechMates beads in bronze, dark bronze, or jet apollo (C)*
- About 48 size 11/0 round Japanese seed beads in opaque turquoise (D)
Learn more about the bead key letters shown above and other terms and annotations used in beading patterns.
*See my supplier directory for help locating the CzechMates. The seed beads are stocked by most vendors who sell Miyuki seed beads. If you have trouble finding any of them, I recommend selecting a different color that you love.
Beading Supplies:
- Your kit of essential beadweaving supplies
- Size 10 beading needle
- 6-pound FireLine beading thread in black
- A ruler or tape measure (for measuring the thread)
- Wire cutters or children's craft scissors
- Ready-made metal necklace clasp and matching jump rings (I used a Vintaj Natural Brass lobster clasp)
- Two pairs of chain nose pliers for jewelry making
2. Make the First End Loop
The first beaded end loop.
Use wire cutters or kids' craft scissors to cut a length of FireLine thread that is your desired total necklace length, plus about 18 inches. Thread your needle for single-strand beadweaving.
Pick up 1B and 9A with your needle, and slide them down to about six inches from the end of the thread. Hold the beads between the fingers of one hand, and use your other hand to pass the needle back down through the 1B, going in the opposite direction. Pull the thread taut to create a beaded loop. Tie a square knot with both ends of the thread up against the bottom of the loop.
3. String the First Row of Beads and Make the Second End Loop
The second beaded end loop completed and the locations of half-hitch knots.
Pick up 1C and 2B, and slide them down on the thread. Continue stringing sets of 1C and 2B until you reach your desired necklace length less about 0.75 inches and the length of your clasp.
String one more C bead.
Pick up 1B and 9A, and slide them down against the last C.
Tighten up the thread tension throughout the strand so that there is no obvious thread showing between beads, and then pass back down through the last 1B, in the opposite direction that you strung it. Pass through several more beads in the strand, and pull the thread taut to create a beaded loop.
Weave-in the thread:
Pass through a few more beads in the strand, and then take a moment to adjust the thread tension the best you can to minimize the amount of thread that shows between beads.
Bring the needle out between two adjacent B beads and tie a half hitch knot around the thread that runs between them. Pass into the beads in the strand again, bring the needle out between the next two adjacent B beads, and tie another half-hitch knot. Repeat this process until you've made a few more knots.
Pass through several more beads, bring the needle out, and trim the thread close to the beadwork.
Thread the needle on the tail of thread at the other end of the strand, and use the same technique to weave-in and end that thread.
Note: The beads in the example are a different color on each side because I used two-tone jet apollo beads. Your beads may be the same color on both sides.
4. Start a New Length of Thread for the Second Strand
Starting the second length of thread.
Cut a new piece of thread the same length as the first and thread the needle. Pass into your initial strand of beadwork an inch or so down from an end loop. Pull the thread through until a tail about two inches long is left emerging from the beadwork.
Tie a half-hitch knot over the existing thread. Make this knot in a different location than you made any of the previous knots (which were between adjacent B beads).
Pass through a few more beads and make another half-hitch knot. Pass into the strand again and bring the thread out after the last C bead.
Go back and trim off the short thread tail that you left at the beginning of this step.
5. Bead the Second Strand
The first set of beads for the second "strand" of the necklace.
Pick up 2A and pass through the empty hole in the same C that your thread currently exits.
Pick up 1B, 1D, and 3B. Slide these beads all the way down and hold them between the fingers of your non-dominant hand. Pass through the 1D in the same direction that you strung it. Pull the thread taut while continuing to hold the beads against the last C.
Pick up 1B and pass through the empty hole in the next C.
Repeat this process until you reach the other end of the necklace.
6. End the Thread
The thread being woven in.
Pick up 2A and pass the needle back into the top strand of the necklace. Weave this thread in, making half-hitch knots along the way, and then trim it off close to the beadwork.
7. Attach the Clasp and Twist Your Necklace
The completed necklace, with twists.
Use chain nose pliers to attach your ready-made clasp to the beaded end loops.
Your necklace is now complete!
To make the twists:
Before putting on your necklace, hold one end in one hand, and use the fingers of your other hand to gently twist it in one direction. (I use my index finger to "twirl" the strand around and around.) When you achieve relatively even twists, and before the necklace begins to twist up on itself, it's time to put the necklace on.
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