Wavy necklaceMake an easy necklace with flat dark wood beads, rhinestone balls, and vintage chain.
by Jane Konkel
Published: March 30, 2011 These super large amoeba-shaped beads have been floating around my
office since the 2008 Bead&Button Show. You can find 70 mm angular
rings at Beads and Pieces, or substitute two or three flat wood beads
for each of the large ones. I strung fancy Preciosa rhinestone balls and
large-link chain. Follow steps 1 and 2 to make large coils that work
much like Wire Guardians, so your beading wire doesn't slip through the
openings in the chain's end links. Use a long enough chain so that you
can skip a clasp, instead just slip it over your head.
Supplies:
• 5 70 mm flat wood beads or angular rings
• 6 12 mm Preciosa rhinestone beads
• 2 5 mm spacers
• flexible beading wire, .014 or .015
• 10–12 in. (25–30 cm) chain, 18–20 mm links
• 10 in. (25 cm) 20-gauge Artistic Wire
• 2 crimp beads
• 2 crimp covers
• 2 dowels, 2 mm and 4–5 mm diameter
• diagonal wire cutters
• heavy duty wire cutters
Rhinestone beads from JPDesigns, coolartwear.com.
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1. Cut a 5-in. (13 cm) piece of 20-gauge wire. Wrap it tightly around a 1–2 mm dowel to form a 3/4-in. (1.9 cm) coil. Trim the ends of the wire and remove the coil from the dowel.
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2. Pull the ens of the coil around a 4–5 mm dowel to form a U shape. Make a second coil.
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3. Cut a 22-in. (56 cm) piece of flexible beading wire. String alternating six 12 mm beads with five 70 mm beads.
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4. Cut a 10–14 in. (25–36 cm) piece of chain. On each end of the beaded strand string a crimp bead, a spacer, a coil, and an end of the the chain. Go back through the last few beads strung and tighten the wire. Crimp the crimp bead (Basics) and trim the excess wire.
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5. Close a crimp cover over each crimp.
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