DIY beaded necklace: learning to make beautiful

With your own hands

Today the attitude to beads is twofold. Many girls do not accept ornaments on the neck made of these small elements, as they consider them not fashionable enough. But in vain. In fact, beaded accessories are quite beautiful and rather complicated ornaments to perform. Therefore, even the most fashionable design houses are addicted to various neck accessories.

Beaded necklace is an elegant piece of jewelry that attracts everyone's attention. A simple necklace made of beads and white beads refreshes almost any look, makes it delicate. A large necklace made of black or gold elements can perfectly diversify a business attire and even an evening dress.

If you want to have something special in your arsenal, it is not necessary to purchase a necklace at a craftsmen fair. Self-woven handmade product turns into a truly unique author's work. And ready-made schemes and step-by-step master classes will help even a beginner to cope.

Hello from history

Beaded necklaces began to enjoy popularity in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries. At that time, a style called art deco came into vogue. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers no longer wore lush dresses, decorated with various stones and beads as much as possible, put on designer headbands with pendants, lush feathers, and dressed themselves up with huge long strings of pearls.

At that time, beads became one of the "highlights" of the style. Why did it happen? Beaded products were not as expensive as, for example, jewelry with glass and jewelry with precious stones, but in design, designer jewelry of simple craftswomen from miniature beads was not inferior even to eminent couturiers.

We select materials

For the simplest looking necklace, you will need:

  • beads;
  • additional accessories if necessary (beads, rhinestones, etc.);
  • clasp;
  • a pair of weaving needles, and another pair just in case;
  • hook number 1,5;
  • pins;
  • soft cardboard or wide cushion;
  • nylon thread No. 50, fishing line or monofilament;
  • small scissors;
  • carnations with ears;
  • pliers.

When choosing beads, there are several nuances that you should know. Beads, like any other thing, differ in quality. In the store, pay attention to the uniformity of color, the edges of the elements (they should be free of chips, cracks and other deformations), the beads should be as similar to each other as possible. Otherwise, the picture on the necklace will turn out to be ugly.

The clasp for the necklace should be neither small nor large. It is best to use a spring lock. Such a clasp looks like a ring with a spring mechanism. They are stamped in large batches and are often used for lightweight jewelry. Unlike a carbine, a springel is not able to withstand a lot of weight, but it looks very delicate and does not strike the eye.

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Additional accessories for the clasp. If you want your necklace to be neat, then it is better to buy a lock with openwork caps. Such accessories will cost a little more, but the product will look neat and finished. Among the disadvantages of the lock is too simple a mechanism, and due to the miniature size of the fastener, it is difficult to cope with it with one hand. The latch that prevents the jewelry from being unfastened may fail, although outwardly this does not manifest itself in any way. If the breakage is not noticed in time, the accessory will slip away from the hostess's neck.

Lightweight, durable, small - the main advantages of a spring clip for a necklace or choker.

Needles must be bought immediately such that the diameter of the tool passes into the hole of the beads. Otherwise, you will simply make yourself and others laugh. It is better to take several pairs of needles. Firstly, they are lost, and secondly, they break.

Sometimes beaded jewelry is made using crochet hooks. This technique is a little easier to implement.

The nylon thread should also be of sufficient quality. You can check it simply by stretching it in your hands. A reliable base will not break with gentle feminine force, even if you try very hard.

When choosing a fishing line, you should pay attention not only to its number, but also to the "tensile strength". This indicator is often labeled on the package as a line test, it stands next to the number and is expressed in kilograms. The higher the number, the stronger the line. It is better to give preference for needlewomen to numbers from 0,14 to 0,30. The most common is 0,20, and the thickness-number dependence is straight: the larger the line number, the thicker it is, respectively.

Monofilament is very similar in appearance to fishing line, therefore, the characteristics of these bases are generally similar. But monofilament has more elasticity than fishing line. With an effort, you can stretch it and tear it with a very strong desire. The release of threads in different colors will help to achieve the most harmonious result in combination with matching beads.

DIY bead necklace workshop

First, prepare all the tools and materials on a large table, which is covered with either soft paper or a white, but preferably green, tablecloth. There should be as much light as possible. If your vision is not perfect, then it is better not to work in the evening, as any lamps set your eyes very quickly.

Working with beads involves a huge workload of the eyes, so the workplace should be as comfortable and properly equipped as possible.

Be sure to take a convenient container in which you can mix the beads, and then draw the beads from it onto the instrument.

To get a beautiful, voluminous necklace, you first need to string about five meters of elements on the base. Therefore, you need to be patient and comfortable at your desk. Make sure that the beads of different sizes are evenly distributed over the base. When you string five meters, you cannot cut the fishing line, it will still be used during knitting, and extra knots are not needed.

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If you decide to crochet, then here you only need one skill - the ability to knit an air loop. Each air loop should have one bead, you can see other workshops where sometimes empty loops are knitted or two beads are knitted in one loop at once, but a more accurate product will turn out if you take only one bead at a time, then it turns out beautiful and airy. The fishing line remains practically invisible, because bright beads are striking.

In the process of knitting an air chain, gradually wind the product around a simple book. This is necessary so that the necklace does not get tangled, and you do not waste your time.

When you knit or string all the prepared beads on the fishing line, you can start forming the necklace. There are also nuances here, since each layer of our future product will differ in length, thus, the decoration will turn out to be beautiful, it will sit neatly on the chest.

For the final formation of the necklace, we need a large pillow (regular or sofa), or you can take a sheet of corrugated cardboard for convenience. Any soft base that holds its shape so that you can stick sewing pins into it, for example, soft paper from under a box of chocolates, will work.

  • First, you need to outline the length of the first thread of the future product. To do this, measure 43 ... 45 cm with a centimeter, and then fasten the pins in one line.
  • On one side of the cardboard, place the pins in one column, and on the other, move the column about 0,5 cm in each row.
  • Now our chain should be distributed between the pins, forming tiers. There should be 52 rows in total.
  • You can string the chain twice on one row of pins.

As always, you can find a suitable video masterclass on the Internet to follow the master's actions in the distribution of the tiers of our chain. But remember that no one will tell you all the secrets anyway.

  • It is convenient to collect the tiers for fastening to the fastener with a stud with an eyelet, starting from the longest edge and following to the short one.
  • When all the tiers are assembled on one side, the eye of the stud must be clamped with pliers. The same should be done from the second side.
  • It remains only to put on the fastener caps and make a loop from the second end of the stud with round-nose pliers.
  • After that, you need to fix the lock.

As you can see, you won't need beaded necklace patterns for such a necklace. But you can choose another option for knitting jewelry, where you will have to apply not only your hands, but also your head.

Do-it-yourself necklace made of beads and beads is not an easy task, as it might seem at first glance, therefore, either you stock up on patience and perseverance, since it is not a fact that beauty will come out the first time. Or just go to the store and get yourself something to your liking. Beading seems like a simple task only at first glance.

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In order for the first weaving experience to be successful, it is worth listening to the simple recommendations of proven masters:

  • if you weave according to the pattern, then strictly adhere to the rules, at least in the beginning (to implement improvisations, it is worthwhile to master the basic knitting skills well);
  • it is better to weave on a substrate of a contrasting color, but not necessarily black (this way all the details, the direction of the threads will be clearly visible);
  • before creating your own jewelry, you should decide in advance on the desired length and width, otherwise there is not enough beads, then fishing line, then something else special;
  • if nylon or nylon threads are used, the cut ends should be melted with a lighter (prevents puffing of the cut);
  • it is more convenient to hide the knots between the beads using a needle or a thin crochet hook.

When is a beaded necklace worn?

This handmade beaded necklace attracts a lot of attention. It fascinates with its unusual shape, the play of light on the elements. This decoration is not only for special occasions. A casual look for the city or an office suit can be complemented with such an accessory.

Basic rules in favor of beads:

  • in the image, it is important to correctly take into account the material of the decoration, its color, shape and volume;
  • it is worth remembering that a bright accessory focuses on the neck and neckline, attracting attention, so if you do not want to protrude your chest for the show, then it is better to just cover your neck with a scarf or scarf;
  • for each cutout shape there is a certain type of necklace or choker;
  • beads reflect and refract light, it is not advisable to combine it with shiny fabrics, products decorated with sequins and bright rhinestones;
  • a beaded necklace is categorically not combined with a brooch;
  • it is not advisable to combine large jewelry with other bright jewelry on the face;
  • the openwork of the accessory does not match with massive jewelry made of metal and large stones;
  • do not combine the beaded accessory with any other materials.

We hope that after reading our article you will be able to make your own beaded necklace with your hands. But remember one rule of work with beads: you must be as focused and accurate as possible. Otherwise, there will be no sense. Do not plan to weave something special and huge to begin with. A large necklace requires experience and unique dexterity. In the first couples, start weaving some one-thread jewelry around your neck - a small choker. If you plan to make something from pearls and beads, then it is better to watch a few professional master classes first. Pearls are a very delicate creature that deserves to be treated with true respect.

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