At a street market in Carlsbad in the
Czech Republic, my husband and I
noticed a young woman with a booth
full of beaded necklaces. At first, they
looked like the popular tattoo necklaces
that teens wear, but these were made
from seed beads, not plastic. I bought a
necklace for 35 hellars (about one U.S.
dollar) and saw that it was actually a
zigzag chain.
This choker looks great with T-shirts,
but you can also make a shorter version
to wear as an anklet with capris. The
picots work up very quickly, so plan to
make these necklaces as easy gifts.
step
by
step
Measure your neck to determine the
finished length of the choker.
Cut a length of thread at least 4
times longer than your finished neck-
lace. Slide a needle to the center of the
thread and tie the ends around the clasp
with a surgeon’s knot (see “Basics”).
You’ll use the thread doubled.
Pick up 5 beads and slide them
against the clasp, covering the thread
tails at the knot (photo a). Sew through
the third and fourth beads from the
clasp in the same direction as before
(photo b). Pull the thread tight. This
creates a 3-bead picot.
Pick up 2 beads and slide them
toward the clasp. Sew back through the
fifth and sixth beads. Pull tight. Contin-
ue picking up 2 beads and looping back
through the last bead of the previous
group and the first bead of the newly
added group to make picots.
To finish the necklace, string 2 beads
and the other clasp half. Go through the
clasp several times and knot the threads
between the clasp and the last bead
(photo c). Go back through a few beads
to hide the thread and cut it. Glue all
the knots.
Pat can be reached at 4412 Baltic St.,
Jacksonville, FL 32210; (904) 387-9712;
or pduerfel@leading.net.
Tattoo necklace
Use simple picots to form a zigzag chain
by Pat Duerfeldt
materials
• 15g Seed beads, size 8
0
• Nymo D bead thread
• Beeswax or Thread Heaven
• Beading needles, #10
• Clasp
• Clear nail polish or G-S Hypo cement
a
b
c
