stepbystep

Make this simple but lovely neck-
lace with three medallions joined
by seed bead strands. The beaded
portion of the necklace measures
12 in. (.3m). The clasp and chain
add another 3

1

⁄

2

in. (89mm) to the

finished length.

medallions

Start with 24 in. (.6m) of

conditioned Nymo and leave a
5-in. (.13m) tail. String a main
color (MC) 11

0

seed bead, a 6

0

seed, 2MC, an accent color (AC)
11

0

, 2MC, and a 6

0

. Sew through

the first bead strung in the oppo-
site direction as before (photo a).

String 1MC, a 6

0

, 2MC, 1AC,

and 2MC. Go through the last 6

0

strung in step 1 (photo b). Then
go through the first MC strung in
this step (photo c). Repeat three
more times for a total of five
loops (photo d).

Sew through the first AC and

6

0

strung in step 1. String 2MC,

an AC, and 2MC. Go through the
last 6

0

and MC strung in step 2

(photo e) to create the top of the
sixth loop. Tie the tail and
working thread in a surgeon’s
knot (see “Basics”). Weave it
through several beads, tie a
half-hitch knot (see “Basics”), dot

2

b e a d a n d bu t t o n . c o m

S

imple beadweaving and stringing techniques

recall the elegance of another era

I

had a dream where my mother and I were at a formal dinner.

She was smiling at me, and I remember she was wearing a

beautiful necklace. Days later I could not forget the necklace,

so I sketched a picture of it. Once the piece was constructed, it

reminded me of something from the movie Titanic.

by Nealay Patel

Titanic relic

3

b e a d a n d bu t t o n . c o m

a

b

c

d

e

f

a

b

c

a

b

a

a

b

figure 1

figure 2

figure 3

figure 4

it with glue, and then trim the tail close
to the beads.

Go back through the first MC and

6

0

strung in step 1 (photo f). Moving

clockwise, continue through 2MC and
the AC at the top of the loop.

String 2MC, a 6

0

, and 2MC. Go

through the AC at the top of the next
loop (photo g). Repeat five times. Sew
through the first AC exited in step 4 to
complete the medallion. Weave the tail
through several beads and tie a half
hitch. Glue the knot, but do not cut off
the thread.

Repeat steps 1-5 to make two more

of the medallions.

outer strands
To string the necklace, use hex-cut 11

0

seed beads.

String an AC to the middle of 1 yd.

(.9m) of conditioned thread. Go
through it again in the same direction to
make a stop bead (which will be
removed later). Starting at figure 1,
point a sew through the top right 6

0

of a

medallion. Pull the thread through the
6

0

until the stop bead rests against it.

String five hex-cut seeds and an AC,
twice. Then string five hex.

Sew through a 6

0

on the edge of

another medallion. Then go through two
hex, an AC, and two hex (figure 1, b-c).

Go through the next 6

0

. String ten

hex and an AC (figure 2, a-b). Repeat
this sequence seven times. To make a
longer necklace, string more sets of
beads. Be sure to add the same number
of beads to all strands on both sides of
the necklace.

Go through the top hole on one of

the three-hole spacer bars. String six

4

b e a d a n d bu t t o n . c o m

c

a

b

figure 5

c

a

b

d

e

figure 7

c

a

b

figure 6

hex, a bead tip with the hook facing out,
and a hex (photo h). Wrap the thread
with tape to hold it temporarily.

To string the bottom strand, start at

figure 3, a and repeat steps 1-4, but go
through the bottom hole of the spacer.

To make the other side, remove the

stop bead from the top strand. Attach a
needle and weave to the top left 6

0

(fig-

ure 4, a-b). Repeat steps 1-5.

central strand

Using the thread tail remaining on

the right medallion, weave over to fig-
ure 5, a. Go through the 6

0

. String three

hex, an AC, five hex, an AC, and three
hex (a-b). Sew through the correspond-
ing 6

0

on the center medallion.

Go through all the beads just strung.

Start at point c and sew through the 6

0

and two hex. Weave the tail through
several beads, knot, glue, and trim.

Start with 24 in. of conditioned

thread and leave a 6-in. tail. String five
hex and an AC. Repeat seven more times.
End with three hex. Sew through the 6

0

on the right medallion (figure 6, a-b). Go
back through the beads just strung (b-c).

Sew through the middle hole on the

spacer. String five hex, and go through
the bead tip. Wrap with tape.

Repeat steps 1-4 to complete the

other end of the necklace.

swags
Work the bottom two swags with a con-
tinuous thread.

String a stop bead 6-in. from the

end of 24 in. of conditioned thread. Sew
through the 6

0

(figure 7, a) and pull the

thread through until the stop bead rests
against the 6

0

. String a hex, an AC, five

hex, an AC, four hex, an AC, four hex,
an AC, six hex, an AC, and three hex.
String an AC, then reverse the sequence
just strung. Go through the correspond-
ing 6

0

on the opposite medallion (a-b).

Sew through two hex (b-c) and tie a

half-hitch knot. Go back through the
hex beads and exit the 6

0

.

String 10AC and a hex. Repeat

twice. Then string 6AC. To make the
dangle, string a hex, 7AC, a hex, a 6mm
heart, and 1AC (d-e). Skip the AC and
sew back through the beads to point d.
String the second side of the swag by
reversing the sequence strung before the

dangle. Sew through the 6

0

back to

point a.

Remove the stop bead and tie the

thread ends with a surgeon’s knot. Glue
the knot. Weave each of the tails
through several beads, then trim.

closure
Use a seed bead inside each bead tip to
secure the strands’ ends.

Carefully remove the tape from the

strands at one end of the necklace.
Arrange them so the five-bead strand
sits inside the two six-bead strands
(photo i). Slide an 11

0

bead over two of

the threads (photo j). Use both sets of
threads to tie two surgeon’s knots. Dot
with glue. Trim the tails when dry.

Use chainnose pliers to close the

bead tip (photo k).

Slide a soldered jump ring and an

S-hook or lobster claw clasp into the
hook of the bead tip. Use chainnose pli-
ers to close the hook.

Repeat on the other end of the neck-

lace, sliding on a 3-in. (76mm) piece of
chain instead of the clasp.

To make the dangle at the end of the

chain, slide a hex, a 3mm crystal or
bead, and a hex on a head pin. Begin a
wrapped loop, (see “Basics”). Slide the
end loop of chain into the wrapped loop
and close the loop. Photo l shows the
completed clasp.

w

Contact Nealay in care of Bead&Button.

5

b e a d a n d bu t t o n . c o m

materials

• 5g seed beads, size 11

0

,

hex cut

main color (MC)

• 1g seed beads, size 11

0, (MC)

• 1g seed beads, size 11

0, accent color (AC)

• 1g seed beads, size 6

0, (AC)

• Nymo D, conditioned with Thread Heaven,

color to match beads

• 2 3-hole spacer bars
• 2 bead tips
• 2 soldered jump rings
• 3-in. (76mm) small link chain
• 6mm heart or crystal
• S-hook or lobster claw clasp
• 3mm crystal
• head pin
• tape
Tools: chainnose pliers, wire cutters

i

j

k

l

g

h

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