How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker

Although the finished look is very intricate,

the fishbone pattern is really quite simple to

create. If you can tie a square knot, you can

make this look. If you don't know how to tie

the knot, now is a great time to learn!

Skill Level

Intermediate

Time

Required

1 to 1-1/2

hours

Materials

Comments

Hemp or Cord

I used 1-mm diameter hemp cord. I think

waxed linen would look very nice, too. You can

use other thickness/types of cord - just make

sure your beads will fit! The bead carrier cord

can be thinner than the other cord, but you

want it to be strong enough to support the

weight of your beads without breaking.

Beads

You can use beads that are all one size, but I

like the graduated hemp rings, so I used

multiple sizes (two 5-mm, two 6-mm, two 8-

mm, one 10-mm vintage Swarovski round

crystals). The beads don't need to be round.

Also, you can use more or fewer beads. I think

the design works best with an odd number of

beads.

Knotting Board or Substitute I used a 3-ring binder and some Scotch tape.

Scissors

Okay, so I used my wire cutters. My bad.

Measuring Tape

Not absolutely necessary, but better safe than

sorry.

Glue

Normal white glue is often recommended, but I

get my jewelry wet, so I prefer clear-drying

Jewel Bond or similar non-toxic waterproof glue.

Hemp jewelry often uses pony beads, shells or other natural beads. My wood

beads have huge holes and my stone beads have tiny holes, so I updated the

classic look with Swarovski crystals. However, you can use any type of bead

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

you want, as long as the beads will fit on a single strand of your chosen

macrame cord.

First things first. You will need some sort of knotting board on which to make

your jewelry. This is important because the cord around which you will be

forming the knots (known as the filler cord) must be held straight to keep your

work neat. Many people use a clipboard and simply place the first knot under

the clip. Some people are comfortable tying the cord to their big toe or to a

door knob. I used a 3-ring binder, with a knot/space/knot hooked onto the

middle ring of the binder. You can also purchase knotting boards.

To begin, decide what length you will make your jewelry. You'll want a snug

(not tight) fit, so simply take the measurement around your neck, ankle, wrist,

whatever, to get the finished length. For a choker, you want three cords each

about 8 feet long (about 2 meters) and cut two cords 12-18" long (about half a

meter). The long cords will be folded in half and used for the actual knotting of

the design. They will serve as both knotting cords and filler cords. One of the

shorter cords will be used to tie on the jewelry. The other short cord will be the

carrier for the beads. Obviously, you will want shorter cords for bracelets or

anklets. Just keep in mind that it is easier to work with too-long cords than it is

to add more cords if you make your initial strands too short.

I've broken some of the knot instructions into

separate pages to improve the load time of this

tutorial. Set one short cord aside for now. Fold

one short cord in half. Align the three longs

cords and find their mid-point (I just folded

them in half). Secure the middle of the three

long cords with a

lark's head

mounting knot.

If desired, tie an loose

overhand knot

about the lark's

head knot to leave yourself an opening so you can

secure the hemp to a knotting board. I tied the piece

photographed for this tutorial taped to a piece of

printer paper and my desk using Scotch tape! As you

can see, fancy workspaces really aren't required.

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Now, you have two short strands

above the lark's head knot (top of

the work) and six long strands

below it.

Tie

square knots

using two of the long

strands, with the other four knots acting

as filler cords. For my choker, I tied 20

knots, or about 2". You will want fewer

knots and/or fewer beads for a bracelet

or anklet.

Now, add the cord that will be the bead carrier.

To do this lay the remaining short cord on top of

the filler cords, parallel to them and extending

an inch or two over the knots that you have tied

so far. Use your knotting cords to tie a square

knot around this new cord as well as the four

filler cords.

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Bend to extended portion of the short cord down over

this knot. Tie four more square knots over the end, the

fillers, and the bead carrier strand. I had a total of 25

square knots once the carrier strand had been secured.

Now, start to make the fishbone pattern.

The first step is to form three pairs of

knotting strands. Start by laying your

knotting cords out perpendicular to the

work. Take one pair of filler cords and tie a

square knot about the other pair of filler

cords and the bead carrier cord.

Lay this new pair of knotting cords out

perpendicular to the work.

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Take the last pair of carrier cords

(the long cords) and tie a square knot

around the bead carrier cord. Lay

these knotting cords out to the side.

Take the top (first) set of knotting cord and tie

a square knot around the bead carrier cord.

This side of this knot will loop out a bit. You can

try to make all of your loops the same size of

you can make this loop small, with larger

successive loops. It's up to you! Once you have

tied the square knot, lay the knotting cords out

to the side.

Use the top knotting cords (the second pair)

to tie the next square knot. Now you have

two loops of your fishbone pattern.

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Use the top knotting cords (third set) to tie a

square knot and make another loop. I

continued in this manner until I had seven

loops. Make as many or as few as you like (at

least three, though, to set up the cords). Slide

the beads onto the bead carrier cord (hopefully

you checked to make sure they would fit

before adding the bead carrier cord!). The

order of my beads is 5-mm, 6-mm, 8-mm, 10-

mm, 8-mm, 6-mm, 5-mm. Slide the first bead

up to your work and leave the others toward

the bottom.

Forming loops around the beads is a bit

different from making standard fishbone

loops. Tie a square knot with the bottom pair

of knotters, then the second set, and finally

the top set.

Each loop should be slightly larger than the one

before it.

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Slide the next bead up to the work. Repeat the

process: tie the bottom knotters, the second set,

then the top set. Continue until all of the beads have

been used. Note: some people like to flip their work

after the large center bead. I didn't, but this

produces a nice effect (try it to see!).

Once you have tied the third loop around the final bead,

it's time to make more loops the 'old' way. Use the

topmost knotters to tie a square knot. Use the new top

set of knotters to tie the next square knot, etc. I did this

until I had six loops (not seven).

After the sixth loop, lay all of the cords, except the

top knotters, alongside the bead carrier strand. Tie a

square knot over all of these strands (which also

creates the seventh loop).

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How to Make a Hemp Fishbone & Bead Choker - Free Jewelrymaking Instructions

Now you will tie square knots (25, in my case). I kept

reducing the number of filler strands. I cut them at

staggered lengths and knotted around them until only

the two knotters and two carriers remained. There are

a couple of ways to deal with the bead carrier. You

don't want it to slip (which would lose your beads). You

can make the bead carrier serve as a filler for the

remainder of the piece. However, I like to tie a slip

knot in the cord (after I have cut a few other filler

cords) and knot (tightly) over this knot. After this, you

can cut the bead carrier and hide the end. I tied my

25th square knot very tightly and glued point where

the knotters left the piece. Once the glue had dried, I

cut the knotters off close to the work. This left a pair of

carriers to match the top strands.

Here's the center

of the finished

choker. It's

probably obvious

to you at this

point: larger

beads produce

larger loops; stiffer cord produces firmer loops. If you like, you can run your

work over beeswax to smooth down any 'fly away' pieces.

For decoration, I

added a 5-mm

crystal to each

strand. I tied an

overhand knot

below the beads

and applied glue to

the knot before

cutting it. If you

slide the bead

down to the knot

while the glue is

wet, you can affix

the bead to the end of the strand. My choker simply ties on, so it is adjustable.

My choker measures ~14 inches in length, from the lark's head knot to the last

square knot, plus several inches of cord for tying. Your finished length will

depend on the thickness of cord used, number of beads, tension, and how

many knots you tie.

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