Follow the steps in this jewellery making tutorial to craft your very own handmade elemental woven beaded necklace with Preciosa Beads. This bold rainbow blend of colours that combines fire and water into an intricate multi-strand plat, is sure to make a statement worthy of Pride month! The quantities listed below will create a collar style necklace that sits close to the neck, however you can increase the quantities to create a necklace length that suits your preferences.
The full list of pearls, components and tools needed to complete this project can be found below. If you click on the product description (link), the respective product page will open, where each item can be viewed and added to cart:
| Component | Component Name / Link | Quantity |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Light Siam 4mm | x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Hyacinth 4mm | x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Sun 4mm | x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Citrine 4mm | x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Caribbean Sea 4mm | x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Aqua Bohemica 4mm |
x 100 |
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Preciosa Bicone Beads Indicolite 4mm | x 100 |
|
Preciosa Bicone Beads Capri Blue 4mm | x 100 |
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Gold Plated Round Jump Ring 6mm | x 1 |
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Gold Plated Bolt Ring Clasp 6mm | x 1 |
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Gold Plated Crimp Cover | x 1 |
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Monofilament Illusion Cord Clear | x 1 |
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Gem Tac Glue 5ml Tube | x 1 |
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Bead Mat | x 1 |
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Thread Cutter | x 1 |
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Round Nose Pliers | x 1 |
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Chain Nose Pliers | x 1 |
Step 1
Group the beads into sets of two
The necklace is formed of 4 long beads strands that are then folded in half and plated together. Each long strand is an ombre of two colours; red into orange, orange into yellow, turquoise into light blue, blue into dark blue.
Begin by grouping the beads together so that you can thread one ombre beaded strand at a time.
Step 2
Thread your first strand
Take your Clear Illusion Cord and begin threading on the beads without cutting the cord away from the spool. To create an even ombre along the strand with your 200 beads (100 of each colour) we recommend the pattern listed below, we have used Citrine and Sun for this example:
Each stage of the pattern should look like this:
STEP 3
Cut the Illusion Cord
Once all 200 beads are successfully stranded, cut the illusion cord allowing approximately 10 centimetres of tail on either end and store safely to one side.
STEP 4
Repeat for the other strands.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you have 4 strands, each with two colours on them mixed into an ombre.
STEP 5
Fold them in half and tie them together
Fold each strand in half and tie all 8 tails together, it should resemble the diagram below. Allow room for the beads to slide freely because you will need slack at the other end of the loops later.
Step 6
Secure the knot
Ensure your knot is tight and apply a small dot of Gem Tac Tacky Glue over the knot to seal it. Wait for the glue to be fully dry before proceeding.
Step 7
Trim the strands
Separate one strand of illusion cord and trim away the other seven strands.
Step 8
Attach the clasp
Pass the remaining strand of illusion cord through the loop on the Bolt clasp and tie a new knot securing the clasp next to the main knot. Strengthen this new knot with a dab of Gem Tac Glue.
Step 9
Cover the knots with a Crimp Bead
Once the glue is dry use the Chain Nose Pliers the press a Crimp Bead closed around the knots. This will conceal the knots making it look like a single gold bead and one end of the necklace is now complete.
Step 10
Plat the strands
Lay your strands out neatly like the diagram in step five. These loops now get treated as 4 sections: red, yellow, green and blue. Begin to plat the 4 colour sections together, taking care to keep the plat lying flat and with even tensions throughout.
Step 11
Secure the end of the plat
When you reach the end of the plat you should have a small about of exposed illusion cord at the end of each coloured section because of the slack you allowed earlier in stage 5. Using this available space connect the loops together by threading them all through a jump ring. Use the Chain Nose Pliers and Round Nose Pliers to gently twist the jump ring open, wrap the open Jump Ring around the strands and twist it close again.
Step 12
Attach the second Crimp Bead
To keep the strands neatly together where they meet the Jump Ring, hold all the strands together and press the second Crimp Bead around the strands. This ensures both ends of the necklace look the same and the necklace is now complete.
