The Design Gallery
Follow along with step-by-step beading projects and share your designs with beaders around the world—it’s quick & easy!
Chatter
on “The Lady and the Sprite”:“Thanks, Robin! I'll wear it the old fashion way...with a ribbon.…” read »
on “The Lady and the Sprite”:“Great pendant Bev. You really did a nice job on the wiring. When I look…” read »
- on “Happy Trails”:
“Total cuteness! I just love Czech glass beads. They'll be fun to wear!…” read »
- on “Sunday Morning”:
“Beautiful work Jane! The color combination is quite victorian. I love it!…” read »
- on “TIME TO GET OUT AND PARTY!”:
“vacation look at the sunset! WOW …” read »
on “Failures”:“You're right bluedog - what a nice, sharing community. Everyone jumps in to help. Love it.…” read »
on “Failures”:“Ladies! So nice to see everyone pull together for a friend:) Love it and needed it…” read »
- on “Silken Strands”:
“PS - Love your website too. So much fun.…” read »
- on “Silken Strands”:
“Thanks so much Fresh Baked. The necklace goes so well with my enameled dragonfly earrings. I…” read »
- on “Mother and daughter necklaces”:
“Special is right. What fun.…” read »
on “Mother and daughter necklaces”:“Both are beautiful. So cool that you shop together, create together, and both post on this…” read »
- on “Sunday Morning”:
“This is exquisite. Wow!…” read »
- on “Mother and daughter necklaces”:
“These necklaces are great- and fun to be able to shop and create together. Love them…” read »
- on “Festival”:
“Congrats on POD-your necklace is a beauty!…” read »
- on “Self portrait”:
“How adorable are these?! I had no idea Lima had a fun with felt section. I'm…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“Thanks Pam and kye. And thanks for the suggestion Pam. Yes, it's amazing what we can…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“This has been such an interesting discussion. I learn so much from this site. Both necklaces…” read »
- on “La Luna”:
“Very interesting necklace. I wish you would add a few more photos so I could…” read »
- on “Sunday Morning”:
“Wow! This is amazing! Super combination of colors and beads.…” read »
- on “Mother and daughter necklaces”:
“Those are beautiful! I made necklaces for my mom through the years. I only made 1…” read »
- on “Brass and funky pearls”:
“Yes it is CC.…” read »
- on “MOP Flowers”:
“Thanks, CC!…” read »
- on “Anchors Away!”:
“Thanks, CC! If and when you are ready to handle the necklace is up to you.…” read »
- on “La Luna”:
“I love this necklace! The beads and spacers would be wonderful for my neighbor girl.…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“BLE both necks are beautiful. Have you tried a little smaller group of flowers higher…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“MH, have you tried the spacer flatbeads? They are with the heishi beads. They are…” read »
on “Sunday Morning”:“Thanks everyone for your lovely comments!…” read »
- on “Self portrait”:
“MM- I get the tweezer thing(too funny). If I had to choose which one is me,…” read »
on “Sunday Morning”:“Beautiful combination of differing pink beads that create a lovely backdrop for the grey rose focal.…” read »
on “TIME TO GET OUT AND PARTY!”:“HotGemsHilda, You have quoted the Freedom of Speech ammendment for yourself and wish to…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“Thanks CC. I never thought of weighing my beads. I have a nice digital scale that…” read »
- on “Mother and daughter necklaces”:
“How fun is sharing beads between mother & daughter?! It is great that you both…” read »
on “Self portrait”:“Both are cute! Which one is you? I keep tweezers in each car and my purse…” read »
- on “Sunday Morning”:
“This is lovely, and with so many things that inspire me to think outside my little…” read »
- on “Self portrait”:
“What patience to sew these cute pieces with such tiny pieces of felt. Those tiny…” read »
- on “Failures”:
“Beady, with your creative ability, you will have no problem finding solutions! Balancing weight on…” read »
- on “La Luna”:
“This is a beautiful necklace! The large pearl aptly represents a full moon and looks…” read »
Opal Tie
About this design:
My goal with this design was to create something light enough to not make you feel weighted down when wearing it in the summer while being cool enough to be noticed. This necklace is really very easy to make, especially if you buy the ready made gemstone bead chain rather than wire wrapping each link.
What you’ll need: (buy products below)
- 2' gemstone bead chain
- 1' leather lace
- 1 length of silk string cut into 2 3-4" pieces with one long length remaining for back of necklace
- 6 4" lengths of non-tarnish brass wire
- 2 6" lengths of non-tarnish brass wire
- 2 Patricia Healey Triangle Arc
- 1 Patricia Healey Textured Curved Tube
- 3-4" worth of seed beads
- 9 feathered daggers or flat drops of equivalent width
- adhesive
Additional Images:
Step-by-Step Instructions:
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Step 1: The best thing to do with a necklace like this is to lay it out first. I began with laying out the main large components of the "tie", knowing that I wanted to fill in between those components with with simple rows of seed beads. |
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Step 2: Once the layout for the necklace is done, cut your chain in half, setting aside the extra opal beads. Wire wrap the Patricia Healey Copper Curved Textured Tube Bead to each end of the chain. This will act as the anchor for the necklace. |
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Step 3: Attach your 2 rows of czech drops by wire wrapping them to the chain as they were laid out. Make sure to add a seed bead or 2 in between each drop. This will keep the drops lying flat. |
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Step 4: Now comes the time to use the 2 shorter lengths of silk string. Knot the silk to the chain, string on the Patricia Healey Copper Triangle Arc and knot to the chain on the other side. If you are having trouble getting the silk string to go through the triangle arc, either use a collapsible needle or take a piece of your wire folding it in half and twisting your silk to it. Once you have done the one triangle arc, repeat stringing on the other triangle arc. |
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Step 5: Now that all of the main components are connected to the chain, you can go back in and fill the gaps with rows of seed beads. This is also where you can use the left over opal beads from you chain. See Tip: Make a Wire Wrapped Bead Link |
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Step 6: Finish your necklace by taking 2 6" lengths of 24 gauge wire, wrapping each to an end of chain. Create another loop close to the one connected to the chain and string the leather and silk cord through it. Make sure that you leave a 1/2" tail of leather and a 2-3" tail of silk cord at each end, keeping in mind that in the supporting part of the necklace, they need to be even. Now that the leather and silk have been strung through the loop, dab a touch of adhesive and wrap the wire around and around until it is all used. When you are done wrapping the wire, begin wrapping the silk string around the leather tail and the supporting leather and silk. Finish off the will wrapping with a knot. Repeat at the other end. |
Buy Products from this Design
You are viewing all 3 items.
Artistic Wire Tarnish Resistant Brass 24 gauge, 20 yards
BACK IN STOCK!
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20 yd. spool
Was $3.40 —
You save 15%
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$2.89 |
| 42" length: $1.58 |
(Was: $2.20) You Save 28% |
| 2.5" tube | $2.10 | OUT OF STOCK |
You are viewing all 3 items.
On Apr 26, 2012 at 3:52 pm #
KatsAllThat says:Very interesting design. I love the Patricia Healey pieces.
On Apr 26, 2012 at 8:17 pm #
Elis Mom says:Ali, this is so wonderful and unique! How long is the finished piece?
On Apr 26, 2012 at 11:27 pm #
Lynn Eileen Chicky LE says:Susie, I wondered the same thing about the finished length! Great minds and all that jazz….
Ali, this is fantastic! What a perfect example of the popular “mixed media” designs! This is so versatile, too — you could personalize it however you wished! Thanks for the instructions, too!
On Apr 27, 2012 at 1:13 am #
Jennalynn says:Very unique! It’s just lovely
On Apr 27, 2012 at 8:00 am #
Chicky Zee aka Alice says:LOvely!
On Apr 27, 2012 at 8:49 am #
sunny chick says:Ali, another winning design! Thanks for the step-by-step instructions.
On Aug 15, 2012 at 9:14 am #
C Haddock says:Gorgeous!!!
On Sep 30, 2013 at 10:16 pm #
D CONNICK says:The details are so…sweet!
On Apr 16, 2014 at 9:51 am #
DahleaM says:has a very native american look to it!
On Jun 08, 2014 at 12:44 pm #
P THOMASON says:I would love to see other peoples design ideas besides Ali. Is she your only person that makes jewelry there?
On May 13, 2015 at 1:09 pm #
Kathi D says:this is an awesome piece, reminds me of a Native Arts peace made with tiny seed beads
On Mar 23, 2016 at 3:25 pm #
beadngirlee says:I just love your work! And this is no exception!
On Apr 07, 2017 at 7:32 am #
B Wong says:What a gorgeous necklace! Thanks for sharing the instructions!
On Dec 03, 2017 at 5:15 pm #
S lazan says:you’re so inspirational. Thanks for all your tips and techniques.
On Aug 26, 2018 at 4:13 pm #
L Dryman-Rice says:Beautiful, Ali! I love the “architecture” of this necklace.
On Mar 22, 2019 at 3:05 pm #
Annis P says:I’m not finding the curved beads or the triangle arc beads? I thought there would be a better link straight to the items needed to purchase and make one of these necklaces.
On Jun 20, 2020 at 2:36 pm #
DonnaE says:Loooove your creative designs, Ali!! xo