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 “Harvest moon and Bad moon”:“These are perfect for Halloween or just fall in general. Those moon faces are very cool.…” read »
on “Harvest moon and Bad moon”:“I love your bracelets Kim!! I have made a few of those wrap bracelets...but you reminded…” read »
on “Harvest moon and Bad moon”:“Fantastic bracelets! You can wear them all year around; not just for this time of year.…” read »
on “Harvest moon and Bad moon”:“Love the bracelets! The colors are perfect for the moon buttons.…” read »
on “Harvest moon and Bad moon”:“What a great idea. Perfect for autumn, Halloween, and the dark blue for winter. …” read »
on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:“I’ve posted some things in the past that I thought were a bit questionable. Then the…” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“Love your bead & color selections, Jane! You put jewelry elements together so well.…” read »
- on “Another Fall Necklace”:
“Thanks to all for your comments!…” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“Thanks to all for the great comments!…” read »
on “Dainty Woven Necklace with Birdies”:“Thanks for the great comments. Those lustered Lagoon Seed Beads are beautiful. And the birdies are…” read »
on “Fall Festival Bracelet Stack”:“Gorgeous fall bracelets !! Can't pick a favorite that's for sure…” read »
on “Dainty Woven Necklace with Birdies”:“Opaque Lustered Lagoon--one of my favorite seed beads--what a stunning design Beady. I love the…” read »
- on “Another Tin Snippets”:
“Very fun Jane!…” read »
- on “Seaside Hideaway Necklace”:
“Beautiful necklace Elaina. The soft colors are lovely. I like the randomness of the…” read »
on “Mushrooms and Moss”:“Thank you so much guys!…” read »
- on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:
“Thanks GZ and KR. I had a hard time attaching the bony hands. I think it took…” read »
- on “Crazy Chickens Necklace”:
“Thanks Crystal and Kathryn. This took some time but was a lot of fun.…” read »
- on “Fall Festival Bracelet Stack”:
“Great bracelets!…” read »
on “Crazy Chickens Necklace”:“Beady what a gorgeous piece of beadwork art! Really admire and love your work.…” read »
- on “Another Fall Necklace”:
“I thought I had commented on this one but I guess not. It's a wonderful set.…” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“So you Sweetjane. Pretty with a kitty, LOL. Love it.…” read »
- on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:
“Fun for the spooky season. It's great Beady, like all your pieces.…” read »
on “Seaside Hideaway Necklace”:“Elaina, This is a Very beautiful design. I love the soft colors in pastel.…” read »
- on “Fall Festival Bracelet Stack”:
“So pretty for fall. I love the button you chose for the ladder stitch bracelet. And…” read »
- on “Lost at Sea”:
“Thanks CC! I thought the same thing about the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues!! haha ha,…” read »
- on “Fall Festival Bracelet Stack”:
“You are having way too much fun making bracelets. So many beads so little time.…” read »
- on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:
“Beady, your wire-work is outstanding! I like how it's kind of a fun necklace (not junk…” read »
- on “Another Fall Necklace”:
“What a nice set - I like the Earthy almost tribal sense I get from these…” read »
- on “Feeling Blessed”:
“This is so pretty! The Amazonite color matches the bird perfectly - I love it!…” read »
- on “Fall Festival Bracelet Stack”:
“Elaina- I knew you had a lot of fun making these beautiful bracelets before I read…” read »
on “Feeling Blessed”:“I love this piece? The way you combine the components and beads is playful yet beautiful.…” read »
- on “A Riff on Wild Roses Necklace”:
“I can't believe how different this piece is from the last. Using the wire creates…” read »
- on “Poem”:
“Kathleen, I love your poem & your ability to pour out your thoughts & feelings. …” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“Such a pretty kitty pendant. And beautiful combination of beads to match.…” read »
- on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:
“Hahaha.. You ladies crack me up. Actually this necklace was to much fun. Kimberly - I…” read »
- on “Another Fall Necklace”:
“Love the design and color of both pieces and those lamp work beads are really neat.…” read »
- on “The Autumn Leaves Pass Through My Fingers”:
“You had way to much fun with this necklace didn't you? Love all of the…” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“Love the Golem Kitty. It makes all of the beads with it look so good.…” read »
- on “Golem Kitty”:
“Pam...as far as I know all the blue are Apatite. These are Nancy's beads. Everything I…” read »
- on “Don’t make this mistake”:
“petunia- i accidently droped the beads in tarnx while cleaning the clasp to my necklace.- the…” 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 2 items.
| 42" length: $2.20 |
You are viewing all 2 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