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 “Wild Jasper”:“I like it! great colors…” read »
- on “Spring flowers”:
“Cute!…” read »
on “Fairest of Them All Journal”:“Thank all of you ladies for your lovely comments.…” read »
on “All the luck!”:“Thank you very much all !!…” read »
on “Wild Jasper”:“This is so beautiful. That Jasper is gorgeous.…” read »
- on “Wild Jasper”:
“Soothing sea colors. I love this!…” read »
on “Little Green Man”:“Thanks for all your lovely comments!!…” read »
on “Fairest of Them All Journal”:“Lovely creativity! So fun and happy and joyful!…” read »
- on “Hardware Copper and Bones”:
“Very interesting components! Nice composition, too.…” read »
- on “Wild Jasper”:
“This is simple yet stunning and went straight to my Faves!…” read »
on “Coral Coasts Bracelet”:“Love the colors and the design using the new chain. This bracelet actually determined my…” read »
on “Fairest of Them All Journal”:“Great journal! This would be a place to display my wonderful 1967 Mardi Gras trophy bead-string.…” read »
- on “Repurposed Steel Pendant”:
“Lovely.. . for some reason it makes me think of an elegant succulent dish-garden I saw…” read »
on “Fused Glass & Lava Rock Mala Necklace”:“This is very pretty. I like the spring shades in the tassel. And the matching beads…” read »
- on “Wild Jasper”:
“I remember now...it's blue calsilica jasper and LB has some gorgeous strands!…” read »
- on “Wild Jasper”:
“I can't recall the name I have always known it by, but I agree that the…” read »
- on “Repurposed Steel Pendant”:
“Excellent repurposing! Very original and great colors!…” read »
- on “Fairest of Them All Journal”:
“Very pretty journal! I've seen several very pretty journal covers on YouTube by some artists…” read »
on “Coral Coasts Bracelet”:“I’m so glad you posted a new way to use that pretty bead chain as well…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“The contest between the mask and the copper chain above is pretty.…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“This is super. I did not know you could patina pewter. Did you patina…” read »
- on “Wild Jasper”:
“Great necklace!! I love the natural organic look.…” read »
on “Little Green Man”:“Very unusual and wonderful necklace! Gives an ancient feeling immediately, like being part of a tribe.…” read »
on “Little Green Man”:“Wow is right! The focal is exceptional and the colors are perfect with it.…” read »
- on “Speed”:
“A speedometer cable! What a novel idea. I'm all for unusual components and that cable…” read »
- on “Lazy weekend fun”:
“Great bracelets and what's not to love about Kingman turquoise! And those artichokes are just…” read »
- on “Coral Coasts Bracelet”:
“This is really beautiful! Love the colors. I've never worked with waxed linen. This makes me…” read »
- on “Raven Pearls”:
“Rich, rich color! I love pearls of every color and shape. Beautiful color combo…” read »
- on “Spring flowers”:
“Spring is here, (almost)! Enamel work is always so fantastic and your pieces are no…” read »
- on “Amethyst and Ametrine”:
“Amethyst and gold are always a great color combo. Ditto to all of the above…” read »
- on “Tumbled Citrine”:
“Love the rich golden color of the nuggets. Great color and design.…” read »
- on “Coral Coasts Bracelet”:
“I think this is a great bracelet...not real sure about the sliding square knot, but I…” read »
- on “Lazy weekend fun”:
“All are lovely! I especially like the blue bracelet and that focal bead!…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“Tomasina....the mask is patina ed pewter. It's from a shop on Etsy called Inviciti. Thanks!…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“Love your colors! Prehnite has always been a favorite of mine. Love the original…” read »
- on “Spring flowers”:
“These are fabulous! Thanks for posting! I made a silk scarf (painted,dyed) once many years ago,…” read »
on “Balanced in Blue”:“Beautiful design that looks so elegant and expensive! It also looks so time consuming and…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“Please tell what the mask is made of, who made it, and where you found it,…” read »
- on “Amethyst and Ametrine”:
“Beautiful! The chunky stones look great with the more detailed gold components and the smooth tubes.…” read »
- on “Little Green Man”:
“Oh wow! This is just fantastic! You definately did the focal justice. I love each and…” 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 5 items.
| 20 yd. spool | $3.40 |
| Piece | $9.40 |
| Piece | $23.90 |
| 42" length: $2.20 |
You are viewing all 5 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.