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 “Finished”:“Wow! A fantastic design! Color of the stone is outstanding and I love, love, love…” read »
on “Finished”:“Gorgeous!…” read »
on “Learning to wire”:“Take trip online to Colbaugh mine, Kingman, Az. They have all kinds of pictures!…” read »
on “Sarah's Bracelet”:“Thank you so much for all your encouraging words. There are so many lovely pieces on…” read »
on “Finished”:“Khristin - Totally beautiful and dainty necklace. The hook and eye clasp are especially appealing to…” read »
on “Finished”:“The clasp is from 18 gauge wire…” read »
- on “Finished”:
“I used 18 and 20 gauge for the frame. Then, I used either 22 or 24…” read »
on “Back to oldies”:“How fun! I remember wearing the mood rings. I have a few 'mood' barrels…” read »
- on “Wiring with copper”:
“It's amazing how a change in wire color can really affect the whole look. Another…” read »
- on “Learning to wire”:
“Ditto Khristin, I think your a natural too! The wrapping is wonderful, and your…” read »
- on “Summer Solstice Bracelet”:
“I really like the colors, bead choices, and the addition of those swirl spacers. The…” read »
- on “Sarah's Bracelet”:
“Lovely work! What a statement piece!…” read »
- on “Argyle Socks”:
“The colors & pattern are so very cool!
…” read » - on “Finished”:
“Khristin, the finished necklace is Beautiful! I also love the tiny beads you wire wrapped…” read »
- on “Finished”:
“Thanks Robin! Yep, I made each part of this piece with the exception of the stone,…” read »
- on “Finished”:
“Khristin, your necklace is beautiful and the stone is gorgeous! It looks like you made the…” read »
- on “Learning to wire”:
“This is stunning. I don't think you need any tips, I am pretty sure you have…” read »
- on “Wiring with copper”:
“Your wire work is gorgeous! You have a real skill for this, beautiful work…” read »
- on “Western Feather Necklace”:
“Nice design...would like to know how many Heishi beads are used on this one...appears to be…” read »
on “Argyle Socks”:“Great necklace! I like the pendant piece also and the beaded bail.…” read »
on “LUXUXY OF LAPIS LUZLI”:“REMEBER WHEN YOU BEAD LEARN A NEW TECHNIQUE EVERYDAY! NEVER GIVE UP, KEE TRYING UNTIL YOU GET…” read »
- on “Argyle Socks”:
“Thank you ladies. This design is actually easy to do once you get started. It's…” read »
- on “Double strand South Western styled horse bracelet”:
“What an awesome bracelet! The pairing of colors is spot on! Love it!…” read »
- on “Argyle Socks”:
“Wow! This is my favorite one so far. I love the pattern and colors you chose.…” read »
- on “Learning to wire”:
“You’re right - it’s expensive. The pendants are still the same price that I paid about…” read »
- on “Argyle Socks”:
“I've seen Argyle socks, Argyle sweaters but never Argyle jewelry. What a novel idea. …” read »
- on “Scarabs Egyptiam set!”:
“Love Egyptian style jewelry. Can't go wrong with Swarovski and scarabs for design elements.…” read »
- on “Double strand South Western styled horse bracelet”:
“Love the horse! Love the colors! Love the bracelet! Excellent choice of components!!…” read »
- on “Back to oldies”:
“The color in the beads and the design are great. Love the bee. Mood…” read »
- on “Wiring with copper”:
“Nice design even if it does look like a praying mantis head. Beautiful stone with gorgeous…” read »
- on “Summer Solstice Bracelet”:
“Great color and wonderful mix of components. Love it!…” read »
- on “Learning to wire”:
“Robin, I don't do much stone wrapping so I'm not a very good resource for information.…” read »
on “Paradise Found Necklace”:“Awesome necklace design idea! Perfect for summer. Well done!…” read »
- on “Paradise Found Necklace”:
“Awesome necklace design! Perfect for summer. Weel done!!…” read »
- on “Sandalwood Beach”:
“Oops, HH - I was actually talking about the green seed bead necklace. Guess I can't…” read »
- on “Sandalwood Beach”:
“Thanks for your comments. HH - it did take a while to make but I just…” read »
- on “Back to oldies”:
“Yes blue is calm or relaxed, green is active, yellow is tired/lots more. The mood jewelry…” read »
- on “Back to oldies”:
“Oh, I remember mood beads, they were so fun. Was blue calm?…” read »
- on “Summer Solstice Bracelet”:
“Whimsical, chunky, and cute as can be!…” read »
- on “Sandalwood Beach”:
“I love the name your husband came up with. It really fits this lovely necklace!…” 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 4 items.
| 20 yd. spool | $3.40 | OUT OF STOCK |
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Piece
Was $7.20 —
You save 35%
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$4.68 | OUT OF STOCK |
Last Chance—All sales final.
TOHO Rainbow Crystal (with Gold Lining Cube 1.5mm Seed Bead
BACK IN STOCK!
| 2.5" tube | $2.10 |
| 42" length: $2.20 |
You are viewing all 4 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.