Friday, March 22, 2013

DIY J.Crew-Inspired Necklace


This past summer, J.Crew had an explosion of exciting necklaces. The colours vibrant, the prices intimidating for a poor publishing professional like myself. I took this challenge to the streets of Toronto.

I hit pay dirt at Chaton Beads at Queen and Bathurst. They had the exact beads from the J.Crew necklace. Same size, shape, detailing… Would have preferred them in blue but I can't complain :D

Edit: I recently learned Chaton Beads has closed. Thus taking my heart with them.

Finding appropriate beads is by far the most challenging part of this DIY. As long as they are a similar tubular shape and length, you're golden. Otherwise the design might not form the way it should. Just be aware you're using lightweight beads because this necklace is heavy. I wore it to work once and whenever I bent over and then straightened up, I got smacked in the chest and temporarily winded. All in the name of fashion!

The original necklace. (Photo from J.Crew's website.)

What You Need:

BEADS (55 total), thick chain (like I said, this necklace is heavy!), eye pins, 1 head pin, larger jump rings (small ones just won't support all of your beads), clasp, pliers, round-nosed pliers and wire cutters.


String your first bead onto an eye pin. Using your pliers, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle.


Using your wire cutters, clip the wire so you are left with just under 1 cm.


Using your round-nosed pliers, carefully bend the wire into a loop.



Do this for all of your beads. (One bead goes onto the headpin instead. More about that later!) Using the image of the finished necklace as your guide, start placing the beads in the pattern.


To connect them with jump rings, use your pliers to open and close the ring.


I found it easiest to connect them as I went to avoid the beads going all over the place. I also found it useful to use the pliers to hold and guide the jump rings through each of the loops. Keeping your fingers out of the way allows the beads to remain unjumbled. Take your time. :)



Keep going until you have formed the pattern, connecting the beads with the jump rings.


The very bottom bead is the one you are going to string onto the headpin instead of an eye pin as it does not need to be connected to the rest.


You're almost done! Now cut the length of chain you want. I cut two pieces of chain at 11 cm (4.5 inches) long each. Use more jump rings to connect both your clasp and your beads to your chain.


Wear it!


The best part? This necklace retailed for $100 CDN. My supplies cost under $10. WOO!

45 comments:

  1. Great tutorial and the necklace turned out beautiful. I was trying to estimate the size of the beads from the photo, but could you share the dimensions? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!

      The beads are 1.8 x 1 cm! (0.75 x 0.4 inches) Hope that helps!

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  2. Love it! You are very talented and I can't wait to try this! :)

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  3. This is so cute and inspiring. I may have to give this a go.
    Also, I'm your latest follower
    Emma

    www.cuppa-tea-and-a-biscuit.blogspot.com

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  4. so impressive!! This is gorgeous, I love the color!

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  5. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I have been searching high and low for a tutorial for that necklace! Brilliant blog! Have a lovely day!

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    Replies
    1. HAHA!! You're very welcome, Sydney! And thank YOU!

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  6. This necklace is amazing! Love it, so pretty! Now to find the beads to make this...

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  7. I love it!! I'm so inspired! Beautiful job!

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  8. Awesome job. I added you to my Best J. Crew DIYs.

    http://www.bromeliadliving.com/2013/02/best-j-crew-diy-projects.html

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  9. I loooove this necklace ❤ Greetings from Germany, Lara

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  10. That is so clever! good work! xx

    everything-classy-and-fabulous.blogspot.com

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  11. This is incredibly beautiful! Thank you for inspiration!

    www.selfash.me

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  12. has anyone been able to find these beads online? and also how long in mm are they?

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    Replies
    1. Hi! The beads are 1.8 x 1 cm!

      Thanks for stopping by! :D

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  13. Amazing! I may never be able to make it though :-(

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  14. What size jump rings did you use? 5mm?

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    1. Hi Thien! I started with 5mm but found they made the beads a touch too crowded so I ended up using 7mm.

      Beth

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  15. YAY!This is so gorgeous!I'm gonna do it! :)
    Gree

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  16. Hi! Love the necklace. I have been waiting to make one, but I can't seem to find the right beads. The ones I found in the right shape have an opening too small to fit onto the eye pins. Where did you get your beads?

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    Replies
    1. Hi! I found my beads at Chaton Beads in Toronto!

      Beth

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  17. Do you sell this necklace? I LOVE it and even like the colour more than the J Crew one, but I'm not very crafty and don't think mine would turn out as well.

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Thank you so much for your comment! Unfortunately I don't sell this necklace in my Etsy store, just clutches ;)

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  18. This is so good! I will try this one day!

    Photography: http://preciouss2photo.blogspot.com/
    Lifestyle & Mix: http://sprinkleorainbow.wordpress.com/

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  19. I love it, can I share this tut on other side? if you agree, i will link back and label your info. Thanks!

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  20. OMG!!! What a lucky break. I am from Toronto too, and I was looking to make a necklace like that for my granddaughter birthday.
    Thank you for being there.
    Lela
    P.S. There is a new bead store at Lawrence Plaza. It's Lawrence and Allen Rd. 2nd Floor. Sorry do not remember the name.

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  21. Can you use any kind of beads, like round or square?

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    Replies
    1. The pattern won't be as defined with round/square beads--unless they were smaller beads and you used multiple on each pin to obtain the length. Play around with it! :)

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  22. Thank you for the great tutorial! I found different coloured wooden beads and MADE IT from them, YAY! :D It´s different but looks great too! But still this was my first and last,I "almost" lost my nerves putting it together.. ;) But thank you again and greetings from Finland! :)

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  23. I love it so much!!! Any way you could do a simpler design with fewer beads/flowers as well?

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