Hello and welcome! Today's DIY is the super easy and lovely beaded fringe necklace:
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| This tutorial is for the red one :) |
Supplies: beads, chain, jump rings, headpins, wire cutters, pliers and round-nosed pliers.
If your headpins were all wonky like mine, I find a quick fix is to flatten them between the thickest part of your pliers.
String your beads on your headpins in whatever design you prefer. Go solid, go stripey, go wild. I have used 7 headpins, varying the number of beads per pin to create a triangular shape. I wouldn't use more than 7, however, because they might not fit on the pin at the end otherwise.
Using your pliers, bend the end of your pin at a 90 degree angle.
Trim the ends with your wire cutters, leaving just slightly less than a centimetre of wire left to form a loop.
Using your round-nosed pliers, carefully bend the wire into a loop. This part can be awkward so practice makes perfect! Bending the wire first helps get an even circle. Set aside and repeat these steps until you have enough headpins to make your fringe.
Measure out your chain. I made my necklace 26 inches (66 cm) long. If you want to do a different length, the best way to know where to cut is to either test out the chain in front of a mirror and/or check out a
diagram. Always cut more chain than you think you need.
If you decide to make a shorter necklace, it is simple to add a clasp. You'll need two extra jump rings and a clasp of your choice. Clip your strand of chain in half and open up jump rings with your pliers to attach your chain to your clasp. Easy peasy!
Trim the stumpy end off one more headpin and then make a loop. To do this you'll bend the wire down at a 90 degree angle (again leaving slightly less than 1 cm) and use your round-nosed pliers to carefully make the loop.
You can also use an eye pin for this step if you have one long enough! Eye pins are just like headpins (available in all colours and lengths) only they have a loop at one end instead of a stump. But it is easy to make your own out of headpins if you don't have any :)
String your beaded strands onto your new pin as shown below, alternating beads in the colour of your choice as spacers to keep the fringe hanging evenly. Bend the wire to create a final loop at the end of this pin. These loops are where we will be attaching the rest of the necklace.
Using your pliers, open up your jump rings and slip on one end of your pendant and one end of your chain. Close the jump ring again using your pliers and repeat for the other side. And that's it! You're done!
Try out different colours and patterns!
