Earth Tones Bead Soup Necklace

Tutorial: Earth Tones Bead Soup Necklace

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This is a great type of necklace to make from beautiful beads you’re not sure what to do with, or you don’t have enough of to make a more structured piece with. Made with semiprecious stones, glass (only the smallest seed beads), and silver. Strung on any metal-colored beading wire. You can make a necklace instead if you like.

To make such a piece, dump all the beads you think will go together onto a mat, then begin stringing them randomly, using the color beading wire that goes best and coordinating that with your findings. Make several strands of the same length, taking care that large beads (one or two per strand) end up fairly evenly spaced when all the strands are held up together. These were attached to a set of multi-strand connectors which come with short lengths of chain and a hook or clasp.

Another way to finish the piece would be to pull the strands into a cone on each side, then use a short length of chain or a single strand of beads at each end, and connect them with a hook, toggle, or clasp. You can also make your own cones and clasp set of messy (or not) wire.

For a rope-like look, you can twist or loosely braid the necklace (or bracelet if that is what you have made) before fastening it closed. Keep in mind that twisting or braiding will make it shorter, so plan for that when figuring your finished length. A variation in style can be had by graduating the lengths of the strands by about an inch or just less, and not twisting them, but using multi-strand connectors and placing the longest strand on the bottom and the shortest on top.

Either way, if you use many different colors, you will find the piece will coordinate with a surprising portion of your wardrobe. This one is in earth tones, and goes with any earth-toned outfit. You could also use a range of a single color, or black and white, or a single color and black or white.

If the person who will be wearing the necklace has short hair, make sure the connectors and fastener are particularly attractive, as they will not be hidden under the hair. The connectors I bought came with a plain, flimsy hook, so I replaced it with a prettier one.