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Fall Foliage Necklace |
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All supplies can be found at the Bead Trunk |
Supply List: Tools:
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I like to do one strand at a time; I also like to have a wide clean surface when I am doing any type of knot work. A long flock tray or towel and ruler will come in handy Pick one of the Cards of silk and unwind the silk from the card, gently tug on the silk to soften the kinks. You’ll notice that there is a flexible wire needle attached to one end. With Griffin silk you will always start your projects on the end with NO needle; the needle has no eye and cannot be re-attached. |
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Give yourself a 6” tail then tie a simple knot (Pic-1). String on one of the glass leaf beads right up next to the knot. Then tie a loose knot and place the Awl tool inside the knot: the Awl keeps the knot from tightening to far, this way you can slide it where you want it to be. (Pic-2) Now you can slide and tighten, as you get closer to the bead, this is done simply by moving the awl down to the bead and tugging on the silk as you tighten the knot. (Pic-3 to Pic-4) Know you can use a pair of tweezers or your nails (if you got em) and tighten the knot up close to the bead. (Pic-5) |
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Spacing the beads can be tricky, but I am not one to be exact, with 3 strands you can be more playful with placement, however a ruler or flock tray with inches printed on it, can help in measuring the distance in-between. For the first strand I placed them an inch apart. (Pic-6)&(Pic-8) Repeat these steps until you get the desired length and the number of beads you would like. I knotted on 7 for my first strand.
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Step 3: (Pictures 8 through 10) Pick up a color a bead and again needle through the bead in the row up above going in the direction of the needle (Pic 8). Repeat step 2 until the row is complete then again reinforce your work (Pic 9). One way to do a strong reinforcement in beads with larger holes is to take your needle and thread and go underneath the loops of thread at the edges of your work, it keeps the reinforcement tight and helps to keep tails from pulling out of your work (pic 10) |
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For the second strand I knotted the beads with 1/2” spaces in-between. This would place them on either side of the leaves in the first strand. I knotted on 11. (Pic-9) |
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For the 3rd strand I did something a little different, I had beads with the hole going straight through the middle and up at the top. (Pic-10) So I did a double over hand knot. (Pic-11 & 12) This would flip the leaves to hang in the right direction. I knotted on 11 of these as well. |
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| Now it is time to knot all 3 strands together. You may have to adjust the strands to get the leaf’s in the position you would like, then simply know all 3 together using an over hand knot. (Pic-13) Not all 3 strands (in a size 8 silk) will fit into a know cover, so one strand you will need to knot and glue close to the knot you just did with all 3 strands. (Pic-14) A size 6 silk will fit but it is snug. | |
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Now you can attach the know covers. 1 side does not have a needle; with this side I like using bees wax to make the ends into a nice stiff point. Simply thread on the knot cover going through into the cups This is a good time to determine the length you would like your necklace to be, keep in mind you will have the same length on the opposite side. Now you can knot the 2 strands together and place some glue onto the knot. Slide the knot cover into place and using the flat nose pliers gently pinch the knot cover closed. The side with the needles attached you will thread the knot cover on in the opposite direction, going through the backside instead of the cups. To tie the knot on this end you will need to use the awl and tweezers to get the knot inside the cups. (Pic-15 & 16) |
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Once you have them knotted and the glue dries you can cut the excess silk off and attach the clasp. (Pic-17 & 18) |
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For questions email: eekeek@beadymonkey.com |
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