Make Craft Game

A chain and bead necklace combines the diversity of beads and the elegance of chains to make one fabulous necklace!

I was looking to get a gift for someone, and I came back to my most common question “why buy something when I can make something?” One challenge I have wanted to try for a while was mixing chain sections and beaded sections to make a chain and bead necklace. This felt like the perfect gift because it has an elegance that matches its recipient.

This project provided more challenges than I anticipated, from choosing the materials to use, to getting the wired to manipulate properly. But I love the way that it turned out. I have recently gained some more tools to create a better finish on my jewelry and I think it really shows in this project.

Check out the Craft section of MCG for more fun patterns in strings and things or more unlimited ideas.

Supplies

For this project, I needed quite a few things:

• Gold Chain
• Gold Wire
• Gold Beads (3 sizes)
• Opal
• Crimp Beads
• Crimp Bead Covers
• 1 Clasp Set

I decided to go with a combination of gold and opal because it can go with most outfits and other jewelry. Especially if you wear a lot of gold.

Process

The process switched between the beaded and chained sections while making the necklace to make sure it was the desired length.

The Beaded Section

A chain and bead necklace is made from two sections. And the beaded section is the most difficult. I decided to use a wire as the core of this section. This was great for strength but was a little difficult to make the loops on the ends.

I started at one end and made a small loop. The crimp bead helped keep the loop in place and the crimp bead cover helped hide the crimp bead. I did not know about the existence of crimp bead covers so I was very excited to make this discovery.

The beads were strung onto the chain in an alternating patter between opal and gold beads. I wanted a symmetrical look, so I started with the smallest gold bead and then built up to the largest before going back to the smallest. And then came the most difficult part, closing the loop.

One thing I didn’t mention before is that when I made a loop, I would string it through part of the chain. When I had free control of the wire, this was not a problem. But working around the existing beads was a little more of a challenge than I expected.  However, I was determined to thread a decent amount of wire through to get a proper finish.

Lessons

Move Slowly with Working with Wire

I am someone who moves very fast. Too fast. So fast that I often run into objects and end up getting large bruises because I couldn’t stop in time. And I am no different when it comes to crafting. But that doesn’t really work well when working with wire.

When making a mistake with wire, it can cause a strain on the wire which can eventually lead to a break. Doing the right movement, the first time is important and moving slowly will achieve this. Not only will it prevent duplicating work, but it will also help reduce any wire waste.

Quick Recipe