12 November 2010

Fabric Bead Cluster Necklace: How To DIY

If you have not seen the November Anthropology catalog, find one! The art direction is magical. I save back issues of Anthropology because I find it so inspirational. How do they keep coming up with such fantastical creations?cute pin cushion idea

On page 49 there is a llama...yes, a llama!...wearing the cutest necklace, well actually 3 necklaces, as you can see they have very long necks.This necklace happened to be one of those "I can do that" projects...and here's what happened next.

I made a quick trip to Michaels and found some big chunky beads with large holes that would accommodate a wide piece of fabric. I rummaged through my fabric stash and found a piece of vintage silk and ripped a piece 6"X 36". I gathered the beads, the fabric, some plain wood beads in 2 sizes, some waxed linen thread (regular thread would work just as well) and a darning needle.Starting in the middle, I wrapped the fabric around one large bead then secured it by wrapping the base with the linen thread.
Then I popped in another smaller bead and wrapped it, keeping it close to the other bead. Then I added a wood bead next to the fabric covered bead.Next I attached one of the large glass beads by drawing the length of fabric through and pushing it down towards the covered beads.Continuing adding as many or as little beads as you like.I mean...how easy is that!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I love your necklace knock-off, I want to try one too. Can you tell me where you found the beads that you used in this project?
Thanks,
j

froogal said...

Jan,

The beads are from Michael's. they come in a plastic container labeled Mass O' Glass. They are from India, very inexpensive and somewhat crude but interesting. They seemed to have a film on them so I washed them before using.

These were the only beads that I could find that had a very large hole. The plain wood beads that I put inside the silk are found in the wood section at Michael's

Wizzybit said...

I try to keep the Anthropologie catalogs too, but somehow they always go out with the recycling. Such a cool necklace! I will try it someday.... better finish the project I'm working on now.

Anonymous said...

I love this Tutorial. I made an awesome necklace inspired from it.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

Wow! U really make it look SO simple but it is just SOOOO chic! Love love love!