Margarita's Beads

Category: Beaded Necklaces

  • Volcanoes Necklace

    Volcanoes Necklace

    Volcanoes Beaded Necklace Finished
    Volcanoes Necklace from Sabine Lippert’s “Beaded Fantasies”

    Recently I’ve made two of those fabulous bead necklaces, one in gold with turquoise center bead (in the photo) and another in silver with dark garnet beads. The pattern is straightforward, easy to follow. Really loved making it. I I found this necklace in Sabine Lippert’s Beaded Fantasies, a great beadwork book that makes you want to try every project in it.

    Volcanoes Beaded Necklace Pieces
    Volcanoes Necklace Pieces

    However, I think there is one inconsistency in the pattern. Pay attention in the beginning. The pattern calls for a 6mm center bead,  but I believe it should be an 8 mm.

    I went ahead and made it with a 6 mm center bead. But I had to compensate for the 6 mm center. I used three delicas in the first row, instead of the five that the pattern calls for. And followed with five in the second row, and six (3+3) in the final row.

    The row of 15°s encircling the center bead, for a 6 mm, is more like three, not five. Here you can actually put four. The 15°s are a decorative element and they hide the thread. An even number of them, here, will make no difference structurally.

    Volcanoes Beaded Necklace Layout
    Volcanoes Necklace Layout

    Here it is almost ready. Very exciting!

    Volcanoes Beaded Necklace Closeup
    Volcanoes Necklace Closeup

    Here you can see the count I used, which results in maybe a smaller, steeper beaded volcano.

    Go ahead and make this pattern! Easy to make and a pleasure to wear! I got tons of compliments on it!

    P.S. Definitely read Elr’s comment for other ways to adjust to a 6mm center bead.

  • Beaded Lace Necklace

    Beaded Lace Necklace

    Beaded Lace Necklace
    Beaded Lace Necklace

    I stayed up all night making this incredible necklace. It was a project out of one of the Bead and Button magazines. It’s a nice pattern because, really,  you can stop at any point at the end of any row. And it would look great anyway.

    Closeup of the Beaded Lace Necklace
    Closeup of the Beaded Lace Necklace

    Making this, don’t pull too hard. Looser weave makes the necklace drape better.

    Peruvian Beaded Lace Necklace
    My dog Ella proudly displaying Peruvian Beaded Lace Necklace

    My high-fashion model didn’t show up. Had to make do with a dog of a stand-in…

    Peruvian Lace Necklace
    Ella, weary of displaying Peruvian Beaded Lace Necklace

     

    Lace Necklace
    Maybe there’s a cat in the tree?..

    Actually, I would like to make it again, this time 1/3 its original width. Then I could wear it too.

    Bead & Button

  • Turquoise-Colored Necklace

    Turquoise-Colored Necklace

    Turquoise-Colored Necklace
    Russian Netted Necklace in Native American Colors

    This necklace was a class I took from Susie at the Shepherdess in San Diego as I was just starting to bead. Alas, the lovely Shepherdess closed, but I still have the beading friends I met there.

  • Violet Necklace

    Violet Necklace

    Violet Necklace
    Russian Netted Necklace in Violet

    Same pattern as the Turquoise-Colored Necklace, but what a difference the color makes! It’s transformed into a delicate lacy piece, very feminine. I actually made about 20 of these using different colors. Each of my girlfriends and  sisters got one for Christmas.

    The little pearl dangler on this one is precious!

     

  • Golden Herringbone Bead Necklace

    Golden Herringbone Bead Necklace

    Golden Bead Necklace

  • Blue Necklace

    Blue Necklace

    Blue Necklace

    Blue Necklace Clasp

  • Frying Up Some More Necklaces

    Frying Up Some More Necklaces

    Necklaces in a Frying Pan

    I can’t get enough of this pattern.

    Necklaces in a Frying Pan Toggle Clasp

    Toggle clasp.

  • Fence Snake Necklace

    Fence Snake Necklace

    Fence Snake Necklace
    Tubular netting pattern. Great for necklaces.

    No it is not a snake! This is the piece that inspired me to start beading seriously.

    Pamela Aronoff, a serious and very creative beader, gave me a necklace as a gift. I was so stunned by it, that I thought I wanted to make one myself. Since Pam lives 2 hours north from me, I went looking in local bead stores with my precious necklace in hand, asking if anybody could tell how I could make one. At this point I had not even a beading needle to my name. My local beadstore, the Black Bead, is more of a stringing place. The salesgirls there could not really help me. But they sold me my first batch of supplies: some needles, thread, Check size 11 beads, and a few old copies of Bead&Button magazine, half-price.

    But then I discovered The Shepherdess! The real beadstore that actually had a class schedule and a once-a-week beading group going! Oh boy! Cookie, the owner, was great. She herself is an accomplished beader, knitter, quilter, and her metal jewelry is off the wall! Oh, and did I mention? she carves too. She herself did not know about my necklace, but she suggested I come to the beading group and talk to the instructor, Ana Garcia. And here we go. I became a regular at the Shepherdess beading group, took my first beading class from Ana, and realized I love not only the end result but the process of making beaded jewelry itself. I mean I became hooked.

    As to the necklace, there is a well-known printed pattern. But we only discovered it after one girl from the beading group, Marie Jennings, kind of reconstructed it herself by just looking at the piece. Her’s started a bit differently than the original, but did she impress me!

    So, the pattern is in Bead&Button, issue 87 from October 2008. The name is Web of Silver. However, Pam’s design that you see here is thinner (3 beads instead of 5). But you can figure it out from the pattern at Bead&Button.

    Fence Snake Necklace Clasp Detail
    Toggle clasp

    Had to figure out the toggle clasp on my own though. Took 3 days from my life…