Crazy Quilt - Copper and silk artisan necklace

October 10th, 2009 in other crafts, gifts, jewelry making, holidays

BrassMonkeyOriginals, member

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This is a wonderfully textural piece with lots of light and color play. My inspiration for this fabulous necklace came from the Winter 2009 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine (Wrap It Up by Deryn Mentock, p. 32 - 35). I'm not a big textiles person, but I had a piece of brightly colored, spun silk that I'd been dying to use and this technique seemed tailor-made for my purpose. The beads turned out better than I could have hoped...so well, in fact, that I plan to make more.

A full tutorial can be found at http://www.stampington.com/html/ba_jewelry_winter09.html

The beads are 100% silk and copper. I began by building a copper framework and hammering the loops on the ends. Then I wrapped each copper frame with a piece of silk, especially selected for its color and pattern, taking special care to tuck under as much of the edging as possible. As a center bead, I selected a bit of emerald green velvet.

Once each piece of silk was securely wrapped around the frame, I wrapped it with 26 ga. copper wire, accented with black, iridescent seed beads, to hold it in place. As an added measure against fraying, I dabbed a tiny droplet of fabric glue along any exposed edges.

To compliment the silk & copper beads, I selected some fun, jewel-toned glass beads and accented them with copper beadcaps and spacers. A bright, copper toggle clasp finishes off the necklace.

Total length of this necklace (including the toggle) is 55.88cm (or 22").

This necklace can be purchased at http://www.brassmonkeyoriginals.artfire.com or http://www.brassmonkeydesigns.etsy.com