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Making a "sea glass" necklace


Using the sea glass beads that I received from Auntie's Beads, I made this cute lightweight necklace.  It jingles slightly because of the Indian bells, and there is just a lot of movement in general since the crocheted wire is so flexible.  

Materials and Tools

Sea Glass Round Bead Strand, Clear, 6mm
Sea Glass Round Bead Strand, Red Marble, 8mm
Sea Glass Free Form Nugget Bead Strand, Strawberry, 16 x 24mm
Sea Glass Round Bead Strand, Black/Clear Marble, 6mm
Red craft wire, 28 gauge
SoftFlex, 0.014" diameter
Silver craft wire, 22 gauge
Silver colored curb-style chain
Silver crimp tubes
4 jump rings
Lobster claw clasp
2 large pewter beads
Indian dancing bells, silver colored
5 - 6mm pearls, garnet colored
Size 8/0 seed beads, garnet

Crochet hook, size H
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutter
Small file



1. Follow the basic instructions for Blue Bells and crochet the clear, black marbled, and red marbled rounds onto red craft wire, interspersed with clusters of three Indian dancing bells. Leave 4 to 5 inch wire tails at the ends of each strand.


2. String one strand of the heavier beads, including the nuggets, some of the red marbled rounds, pearls, and seed beads onto SoftFlex.

3. Create a wrapped loop with a 4 to 5 inch piece of silver colored wire, and crimp the SoftFlex strand around it. Repeat for the other end. Wrap the wires from the crocheted strands around the loop and wrap down the strand to tighten. Clip ends close.


4. Add some seed beads, Indian bells, and a large bead to each wire, creating a wrapped loop at the other end.


5. Use jump rings to attach chain to each wrapped loop. Add another jump ring to the end of one piece of chain and attach the lobster claw clasp to the other piece with a jump ring.

As regards FTC disclosure guidelines: I have received the sea glass beads free of charge from Auntie's Beads in order to create a project free of charge for you.  I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.
 Copyright 2010 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

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Comments

Robbie said…
Very pretty...looks southwest to me..
Cyndi L said…
Thanks Robbie! The coral-ish color, I guess? :-)
Very nice!!!!! looks great!!!
Amy F said…
love this piece - great color, and it manages to look delicate yet substantial! A+
Cyndi, I have even greater appreciation of your jewelry art after recently making a multi-strand necklace myself ...

the balancing ... the controlling and lining up several strands ...

and mine didn't even include crochet like yours.

Auntie's Beads should hire you full time as a designer! This is gorgeous.
Cyndi L said…
LOL!! I'll tell 'em you said so ;-)
It's just beautiful Cyndi! I love the colors, the beads are gorgeous, and as always, your work is amazing!
Cyndi L said…
Thank you, June!
Eden said…
Those beads are gorgeous!! I'd love to see what this looks like on!!
Cyndi L said…
It looks good...LOL!! Thanks!
Cherie said…
Cyndi,
I really like this. I like the colors, but you have it arranged so beautifully so it all comes together and looks wonderful.
Cyndi L said…
Cherie, thank you very much!
Unknown said…
Lovely design. I have some seaglass I have been wanting to use. Thank you for the great inspiration. Also have just started working with leather and the great book you are giving away would be a wonderful inspiration,also.Would be so thrilled to win it!
Unknown said…
Cyndi, I am so allergic to most metals I was wondering if there was a different wire we could use to do this project ,I am just scared to use copper wire for in fear it will make my neck raw and green. If you know of any precious wire, not nickel ,brass, copper, or lead.. I can only wear pure 925 silver and some 10K gold but most of my jewelry is 14K white and some yellow gold. I hate to be a bother but I love this necklace and I am anxious to get it made, but fear of the metal it is made with. Any comment would be greatly appreciated .. Thanks, Teresa
Cyndi L said…
There's no reason at all why you couldn't substitute fine silver or gold wire, except for cost. www.riogrande.com is one really good source for wire and metal, including metal beads.