Perth the Turtle finds a home

When my friend Maggie Towne added this adorable lampwork glass turtle to her etsy shop Bead Towne, I knew that she was going to be mine!  Then came the inevitable problem: how do you feature a special bead without overwhelming it?  I decided that a simple spiral bead rope, using the colors found in Perth the Turtle was the way to go.  Do you have other suggestions for what I could have done?

Materials and Tools

Size 11/0 and 8/0 seed beads
Nymo O beading thread
Glass pendant (Bead Towne)
4mm rounds
4 metal cones (All the brass is from Vintaj)
20 gauge Wire
Jump rings
Toggle and bar


Beading needle
Scissors
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutters
Ruler

1. Create two beaded spiral stitch strands as long as you want the sides of your necklace to be.  I used size 8/0 seed beads for the core beads and for one of the beads that create the spiral.  I used size 11/0 seed beads for the rest of the spiraling parts.  Using different sized beads like this gives you a subtle wave pattern to the strands.

2. Take one thread tail from each strand down through a few extra beads, a metal cone, a 4mm round, and several more size 8/0 beads to where you want the top of your pendant to hang.  Use smaller beads to fill the hole of the pendant so it hangs straight and to protect the threads from rubbing on the larger bead and fraying.

3. Slide on the pendant and go through another 4mm round, taking the needles back up through the pendant.  Anchor and tie the threads, burying the ends.

4. Cut 2 pieces of wire, each about 3 inches long.  Turn a small double loop at one end.


5. Stitch the free ends of the spiral strands to these loops.  Use a dab of glue on the knots and slide another cone on each wire, hiding the small loops. 

6. Add another 4mm round to the wire and turn a wrapped loop.  Add jump rings and your toggle set to finish off the necklace.

Copyright 2011 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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