Here's a necklace that I made last month, intending to capture some of the feel of the Caribbean. Instead, what I got was more other-worldly. My friend Paul Bishop named it Midnight Sky of Distant Stars. Always the poet, our Paul!
I'm going to skip over explaining the steps that are available in my free download (Chapter One of Every Bead Has a Story). You can go get it if you don't already have it...it will show you the tools you'll need, how to do the basic stitches, and how to finish your piece with a backing, etc. The materials list is very similar to the cuff bracelet that I made for the Bead Journal Project and that is taught in Chapter Three of Bored By Back Stitch. Here is a direct link to the materials you'll need:
Materials List
[New for 2016!! Chapter 3 will be free with the purchase of the first two chapters, even if you don't buy them at the same time. Upon confirming your purchase, I will email the final chapter to you at no extra cost! Ok, the last chapter won't be an instantaneous download like the others, but I promise to send it to you just as quickly as I can :-)]
1. Iron some lightweight fusible interfacing to the back of your foundation fabric. I picked a fabric with a wonderful pattern because I wanted to leave some of it visible in the finished piece.
2. I created the centerpiece for the necklace by stitching the bead embroidered form of St Petersburg chain stitch (see Bored By Back Stitch, Chapter One). Around that double spiral, I stitched on metal mesh ribbon in three shades.
3. Add bead clusters and stacks around the spirals.
4. Working my way up the sides of the necklace, I added some bead embroidered chevron stitch...
5. ...and some bead embroidered African helix.
6. Fill in around the focals, but not too tightly; you want to be able to see some of the pretty fabric.
7. Cut out the shape carefully. The original outline on the back is only a guide.
Next week, I'll show you how to finish it all up!
Copyright 2014 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 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
have a very Merry Christmas :D