Metal to Glass and Necklace Eighteen

Fashion magazines are a great source for inspiration, for anyone that creates clothing, jewelry or accessories. There are so many fantastic colors, shapes and textures to explore, reflecting the current style trends.

While flipping through an old copy of FLARE recently, I came across a clothing ad with some fantastic jewelry pieces in it. One necklace that really stood out was a multi-strand design that appeared to be made from zipper teeth or Omega chain in gunmetal or patinaed silver.

The shape and texture of the necklace was so intriguing. I started musing about whether or not beads could do the same trick. Eventually, I came up with an idea to create a multi-strand necklace using right angle weave.

I chose a selection of purple and blue seed beads, and got to stitching. It’s amazing how much faster RAW seems to work up when you’re only doing one row. It was actually quite relaxing to weave each chain. When they were done, I assembled the strands using a modified odd-count peyote, then attached a clasp.

The necklace turned out exactly as I had hoped, with a very soft drape and just a hint of texture. I love the look of the chains, which have the same feel of plain seed bead strands, but with a totally different attitude. And it was so much fun to make!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading