Red Desert Garnet Collar

I am really excited about my new Egyptian jewelry challenge, and not just because Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite topics of inspiration. This experiment will give the a chance to fashion some new netted collars, which are one of my favorite things to make.

Even though getting vertical netting started is not the easiest of beading tasks, and the following stitches are so easy that they risk being dull, a netted collar is fun to stitch from start to finish. I’m not sure why it’s so much more diverting than it’s beading cousins like peyote stitch. Perhaps it’s because once you’ve established a pattern, you only have to repeat simple bead counts - after awhile, they become almost soothing.

The first collar of the line is really simple - the most ordinary and uncomplicated collar I’ve ever made. I chose a simple design because I wanted to show off the fabulous limited edition garnet beads that I acquired just for the challenge.

Like many of my “New Beads” finds, I came across these beads quite by accident. I was looking desperately for some more 6mm tortoise druks, which have become contenders for my all-time favorite beads ever. Unfortunately, they are a limited edition finish, and when I went to purchase more, I found the original source had dried up.

I tried Google, but I was only able to locate some 3 or 4 mm sizes, and had pretty much given up. Then I was browsing around ArtFire, and saw some two-tone black and white druks, and decided to chase them and see if they would bring me to some tortoise beads.

Sure enough, I found a healthy supply waiting for me at The Bead Stylist. So I browsed around to see what else I could find, and came across these pretty garnet ovals, and some vintage nail heads that I couldn’t pass up, even though I have no idea what I’m going to do with them.

The ovals have a coated finished, so I had to spend a bit of time filing down the holes, but it was totally worth it. I love the way the speckles stand out to meet the black background of the netting. For a little more kick, I used black lined garnet 3-cuts for the picot edge along the inside of the collar. Their red has a little more blue to it than the ovals, but the sparkle the facets bring to the design makes up for it.

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