I have a lot of beads at home. I was fully into beading. I bought beading magazines (pre- Pinterest). I visited beading stores. I knew all the lingo: cloisonné… umm… anyway, my point is I have a lot of random stuff that I just stopped using because it wasn’t cool anymore. Everyone was doing it.
(Kind of like flash mob wedding dances).
There are only so many beaded earrings that one can make, and a very fine limit to the amount of beads you can jam onto a necklace without looking like a two year old. I only really bead anymore when I think of something different.
I love the idea of using alternative items as beads, but that’s another one that can easily take a turn onto Lame Street. Shells. Eugh. Pasta? Thanks for the arts and craft, nephew. I love you, but your taste in jewellery leaves something to be desired.
I had a ‘eureka’ moment when I thought of using jump rings as the ‘bead’ instead of the findings. That’s something I would totally wear!
Ironically, I didn’t have enough jump rings, so I had to order more from the internet. I also had to buy the twine!
Approx. 750 jump rings per strand (I got 4,000 from eBay for about $5), twine, small bowl, scissors, plyers, necklace fastenings and caps.
Freaking ages. Putting each little one on the twine was fiddly. But it’s a good one to do in front of the TV. Very mindless.
Under $20.
Put your jump rings in a small bowl and cut your twine. Measure around your neck where you want the necklace to lie and cut one longer than the other. We’re making a two strand necklace.
Secure one end of the twine with a small knot. Use the open end as a fishing rod and scoop up the jump rings by shoving the twine through the bowl. You’ll get a few at a time, sometimes one, sometimes none. Just like fishing.
Once you’ve got what you judge to be enough jump rings on the two lengths of twine (or given up because it’s too fiddly), secure the two open ends in the clasps and press firmly down with the pliers.
Before clasping the other side, you need to string the necklace around your neck and make sure the beads are centred. Then tie a knot at each end to keep the beads in place.
Attach the other clasp, adjusting the length of the strands if they’re too close together, and attach the necklace fastenings.
I made a three, two and one strand necklace from the 4,000 jump rings. Something in me just wanted to use all the little buggers! If I ever need a jump ring for a beading project though, it’s easy enough to just pull one off and repurpose.
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