15ft wrap necklace

how is it possible that the word hicksian already exists? i was about to coin a new phrase.

from the first moment i laid eyes on the Giulia Noni portrait of sheila hicks wearing one of her wrapped pieces, i knew that i needed to make a necklace. hers looked a bit cumbersome, so i went narrower with the width. being a big fan of her pieces that have the linen exposed, i combined that detail with graphic color blocking in her beloved south american palette. it wouldn't be "sheila hicksian" without an element of drama and scale, so this necklace is 15' long and can be worn in a million ways.

materials:

• Twine
• DMC Pearl Cotton Balls Size 8, in various colors
• flexible bobbins
• embroidery needle, and embroidery scissors
• fray check

set up:

it was a bit elaborate, but it got the job done.

• cut 4 pieces of twine to the length you desire (mine was around 16 feet).
• wrap twine around the opposite chairs at a table.
• making twine as tight as you possible can, tie the 2 ends together, leaving a long tail on both sides.

the most important thing to keep in mind, is that the tighter the twine, and the tighter the floss, the easier it is to wrap. wrapping it around the chairs allows you to control the tension- if it feels like it's getting loose, push one of the chairs out to tighten it up.

wrap it:

• starting close to the knot, insert the threaded embroidery needle into 1 piece of twine. bring it down about 1/2" and push it back through the same piece of twine. bring it up towards the top, and pull it through the previous section of floss. pull tightly on both tails, and trim off the excess
• wrap floss around flexible bobbins as tight as possible, and start to wrap it around the twine
• to finish, bring the trimmed end back through the floss with the embroidery needle. if the wrapping is tight enough, there shouldn't be a need to glue the ends
• continue with multiple colors at intervals of your choosing.

(my wrapping rate was about 2ft/hr)

finishing:

• untie knot. using a sewing needle and thread, sew through each piece of twine and pull tight, tying the twine together. continue sewing through all 4 pieces in a spiral for about 1".
• cut off ends and add a touch of fray check
• repeat with the other side
• sew both sides together, making certain that all 8 pieces of twine have been stitched through. try to keep this area as bumpless as possible (i failed at this).
• pin necklace to board and while keeping the twine tight in one hand, wrap over the joined area with the other. it's tricky, and goes a bit slow.

what started with a very small financial investment, and a very large time investment, totally paid off. i couldn't be more pleased with the final piece. it really feels like sheila, without directly ripping her off. sheilaesque? hicksish? you know what i mean.