double strand necklace

May 22 2012, 10:26 pm

back in action

i had to rip apart my favorite necklace to get at the spacers i wanted to copy with a silicone mold. now that they've served their purpose, it's time to put them back. the yellow beads are repurposed from a long thrift store necklace, but i've found plenty like them on etsy. there are lots of options that can be substituted for the spacers shown here (if anyone happens to see these spacers for sale, please give me shout.)

25 small beads (10-15mm)
11 large beads (20-22mm)
10 resin spacers
2yds, 1/4" wide ribbon
magna tac glue

fold the ribbon in half and tie an overhand knot to make a loop.
cut the ends of the ties at a diagonal. add some magna tac glue to the ends and fold them together. the goal is to make the ends small enough to fit into the bead's holes. let dry.

string 5 or 6 smaller beads and 1 large bead on both strands.
separate the strands. string 1 small bead on 1 tie, and 2 on the other.
add a spacer to both strands, with the curve facing the loop.
add a large bead to the strand with 2 small beads. add another small bead to the other strand.
add another spacer to both strands and repeat with small and large beads respectively. continue this pattern with 5 spacers facing the same direction as the first.

add the 6th spacer, facing the opposite direction. continue stringing the beads and spacers, keep all the spacers facing the same direction.
after the last spacer has been strung, add small beads to the strands in the same manner as before.
glue the strands back together and let dry.
string a large bead and 5 or 6 small beads, depending on how many you used at the beginning. tie an over hand knot to keep all the beads secure. cut off the glued ends of the strands. cut the longer strand to the same length as the shorter.