How to Make a Flower Teardrop Necklace
Do you love delicate, dainty jewellery? I really do but I seldom wear it. If you want to know why, watch my interview with Imogen Lamport about choosing the right jewellery for you.
I made this necklace over a year ago thinking that I would wear it but I never have. Today, I thought I’d share it with you. It’s a pretty easy necklace to make – it uses techniques like stringing, crimping, how to add a clasp and opening and closing jump rings.
Materials
Here’s what you will need to make this necklace.
- 18x13mm Silk (Pink) Acrylic Faceted Teardrop x1
- 8x6mm Aquamarine Chinese Crystal Glass Rondelle x4
- 6mm Metallic Blue Crystal Glass Faceted Round x6
- 6mm Milky Pink Opaque Round Glass Beads x12
- 26x16mm Silver Flower V Connector x1
- 5x1mm Silver Beaded Rondelle x20
- Size 11 Clear Silver Lined Seed Beads
- 1.5mm Silver Crimp Beads x4
- 12mm Silver Heart Clasp x1
- 6mm Silver Round Jump Rings x2
- Silver Grey Tiger Tail x60-80cm
Tools
- Chain nose pliers (x2 optional)
- Flush cutters
- Bead stopper
Instructions
Watch the video or read the instructions below.
Stringing the Beads
Cut the tiger tail into two equal pieces. Put the bead stopper on the end of one piece and thread the beads on in the following order:
Adding the Connector
Thread the tiger tail through one of the top loops of the connector.
Thread the tiger tail back up through the string of beads.
You should have one short end and one long.
Thread both the ends through the crimp bead. Using the chain nose pliers, squeeze the crimp bead until it’s flat.
Trim off the short end of tiger tail.
Thread on the seed beads until it measures 13cm from the last pink bead. Add the bead stopper to ensure the beads won’t fall off. You can adjust the length here - if the necklace needs to be longer add more beads, if it needs to be shorter add less.
Repeat this process for the other side. Put both pieces of tiger tail into the bead stopper.
Double check both sides are the same by holding the tiger tail just above the last seed beads between your thumb and forefinger. Pull the connector away so that you can compare both sides.
Adding the Clasp
Lay the necklace out with the connector the way you would wear it. Decide whether you want the opening part of the clasp on the right or left side (generally you put this piece on your dominant side).
Remove that piece of tiger tail from the bead stopper.
Thread on a crimp bead, then the clasp.
Thread the tiger tail back down through the crimp bead and 5-6 of the seed beads. Pull the tiger tail tight enough so you don’t have much space between the beads and the clasp but ensure that the clasp can still move.
Squeeze the crimp bead with the chain nose pliers.
Trim off the excess tiger tail.
Remove the bead stopper from the other end and thread on the crimp bead, then a jump ring. Make sure the jump ring is tightly closed before putting it on.
Thread the tiger tail back through the crimp bead and through 5-6 seed beads. Crimp as you did on the other side.
Adding the Teardrop
The only thing left to do is to add the teardrop.
Open the remaining jump ring and thread on the teardrop then the lower loop of the connector. Close the jump ring.
If you have never opened and closed jump rings before, then I suggest you watch this video.
