New Trend for 23/24 - Raspberry Drop Necklace & Earrings Tutorial

I’ve been looking in my crystal ball and I see a huge trend coming for 2023/24.

I don’t really have a crystal ball but I’ve been looking on Instagram and YouTube and have noticed that there’s going to be a lot of red around for the end of this year and the beginning of next. Today I’m making a red necklace.

I decided to call this necklace the Raspberry Drop necklace because of the beads I’ve chosen. Here in New Zealand, and possibly in the UK, we have these lollies (candy) called raspberry drops and they look exactly like these beads.

I also made some matching earrings for the necklace.

Materials

The materials I used to make the necklace are:

To make the earrings I used:

Tools

Instructions

Watch the video or ready the instructions below.

Step 1

To make the raspberry drop components, cut a piece of the wire and make a 2.25mm loop in the end. If you have never used a 1 Step Looper before, you want watch this video all about how it changed my life.

If you don’t have a 1 Step Looper, you have make the loops manually using this technique.

Thread on the following beads:

4mm Platinum
Bead cap
Raspberry drop bead
Bead cap
4mm Platinum

Make another 2.25mm loop in the end of the wire.

Turn the loops so that they are both facing the same way.

Repeat this process – you will need two of these components.

Step 2

To make the blue black components, make a 2.25mm loop in the end of a piece of wire. Thread on the beads as follows:

4mm Platinum
Bead cap
Blue black rondelle
Bead cap
4mm Platinum

Make another 2.25mm loop in the end of the wire.

Turn the loops so that they are both facing in opposite directions.

Repeat this process – you will need two of these components.

To make the garnet components, make a 2.25mm loop in the end of a piece of wire. Thread on the beads as follows:

4mm Black
Bead cap
Garnet rondelle
Bead cap
4mm Black

Make another 2.25mm loop in the end of the wire.

Turn the loops so that they are both facing in the same direction.

Repeat this process – you will need two of these components.

Step 3

To make the strands you will need three components. To make the black components, make a 1.5mm loop in a piece of wire, thread on one black 4mm bead, make another loop.

Ensure the loops are going in opposite directions. Repeat.

Repeat this process twice using a 4mm Platinum bead.

Repeat this process once using a cube bead.

Join the five components you have just made together as follows:

Open the loop of the red cube component and feed on the 4mm black component, close the loop. Turn the cube component and repeat for the other side.

Open the loop of the 4mm black component and thread on the 4mm platinum component, close the loop. Turn the work and repeat for the other side.

Open a 4mm jump ring using this technique and thread on the end loop of the 4mm platinum component, close the loop.

Turn the work and repeat for the other side.

Repeat this five more times.

Step 4

Join one of the Blue Black and the Garnet components together using the same technique you used to join the strands above.

Repeat for the other two components – you will need two of these.

Step 5

To make the centre focal, start with a head pin. Onto the headpin thread on:

4mm Platinum
4mm Black
Bead cap
Raspberry drop bead
Bead cap
4mm Black
4mm Platinum

Make a 2.25mm loop in the top of the head pin.

Open the loop and, holding the centre connector upside down, thread the loop on from bottom to top. This ensures that the opening in the loop is at the back of the connector. Close the loop.

Make two red/platinum connectors, using the same process, as above, this time using the following beads:

4mm Platinum
Bead cap
Garnet bead
Bead cap
4mm Platinum

Make two red/black connectors, using the same process, as above, this time using the following beads:

4mm Black
Bead cap
Garnet bead
Bead cap
4mm Black

Take another headpin and thread on one 4mm black bead. Make a 2.25mm loop in the top of the head pin. Repeat – you will need two of these.

Using the same technique as for the centre focal component, add these components to the connector as follows, starting on either side of the centre:

4mm black
Red/platinum
Red/black

Step 6

Open a 4mm jump ring and attach to the end loop of the connector. Repeat for the other side.

Open an 8mm jump ring and thread on the 4mm jump ring of the connector, the 4mm jump ring of one of the strands and the loop of the raspberry connector. Close the jump ring.

Make sure that you do this in the correct order. Your aim is to have the connector on one side the raspberry component on the other and the strand hanging down in the centre. Your 8mm jump ring should be showing you its round face.

Repeat for the other side.

Pro tip:

Lie the necklace down after each addition and check that the jump rings are sitting right and that nothing is twisted.

Step 7

Onto another 8mm jump ring, feed on the other end of the lower strand you just connect, the 4mm jump ring of a new strand, the garnet/blue black component and the end loop of the raspberry component. If you do it in this order everything should be sitting right. Close the jump ring. Repeat for the other side.

Step 8

Open another 8mm jump ring and thread on the garnet/blue black component, the 4mm jump ring from the lower strand you just added and the 4mm jump ring of a new strand. Close the jump ring. Repeat for the other side.

Remember to lay it down and check that the 8mm jump rings are still showing all of their round faces to you.

Step 9

Cut the chain in half. Open the 4mm jump ring on the end of the strand you just added. Thread on the end link of the chain and close the jump ring. Repeat for the other side.

Step 10

The last thing to do is add the clasp. Open a 4mm jump ring and thread on the end link of the chain and the loop of the bar of the clasp. Close the jump ring.

Open another 4mm jump ring and thread on the end link of the chain and the loop of the ring of the clasp. Close the jump ring.

Take one last look to ensure that everything is sitting right, and you’re done.

Earrings

While I would not normally wear these matching earrings and necklace together, I loved this one so much that I thought I’d give you a bonus and make some earrings as well.

Onto a headpin thread on: