Just setting out in the world of jewellery making? Not quite sure where to start?
Try out our latest beginners’ guide on how to make a braided necklace. Here you’ll find all the tools and techniques you need to use to create a simple but striking statement braided necklace.
What you’ll need
- Flat nose jaw pliers
- Round nose pliers
- Cutters
- Chain
- Seed beads
- Calottes
- Beading cord or thread
- Jump rings
- Necklace clasp
What you’ll learn
As a beginner, this is an excellent project to start with and a great way of getting to know the basics. You’ll learn more about beading and stringing. You’ll get to know the fundamentals of attaching necklace clasps. And finally, you’ll be able to create your own necklace that can be replicated, and adapted to suit your own signature jewellery-making style.
How to make a braided necklace step by step
Step 1
Cut three lengths from the beading cord or thread of your choice. Each length should measure 25cm.
Step 2
Once you’ve cut your thread to size, start adding your chosen seed beads to each length of thread. If this is your very first braided necklace DIY project, stick to just one bead colour. Once you’ve mastered the project, you can start experimenting with different braided colour combinations.
Tip: Using small seed beads can be tricky. To speed up the process of stringing the seed beads onto your thread, use a needle to pick up several seed beads at a time and easily thread them onto your three strands of cord.
Want to invest in a specialist threading needle? Take a look at our range of stringing and beading needles for high quality collapsible needles that will speed up your jewellery making process.
Step 3
Now that you’ve added a full length of your chosen seed beads to the three strands of cord, you’re ready to knot the cord. Take the three strands and knot them together at each end ensuring that the beads are secure. The knot shouldn’t be too close to the last bead. Make sure you leave a small gap to allow for the beads to drop a little and sit nicely on the wearer once completed.
Step 4
Secured each end with a knot? Now you can trim the thread right down to the point that meets the knot, and add a calotte for a professional finish. Hide the knot with the calotte and secure tightly with your flat jawed pliers.
What are calottes? These are handy crimp beads that can be used to hide knots and secure the ends of beaded jewellery pieces. Take a look at our current range of cord ends to help you secure your jewellery professionally.
Step 5
Now you will need to repeat steps 1 to 4 until you are left with three identical strands, each made up of three strands of seed beads each.
Step 6
Take one of your jump rings. Take the end of each strand and loop each calotte onto the jump ring, closing the calottes with your round nose pliers until secure. Once you’ve secured one end of each strand to one jump ring, it’s important to NOT do the same with the other side just yet.
Step 7
With one end of the strands secured by a jump ring, you can now begin braiding your three strands of seed beads. For a tidy braid, you could secure the jump ring to your bench peg helping you to keep the strands taut as you braid. Haven’t got your own jeweller’s bench yet? No problem. Simply pin the top of your braided necklace to a pin cushion to keep it still and secure. Now you can braid away!
Tip: Experiment with different types of braids and different amounts of strands as you replicate this project and begin to feel more confident with the techniques involved. The more strands you introduce, the more complex and striking your braided bead necklace will become.
Step 8
Once you’ve braided the lengths all the way down to reach the next set of calottes, you can now secure the end with another jump ring. Loop each calotte around the jump ring and secure each calotte in place by clamping down using your round nose pliers.
Step 9
Now take your chain – you’ll need about 25cm of chain to work with. This will form part of your fastening for the necklace and allow it to be adjustable to different lengths when worn. This chain, along with your 25cm of seed bead strands, should give you a statement necklace of about 45-50cm depending on the size of your braid. Using your pliers, loosen the end loop of the chain so that you can attach it to the jump ring at the end of your braid. Simply close the loop to secure. And repeat this process for the other side of braid.
Tip: Want some more advice on how to secure jump rings? Read our guide on how to use jump rings to make sure you learn the basics of securing your jewellery findings.
Step 10
Want to add a clasp to your necklace so that you can adjust the length? All you have to do is cut the chain in the middle using your cutters. Attach your preferred clasp to one side of the chain using the same technique as used when attaching jump rings. Simply loosen the chain loop using your round nose pliers and add your clasp, closing the loop once it’s in place. Repeat this process on the other side of the clasp so that it is secured in place, and ready to use.
There you have it – your very own braided statement necklace! Take this basic project and adapt it to make braided necklaces that are closer to your own style. And if you’re looking for more tutorials, take a look at our other beginners’ jewellery making guides on The Bench.
Cooksongold