Flax & Twine

a happy handmade life

DIY, projects + patterns

Day 1: A Strand of Pearls – a diy ribbon and pearl necklace

Yippee–here it is–Day number 1.  I think this necklace actually was the first thing that I made in my jewelry-making frenzy to fill Allie’s Advent Calendar.  I love the blue next to the pearls and love the lines the undulating ribbon and smooth pearls make together.This ribbon strand ties in a bow in the back to whatever length your little girl desires.  The overall length on this one is 28″, but with the bow, she can shorten it to whatever length she likes. The necklace is super easy to make.  It took less than 30 minutes to so.  The pearl beads and ribbon are from JoAnn’s.
I thought I couldn’t get better than the blue until I made the sample for the easy diy tutorial below – I just ADORE the green.

Materials:
Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Cut your ribbon to desired length, adding enough length to flow in and out between the pearls.  I used approximately 34″.  Knot a length of floss, leaving extra tail before your knot that can tied off back through some of the pearls when you are done.

Pierce the ribbon in the middle of its width approximately 9″ along your piece of ribbon. Thread on a pearl.

Bend the ribbon around the pearl to judge where you should put the needle next.  You want the ribbon to wrap tautly around the pearl without gapping, but not so little the pearl bulges out.  Depending on your pearl size, it should be about 3/4 of 1 cm.  Getting this right takes a little bit of practice, but you’ll get it quickly.

Put on the next pearl.

Continue to alternate between threading a pearl and wrapping the ribbon until you reach your desired length. The pearl part of the blue necklace shown above is about 8″ (32 pearls).   Its overall length is 26″.

When you are ready to end the necklace, bring the floss back through the bent ribbon and through a couple of pearls.
Secure the floss off hidden underneath a pearl as much as possible.
Go to the beginning of the necklace and pull the tail end of your original knot through some of the pearls and secure.
Finis.  I hope Allie loves it. A beautiful coral, bow bracelet is coming up tomorrow, so don’t miss it!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Question – do you think this is do-able as a kid craft? I was thinking that my kids might like to make them for their aunts.

    Susan

    Reply

  3. What a great idea, Susan! I do think kids could do it. Its simple threading of beads. The only tricky part is spacing the ribbon around the bead. This just takes a little practice. If its not exactly right the necklace will still look great.

    Reply

  8. I had my three and five-year-old make these for both of their grandma’s December birthdays. I thought that I would have to do most of it, and just have them help, but both of them ended up doing nearly everything themselves! What a wonderful idea! They loved it! We can’t wait to try some more of the daily ideas!

    Reply

  9. I made a necklace and bracelet for my sister, used dark blue ribbon and creamy pearls. looks so rich!!!!! Thanks for the tutorials, great ideas!

    Reply

  16. Oh dear! I am so sorry that you had tears and found the project difficult. Not what I intended in any way. I hope things worked out for you. Many times I have projects that just don’t work out, so I feel your pain. Thank you for giving it a whirl!

    Reply

    • Hi Anne,

      I think it’s a really cute idea, and of course you own the pictures of your tutorial, but this idea of round beads/pearls woven with ribbon has been around a long time – I have a beading book that was published at least a few years ago that contains that woman’s take on the tutorial. I love to make these as stretchy bracelets using clear elastic, pearls and patterned 3/8th ribbon that just slip over the wrist. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, unless the girl at shanteamac was using your actual pictures (which I didn’t see – although, forgive me if that’s the case) she didn’t rip off anything. A lot of great minds have thought alike about this kind of bracelet for several years. That said, it’s very cute and your daughter’s very lucky to have a cool mom who loves to spoil her with lovely jewelry – I bet she’s the envy of all her friends. 🙂

      Kelsey

      Reply

    • Please forgive my big mouth, Anne! I realized as I went further into your blog that shantea mac had indeed used one of you pictures on her page without crediting you. Sorry, I hadn’t seen your picture with that variation yet! You have a great blog, and I’m gonna shut my mouth now.

      Sorry and thanks,
      Kelsey

      Reply

    • Kelsey, It was not a similar idea that she had posted, but literally six, SIX! of my tutorials posted with every word I wrote and every photo I took! I complained and got them removed. It may be totally cleaned up now, but I refuse to give her one more page hit! Thanks for your thoughts.
      Anne

      Reply

  19. Day 1! I made this with Black and white together and white pearls. Your crafts are amazing! Can’t wait to make the wrap bracelet next

    Reply

  25. I love this tutorial! I want to try making a few different versions of that when I get some free time! Thanks for posting it.

    btw, I noticed your favicon (the little square image representing your blog on the tabs of my browser) is still a blogger B. I recently just learned how to change that and create a unique custom favicon for blogger blogs. And of course, I blogged about it. 🙂 Check it out here if you are interested: http://www.craftimism.com/2013/07/how-to-design-favicon-for-your-blog.html

    ~Heidi

    Reply

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