My First beaded necklace

[ilikepinkeverything]

I am very excited about this necklace. It is the first beading anything i have done. It took a few trys to get it right the first time i cut the tread to short hehehe well anyways here it is. Hope you like I know I do!

[SecretAgentStarchild]

I can't believe that this is your first necklace!!! I could never make something as cool as this. I love the colors and the way that the strands twirl together, and the pendant tops it off completely! Fabulous job! I want one! ^_^

[talyra]

Is that fastened the way I think it is? Do you drop the pendant through the looped ends of the seed bead strands? Cos if that's what you have done I am really impressed. I think it's ingenious, specially for your first try.

It STILL takes me a few tries to get things right sometimes. My last project was a "simple" 3-strand necklace and the lovely vintage clasp broke just after I had finished, so I had to re-do the whole thing with a new clasp.

This is a lovely piece, I hope you are inspired to continue!

[ilikepinkeverything]

Yes you do drop the pendent through the loops. Like i said i am new to beading and i havent bought any findings yet (honestly i am not really sure what kind to buy), so i decided to finish it with the loops.It took two tries to make this neclace the first time a cut the treads to short(of coarse i didnt relize this until after a had beaded a few of the seed bead strands hopefuly that will be a lesson i will not repeat. Thanks for your replay, Since i am very new to the beading world do you have any advice or pointers you could give me?

[talyra]

You look like you are doing pretty well to me! I always cut slightly more thread/tiger tail/whatever than I need, I know it's a bit wasteful but I often waste less than if I was to try to get the amount of thread exactly right first time 

As for findings, I personally prefer lobster or bolt ring (also known as spring ring) clasps - these are spring loaded clasps with levers, like you often see on store bought necklaces. I find that becaus they close up completely they are more secure than hook clasps (what they sound like) or toggle clasps (the ones with a T-shaped bar and a large hoop); some people prefer toggles, though, as they come in all sorts of pretty designs, and wire workers often make their own hook clasps. It's all down to your preferences: take a look at the stuff you wear and decide from that what you'd rather use.

As for attatching findings, it depends what you are using. If you have ordinary nylon or cotton beading thread, knots are fine, though a bit of "French wire" - also called boullion or gimp - will help stop the finding wearing through the thread. http://beadwork.about.com/cs/beadshowtos/ht/frenchwire.htm is a nice explanation of how to use French wire. What it doesn't say is that if you are using thread it's a good idea to add a drop of glue to the knot (some sort of clear-drying fabric glue should do, I use Fray Check) to help stop it coming apart. I have to admit I don't always bother with French wire when I use tiger tail (which is nylon coated stainless steel wire) but that's unprofessional and you probably shouldn't listen to me on that point

The Beadalon website  http://www.beadalon.com/ has loads of useful advice for beaders, but bear in mind that it is basically there in order to advertise their products!  The techniques are described very well and very clearly, though.

Well, I'm going to stop there because I have written you an essay. I hope some of this stuff proves useful, if not you can PM me or use the Discussions and Questions board here: a second, third and eighteenth opinion is always useful after all

Have fun!

[ilikepinkeverything]

wow..thats for all the advice and the website links!