Double Strand Pearl Necklace Project Idea

Here's an elegant but simple necklace design that you'll want to make in several color combinations!

Tools you will need:

• Bead Crimping Tool or Needle Nosed (non-serrated) Pliers for closing crimps
• Wire cutter for Light Weight wire or old (junky) scissors for cutting the Beadalon
• One or two pairs of Needle Nosed (non-serrated) Pliers for opening and closing the jump rings.

Simple Instructions:

Start by constructing the Outer Strand of Necklace:

• Cut a 18.5 inch (47cm) piece of Beadalon wire. This gives about a 3 inch allowance for attaching the clasp.
• Create small loop at one end of wire using crimp bead; press the crimp closed with the crimping tool or flat pliers.
• String 10 tiny white button pearls on the wire, followed by 1 colored pearl.
• Repeat the above step 12 more times
• String 10 more tiny white button pearls
• Finish off the end of the wire by creating another small loop right next to the end of the pearls. Close the loop using a tube crimp bead; press the crimp bead closed with crimping tool or flat pliers. You will have extra Beadalon wire that will need to be trimmed off after closing the crimp.

Now construct the Inner Strand of Necklace:

• Cut a 17 inch (43cm) piece of Beadalon wire. This gives about a 3 inch allowance for attaching the clasp.
• Create small loop at one end of wire using crimp bead; press the crimp closed with the crimping tool or flat pliers.
• String one colored pearl, then one tiny white button pearl.
• Repeat this pattern until you have strung about 14 inches (36cm) of length. End with a colored pearl. Note: Depending on the width of the tiny white button pearls on your strand, you may have a few less than 180. In this case, you can simply leave the small white pearls out of the back of the necklace to adjust. In our example, we left out the last 3 white pearls on each end of the strand (colored pearls are strung right next to each other - see Figure 2).
• Finish off the end of the wire by creating another small loop right next to the end of the pearls. Close the loop using a tube crimp bead; press the crimp bead closed with crimping tool or flat pliers. You will have extra Beadalon wire that will need to be trimmed off after closing the crimp.

Figure 2 - Clasp and Assembly Detail

Now assemble your Necklace:

• Open one of the jump rings, hook one end of each necklace strand and the small connecting ring of the bar portion of the toggle clasp within the ring; close the ring.
• Open the other jump ring, hook the remaining two ends of the necklace strands and the small connecting ring of the ring portion of the toggle clasp within the ring; close the ring.

Tips:

• Jump rings work best if you open them from side to side. Don't open them by making the diameter larger - that will just deform the shape of the ring and make it hard to get the ends butted up against each other.
• You can connect the Beadalon directly to the clasp connection rings if you choose. You need to do this as part of the stringing and crimping steps - then the open jump rings are not used.