Bead Art

Sometimes art needs to be about mommies too. My friend Hilary and I made the cutest necklaces today. Some cute fabric, wooden beads, ribbon, a little ingenuity and we were off! The perfect spring accessory, and under $5 each to boot.

If you'd like to share in our cuteness, this simple project should only take about a couple of hours (a bit longer if you have two toddlers running around) and will leave you feeling ready to bring on spring!

Supplies needed:

Sewing machine
Sewing shears or rotary cutter and cutting mat
Pins
Needle and thread
(5) 1" wooden beads
Crepe weight fabric
7/8" Organza ribbon

You should be able to purchase wooden beads and organza ribbon at any major craft store. I found mine at Jo-Ann's. For the crepe fabric, we used a rayon used to make children's kimonos I purchased ages ago at my absolute favorite fabric store, Satin Moon in San Francisco (if you've never checked it out, you should!).

Step 1: Cutting the Fabric

Cut fabric in a strip measuring 3-1/4" W x 20" L using sewing shears or rotary cutter and mat.

Step 2: Pinning and Sewing


Fold fabric in half along the length with the right sides facing in and pin approximately 2-1/2" apart. Sew along pinned edge leaving a 5/8" seam allowance. Remove pins and turn right-side out so seam is now on the inside of the tube of fabric.

Step 3: Adding the Beads and Knotting



Place wooden beads into fabric tube, leaving approximately 2-1/2" at end, and knot between each bead. Pull note as tight as possible against bead. Using a crepe fabric is helpful with this step as it has a bit of give.

Step 4: Attaching the Ribbon



Cut two lengths of ribbon to desired length, angling one edge. Length will depend on how long you want your necklace and how your necklace will fit on you. We cut ours around 20". Turn 1/4" of fabric into ends of tube to make a hem. Insert straight end of ribbon into turned end and hand stitch ribbon to fabric, stitching as close to the edge of the hem as possible to hide stitches. Slightly gather fabric around ribbon as fabric will be wider than the ribbon, ensuring to not add too much bulk with your stitches (too much bulk will make it difficult to complete the knots in Step 5). This will create a slight "balloon" effect, as shown above.

Step 5: Knotting to Completion


Tie a last knot where the ribbon joins the fabric. The knot should hide your stitches, allowing the ribbon to feed directly from the knot. Tighten knot as you did around the beads, being careful not to pull on the ribbon too hard so as not to tear it.

Tie necklace around your neck in a bow and, voila, you're ready for a spring fling!