DIY Ombre Seed Bead Necklace

Design Mom asked me to create a spring version of a classic DIY of mine, the seed bead necklace.  I ended up creating this pretty coral and gold version for her site, but I also created a fun ombre layered necklace for me and I wanted to share it with you all!  I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, working with seed beads is simple, but tedious.  Expect this project to take you about 3 hours, but the level of ease is quite high.  A novice should be able to recreate this beautiful interpretation of a fun trend out there.

Your Supplies: Various colors of seed beads in light to dark shades, stringing wire (looks just like fishing wire), crimp beads, 4 jump rings in varying sizes (2 larger for your ends, one tiny one to attach your chain to and 1 medium size ring to leave on the end of your chain to lengthen – Michaels has a pack of various sized jump rings that contain all the sizes you need), 1 lobster claw closure, a small bit of chain, and scissors, wire cutters and needle nosed pliers.

Begin by cutting a length of line about 20 inches long.

Next, add one crimp bead, then a jump ring

Then loop your string over the jump ring and through the crimp bead and pinch shut with your needle nosed pliers.  This will keep the beads in place when you start stringing.

Then begin stringing.  You can start with your lighter shade of bead like I did or reverse it and go from dark to light.  A trick for quicker stringing is to lighten dampen your finger tip with a wet sponge/cloth and then dip your finger into your bowl of beads to grab a few at a time.  This limits how many times you have to dip into get beads a bit.

As you complete each string, make sure to repeat the crimp bead process as above so that you add a jump ring and crimp bead to one end.  This secures your other end and leaves you a jump ring on both ends to add your strings to.  Here are some in progress shots.  To create the layered ombre effect it is important that as you add your strings of beads, you also add a bit of length to each line.  I added about 1 inch to each line so that at the end, my necklace varied from 20 inches to about 25 inches long when hung on my neck.

Once your stringing is complete, you’ll want to add your chain.   I added a 3 inch piece of chain to the end of my necklace to make it a bit adjustable.

With your needle nosed pliers and the smallest jump ring, attach your chain to one end of your necklace.

Trim your chain with your wire cutters

Add the medium sized jump ring to the end of the piece of chain, and then using your needle nosed pliers attach the lobster claw to the other end.

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And you’re complete!

A pretty spring necklace reflecting ombre, one of the biggest ongoing trends.  The color options are endless and you because the necklace is adjustable, you can wear it short or long depending on the look you’re pairing it with.  I hope you enjoyed this DIY and let me know if you have any questions!