Purple Pearls, ok so they aren’t purple.
Purple Pearls, only I went with teal.
I am titling this post “Purple Pearls” because when you buy this book, I want you to find the instructions easily. The pattern title is “Purple Pearls”. The Create Jewelry is a pretty neat series. This particular piece is in the “Pearl” Edition. The book is by Marlene Blessing & Jamie Hogsett. You can look for this one on page 23. The Burgundy Pearls that they chose look better, but unfortunately I don’t own any mauve clothes.
Supplies: I believe I ordered from Fusion for this project. I just dumped most of the supplies in a shopping cart and came in just under $35. That did not include the basic stringing materials. It requires wire cutters, crimping pliers and a bead stop to make this necklace. Swarovski Crystals and Crystal Pearls come in a variety of colors so you have lots of options here. When I choose colors for a project I tend to stick with colors that I wear. I have a lot of teal colored beads in my stash. The theory is that if I don’t care for the piece, I can always take it apart and use the materials to make something else. That isn’t going to happen with this piece though. I have a teal satin blouse that this goes beautifully with. 🙂
Assembly: Construction wise this goes together pretty easily. Instruction-wise I kept losing my place in the pattern. So I went with the phone-a-friend option. Sort of. I nicely asked my husband if he would read the pattern to me. I was able to just listen and follow the directions. He was able to read it smoothly without losing his place. It sounds silly, but when you read something, stop and look up to do it and then look back down it is very easy to lose your spot. Especially if it is a non-repeating, repeating pattern. Let me explain, there is a somewhat random pattern that needs to be repeated three times. If you have a helper this goes together in a snap. Or you know, you just might be better at following directions than I am, and not need any assistance at all. :p
The finished size comes in at 28″ (71cm)
Design: This is a versatile pearl necklace. One half of the necklace is a combination of Swarovski Pearls, Crystals and Rhinestone Rounds. The other half is just pearls. I have worn it with the crystals in the front, as well as off to the side and it looks great both ways. The look of knotted pearls is cleverly achieved with delica beads. This went together in a fraction of the time it would have taken me to hand knot. I think this one is a keeper.