DIY Network

Coral Necklace From "Jewelry Making" episode DJMK-107

Salvaged from the sea: coral can be used to create stunning jewelry.

Coral, when used creatively, is nothing short of a gift from the sea! Here, designer Lisa Van Herik shares her technique for creating a coral stunner!

Materials:

4-6 skeins in a variety of thin red, magenta & peach yarn
1 strand of red coral
6 feet of 16-gauge brass wire
1 spool of 26-gauge brass wire
End caps and clasps
FiberGard or Dritz FrayCheck
Wire cutters
Needle-nose pliers
Flat-nose pliers
1/2" dowel

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure E

1. Cut at least two feet of a variety of textured yarns and threads.

2. Smooth out all yarns and gently wind them tightly together.

3. Cut 4 ft. of 16-gauge brass wire. Fold brass wire in half with the fiber bundle and carefully twist the fiber bundle from the center tightly around one half of the wire (figure A).

4. Leaving a 4" loop at the top, wrap the other half of the wire around the first half, holding the fibers in place (figure B).

5. Loosely bind the ends of the bundle with temporary wire.

6. Make three more 2-ft wibers (wire and fiber) using 26-gauge brass wire and 4 feet each of three different colored fibers.

7. Slant wind one wiber separately around the neckpiece, reversing direction for the second wiber (figure C).

8. Wrap an already strung strand of red coral pieces onto 26-gauge brass wire.

9. Carefully wrap the coral and the third wiber around the necklace (figure D), adjusting the coral so that it will lay flat on the body and it’s branches are evenly dispersed around the front of the necklace.

10. Bind both ends by winding 16-gauge brass wire a few times around one bundle end, leaving a few inches of wire with the original thick wire sticking out on each side.

11. Slip the end cap over the extended wire on each side and then using a small dowel, wind the wire around it to create a hook.

12. On the other end, tidy up the wibers and fiber (using Fray Check or Fiber Gard) and slip on the end cap. Add 2-3 beads to finish and bend the wire into a hook (figure E).

RESOURCES :
Fiber-Wire Beads and Jewelry
by Lisa Vann
Krause Publications
P.O. Box 5009
Iola, WI 54945-5009
Phone: 800-258-0929
Web site: KrauseBooks.com

GUESTS :
Lisa Van Herik
E-mail: wired@beadifferent.com
Web site: www.beadifferent.com