Working with metal wire is surprisingly easy and produces an elegant result. If you've never done this before, start with necklace 1 to familiarize yourself with the medium. You may also want to wear light gloves - the metal is tough on your hands.

Materials Needed

  • 1 spool 24-guage metal wire in silver or gold
  • Crochet hook size C-2 (2.75 mm)
  • 60 small beads for necklace 2, 30 beads for necklace 3
  • 1 lobster clasp or other jewelry fastener per necklace
  • Wire cutters
  • Small pliers

 

Directions
Necklace 1 (no beads)
Ch 110 (for a 24-inch length; ch more or less to adjust the size). That's it! I recommend making a few short tests before completing the entire ch. Metal is not forgiving, so you'll need to carefully control the size of your stitches. When yarning over to pull through a new ch, insert your hook just a small distance (1/2 inch) through the previous loop. For a more open ch, increase this measurement to 1 inch. There's really no wrong way to do this; the only key element is to make sure your stitch size is consistent.

More Beading Projects:

Necklace 2 (with beads - pictured in photo)
String beads of your choosing onto your metal wire. Keep in mind that the order you string them in is the order they'll be on the finished necklace. You can always discard the leftover beads at the end, so string more than you think you'll need.

Like the previous version, this necklace is a simple chain. Every other chain has a bead on it. It works like this:
*Ch 1. Draw a bead up to your hook and ch again (the ch is worked around the bead, trapping the bead in your st). Repeat from * to desired length.

Necklace 3 (drop beads)
Necklace 3 is worked exactly like necklace 2, with two notable exceptions:
*Ch 2. Draw a bead up to your hook. Hold the bead with your thumb and bend the wire down and up again, creating a "drop" down from the primary ch. I found that a drop of roughly 1 inch looked best. Ch 1, trapping the bead. Repeat from * to desired length. When you're done with the ch, twist each bead a few times with your fingers to create a more finished look.