Over the holidays while browsing the lovely pieces on the Stella & Dot website, I happened to fall in love with one of their absolutely stunning mixed metal bib necklaces, but lost a little steam when I peeped the price tag. Not one to let finances dictate fashion…I took to Mood Fabrics for my jewelry supplies, and let the creativity fly to create my own.
Supplies:
- Bead and Chain Bib Necklace Template (download here).
- Multi-purpose glue
- Satin ribbon
- Tiny individual glass and plastic beads
- Straight pins
- Needle and thread
- Tweezers
- Felt
- Black rhinestone chain
- Loose leaf chains (purchased from another store)
- Clear rhinestone chain
- Wire cutters
- Scissors
(Note: I also at the last minute added a bit of gold chain around the neckline for an extra special touch).
Step-by-Step:
- Download the bib template.
- Fold a piece of felt or ultra suede in half, and then pin the template to these two layers.
- Cut out these two forms, and then remove straight pins.
- Choose one layer of the cut out felt; set the other layer aside.
- With wire cutters, remove leaves from their chain.
- Cut rhinestones and beaded chains to desired length (Note: I suggest playing around with beads to get an idea of layout before doing any gluing and sewing).
- Add a tiny bit of glue to back of chain to adhere it to the felt, following up with stitching where necessary for added stability.
- Glue beaded black rhinestone chain within the body of the necklace; cutting where necessary to wedge into tight spots for a seamless appearance.
- Apply a tiny amount of glue to fix leaves in place. Let leaves dry for at least 20 minutes before stitching them into place, and then repeat.
- Take a needle and feed a single thread through top necklace layer, knot the back, thread tiny plastic beads onto the string, and then remove needle for ease of applying beads.
- Once you reach your desired amount of beads, add needle back to thread and use it to drive this string back through this layer, and knot the back (Note: I also added a tiny bit of glue to the under side of the finished row of beads just so they wouldn’t move).
- Cut 2 pieces of ribbon to your desired length (Note: You can cut one side straight across, and then cut the exposed side at an angle for added effect).
- Apply glue (or clear nail polish) to ends of ribbon to avoid fraying.
- Turn top layer of necklace over and glue each ribbon about 1.5 inches from top of each side. (Note: Feel free to also stitch ribbon to necklace).
- Take 2nd layer of felt that you set aside in Step #4 and glue it to the back of 1st layer.
Enjoy the Mood DIY: Bead and Chain Bib Necklace!
