Aztec Bohemian necklace ・ClearlyHelena

Aztec Bohemian necklace (CH0349)

Aztec Bohemian necklace

It all started with a stone
a pink opal stone
and it took me to places
I have not seen
far away and mystical
where our souls have roamed.

Credit for the name of this piece goes to Erin ‘Ren’ King – a girl of remarkable talent and a way with words.

How to Create the Aztec Bohemian Necklace

Focal Component

Aztec Bohemian necklace starts with a delightful cut of square pink opal cabochon.

And then comes the needful, useful jotting down of a very rough sketch that will accompany and guide us on the journey.

To this rough sketch, we will add in details as we go along. To start, I am thinking of doing a beaded bezel around the square pink opal cabochon, in a square frame, with right angle weave (RAW).

Tip: it is helpful to work with a sample in front of you. So here I am working my RAW bezel frame by referring to a sample of the square beaded rivoli. You can find the details of how to make a square frame for a round rivoli if you like.

The corners of the cab will have 4mm Swarovski bicones; with 3mm Swarovski bicones on each side of the corners. So work the RAW for the first straight side and then place against the cabochon to gauge how long the straight side has to be. Note that it must be shorter than the side of the cab as the 4mm bicone bead will take up the space for the corners.

Work the corner (still with RAW), incorporating the 4mm bicone at the corner.

Complete the round. Place atop the cab to check fit and sizing. This forms the top section of our beaded frame.

Note that the row where the 4mm bicone is represents the middle line between the top and bottom section of the beaded frame.

Complete the bottom section; mirroring the top section. (Here I have used different colours.)

Fit the cab into the frame and complete the bottom section of the frame. Note that at this stage, the cab will sit very loosely. That is ok.

Tip: you can clinch and tighten the bottom section (with smaller seed beads) now. But I prefer to finish off the top layer first. It gives you the best opportunity to determine the final look of the top. And in case there are final size adjustments to be made that might be a bit “unsightly”, that can be achieved in the bottom section later to finish off.

Weave thread to top section. Complete and tighten with a row of 15/0 (smaller) seedbeads. Weave through this last row twice to give a nice tight finish.

Then weave your thread to the bottom section and tighten with 15/0 in the same way as you did with the top.

At this stage, your work should look as follows. It is now ready for edge embellishment.

Weave your thread to the middle row (where the 4mm bicone is). Weave through and add in the 3mm bicones on each side of the corner beads.

I will be needing “connection points” on this beaded cab. So back to our rough sketch to add in more details and determine where those connection points are to be. (I have sketched these in, in dark blue, in photo below.)

Here I have decided to use wire guards to create the connection points. I have woven them in tightly: threading through each wire guard multiple times. Note that this is done on the bottom part of the beaded cab.

You have now completed the beaded pink opal cabochon .. with connection points

Now that we have completed our focal component, it is time to carry on planning the rest of the design.

Testing possible layouts ..

Short Notes on Creation of some of the Components

The focal dangle is created with a button. The button is encased in a chosen fabric and back stitched all round. You can apply glue to the back of the button to make it easier to work with.

Then trim, leaving about 2-3mm edging.

I have used a fairly thick, multi-hued embroidery thread and button stitched all round. The loop at the top is created from the same thread and method.