Follow the Bead Doctor’s Tutorial to make this sensational, smouldering jewellery set inspired by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Step 1: Gather materials
Find a list of everything you will need below.
Pause the steps at any time by mousing over the slideshow and clicking the pause button. Click the pause button again to continue.
Use the left-right arrows or slide numbers to navigate.
Step 2: Cut Elasticity and thread on rocailles
Cut 50cm of Elasticity.
Thread on black rocailles with amethyst and silver rocailles spaced sporadically along the Elasticity so that you have around 3cm of Elasticity remaining on each side.
Tie the ends together tightly to create a loop.
Trim the excess Elasticity.
Step 3: Transfer rocaille loops to a pencil.
Wrap the loop of rocailles around and around your index finger but not too tightly.
Transfer to a pencil.
Cut 8cm of Elasticity and tie the loops together tightly at the top.
Trim the Elasticity.
Repeat at the bottom and left and right hand sides.
Make two more and two using 40cm lengths of Elasticity.
Step 4: Cut wire, loop and add glass beads
Cut 25cm of black wire.
Use the round nosed part of the pliers to make a double loop at one end.
Thread on a selection of glass beads to make a section around 8cm long.
Step 5: Wrap beaded wire round pencil
Wrap the beaded section of wire tightly around a pencil, and pass the wire back through the double loop.
Bend the wire tightly around the beads wrapping them until they all feel secure.
Continue wrapping the beads as tightly as possible until you almost reach the end of your wire.
Bend the end of the wire into the centre of the cluster.
Make three more and two slightly smaller clusters.
Step 6: Cut heavy chain and add prepared beads
Cut 40cm (longer if you wish) of heavy chain.
Thread the chain through the centre of a small cluster, a small rocaille spiral, a large cluster, a rocaille spiral, a large cluster, a rocaille spiral, a large cluster, a rocaille spiral, a large cluster, a small rocaille spiral and finally a small cluster.
Step 7: Attach toggle clasp
Open an 8mm jump ring and attach the bar of the toggle to the chain. Close the jump ring.
Add the loop of the toggle clasp to the other end of the chain in the same way.
Step 8: To make matching earrings
Make two matching wire wrapped clusters
Add a long ballwire to the top of each cluster through the double loop.
Step 9: To make the matching bracelet
Make three wire wrapped clusters and two rocaille spirals.
Open an 8mm jump ring and hook through a wire wrapped cluster, add an 8mm jump ring and close the first jump ring.
Open another 8mm jump ring hook through the second jump ring and through a few of the loops of a rocaille spiral. Close the jump ring.
Add the next cluster to the other side of the spiral.
Continue in this way to add the rest of clusters and spirals.
Add the toggle clasp to the ends of the bracelet.
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Greetings from the Bead Doctor
Steig Larsson’s heroine inspires
Recently, I was asked by Making Jewellery magazine to do a tutorial based on a literary heroine. At first I was a bit stuck. I wanted to do something different from the expected choices – Juliet, Scarlett O’ Hara, Jane Eyre etc. Then, quite by coincidence, a friend lent me ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. I was enthralled by the main character. Lisbeth Salander is an outlaw, feminist, super heroine! She reminded me a bit of a female Sherlock Holmes – a brilliant genius with a dark side. I made this jewellery set using black glass bead clusters and rocaille spirals. The result is a gothic style with an edgy look. I think it would be perfect for Lisbeth Salander.
Top tip
Wire wrapping and simple threading techniques are combined in this striking set. It is very bold and dark but with the same techniques and a splash of colour this set could look very different, try combining gold chain with reds and oranges for a fiery collection.
Giving it away!
Win all the materials needed to make my Lisbeth Salander inspired tutorial! To enter, we would like you to tell us who you would choose as your literary heroine and why. Please let us know in the comments box below by Sunday 21st October 2012 for a chance to win. The winner will then be notified by email and asked for their postal address. Good luck everyone!
Materials
To add all the materials needed for this project, simply click the button below to add it to your basket. Or, if you are just short of one or two bits, click on the individual items.*
What a gorgeous set!!! hmm a hard question that one… makes me realise how much my favourite gendre is dominated by male heros (Sci fi) but I loved this set of books and I think Lisbeth Salander fits the bill for me
Hi there, would have to be Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games – an inspiration to all young girls especially and a reminder that we can over come almost anything
I would choose agatha christie, because you’re never too old,she always solves the crime in her imitable way!
I would choose Anne Frank. Unfortunately, she didn’t live for very long, but she is a legend and will never be forgotten.
I think it would have to be the girl from the garden (she is not given a name in the first book, but that). The story teller in the Orphan’s Tales book by Catherynne M. Valente. You could work with natural shapes and feathers, or even dip into the darker side where rumours describe her as a demon because of her charcoal eyes, painted by a spirit. A lot of choice and a great flow of ideas.
I’d choose Lyra from his dark materials, she’s brave, clever and looks out for her friends.
I choose Cinderella, the most famous fairy tale heroine, who could be depicted in silver, pearl and crystal to match her glass slipper.
I would choose hermoine from Harry Potter shes clever funny and she gives the boys a run for there money.
I would be tempted to make something with birds, greens, flowers, animals and lockets for Mary Lennox from the secret garden. I am still enchanted to this day with the chance of creating or finding my own secret garden and I think in turn she would appreciate an item of beauty and learn to share it, showing the secrets of her new friends in her new world. …
My heroine would be Esther from the Bible. She was so sure of herself to take on an old tradition and help her family out. If we could all be bold and be the women we are, we could be better women. Love the necklace and awesome for the heroine. Great job.
I would go back in time for my heroine – it would be The Wife of Bath from the Canterbury Tales. Although written some 700 years ago, her qualities mean she could belong to any era … she is strong, feisty, independentand a bit ‘earthy’ – she had five husbands! It would be fun to create a medieval themed necklace, which would incorporate a cross (they were on a pilgrimage) and beads to represent jewels of the time – gemstones, pearls and glass beads. The Wife of Bath talks about fairies in her tale, so some fairy charms would be appropriate.
Vianne from Chocolat, something dreamy and mystical for her.
Really cool jewelry set and striking too, to fit Lisbeth! I love the beaded ornaments!