Tapestry Rope
Necklace
Designed by Heather DeSimone
A Shopping Tip: When gathering your color palette think about the rich colors of an antique tapestry or vestment worn by royalty. Purple equals dramatic plums and eggplant purples. Blue equals rich midnight blues and dark aqua with moonglow or satin finishes. Pinks equal antique roses or deep, velvety maroons and not bright Florida pinks.
A Designing Tip: I don’t work with a ‘plan’ other than my colors piled up in front of me. This type of necklace doesn’t lend itself to having a pattern or a symmetrical layout. Simply start with one section and move onto the next, making intuitive decisions and varying your beads as you go. For example, if you just ended with a section of long, lean chain, grab at your chunkiest–size bead and add that next. Then juxtapose that with a smaller Lucite button. Vary your shapes & sizes as you go from one section to the next. Then once you have a series of sections that work, repeat it again on the other side of the necklace.
Materials List: 4 Colors 4mm Silk Ribbon - 2 yards each
Vintage brass or gold chain - 1 yard
Brass Beads (twist drops & heishi spacers)
A smattering of vintage lucite beads in rich, tapestry colors, of various shapes & sizes
German gold plated wire - 22 guage
Clear nail polish
Round nosed pliers, wire cutters & flush flat nose pliers
Step 1: Cut a segment of chain, approximately 6”.
Step 2: String a chunky Lucite bead with a little brass spacer onto a section of wire that measures at least 3” longer than the beads. Begin a wire wrapped loop, remembering to attach the wire to the end of the segment of chain before you complete the loop. Finish a wire-wrapped loop on the other side of the beads.
Step 3:
Attach another 1 or 2 wire-wrapped bead sections.
Step 4: Bundle your colored ribbons together and match them up on one end. Then cut approximately 8” of length of all 4 colors. Using an overhand double knot, tie them into your securely wire-wrapped loop at the end of the segment of beads you just finished.
Step 5: Wire wrap another section of beads. Attach the other end of the silk ribbons to this wire wrapped loop on one end. Wrap the other end of this section of beads into another length of chain.
Step 6: Vary these techniques as you go until you reach the desired length of your necklace. The sample for these instructions is a really long rope, intended to wrap around the neck a couple of times for a layered look.
Step 7: Cut 4-5” pieces of silk ribbon, or use leftover scraps. Securely tie them into various wire-wrapped loops, in between the space between beads, or around pieces of chain. Fix the knots with the slightest dab of clear nail polish to avoid the silk working its way out of the knot.
Step 8: Enjoy your tapestry rope, fit for a queen.
