One fun how to from the designer of PS I Made This is this macrame necklace tutorial.The macrame forms the focal of the necklace and is done entirely by weaving on the fingers of your hand. It's a very fast technique.
Also check my past tutorial post on how to make finger loop braided bracelets. It's a blast from the past!
I actually tried this technique but must confess I had some trouble at the beginning. It took a while to look over her pictorial instructions to make sure I was weaving in the right order.
As you can see from her tutorial, you work with your palm facing you. But here is shot of the back of my hand where you can see the work taking shape.
One mistake I made was to use crochet yarn. I found I could not pull down to tighten because the yarn kept getting snagged. But once I switched to a much smoother cord, the weaving went well. It also helps to wriggle your fingers a bit when tightening the weave.
As I used a different type of cord not string, the drape was a lot softer than the instructor's weaving so it was not a stand out as a focal. It was then I had an eureka moment! Use it as a necklace cord!! This handmade cord is a lot quicker than kumihimo, let me tell you.
Shown below is my recently uploaded Etsy purpleheart wood pendant necklace with the softly draping hand made cord. The lovely heart pendant is from Art Beads, a leftover from a past blogger design challenge. As always, blogger partner designs I make go towards raising money for my pet cause.
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips
Also check my past tutorial post on how to make finger loop braided bracelets. It's a blast from the past!
I actually tried this technique but must confess I had some trouble at the beginning. It took a while to look over her pictorial instructions to make sure I was weaving in the right order.
As you can see from her tutorial, you work with your palm facing you. But here is shot of the back of my hand where you can see the work taking shape.
One mistake I made was to use crochet yarn. I found I could not pull down to tighten because the yarn kept getting snagged. But once I switched to a much smoother cord, the weaving went well. It also helps to wriggle your fingers a bit when tightening the weave.
As I used a different type of cord not string, the drape was a lot softer than the instructor's weaving so it was not a stand out as a focal. It was then I had an eureka moment! Use it as a necklace cord!! This handmade cord is a lot quicker than kumihimo, let me tell you.
Shown below is my recently uploaded Etsy purpleheart wood pendant necklace with the softly draping hand made cord. The lovely heart pendant is from Art Beads, a leftover from a past blogger design challenge. As always, blogger partner designs I make go towards raising money for my pet cause.
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips
Wow - what a blast from the past. I did macrame in my youth. I can't believe this is the same technique I used to make plant holders!
ReplyDeleteBoth necklaces in the blog are beautiful.
That was my reaction! Updated Blast from the Past! And quite wonderful. My fingers are itching....
ReplyDeleteFinger crochet (fingervirkning) as we used to call this, was popular in school when I was a kid. Seems like kids a certain age just love this fun technique because they still do this in the schools.
ReplyDeleteWe did wear our "creations" as necklaces and bracelets sometimes, but I'd never thought of actually using this technique for "grown-up jewellery". Now I feel like I must find some nice cord and give it a try! And this might also be a good idea to feature in my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!
I didn't know this techinque and it's very interesting for me because I'm studying macrame just in this period. I think I'm going to try it! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnto.
OMG... Me too! I loved learning macrame in school in the 70s! I love what you did with the soft cord and the wood-heart pendant. I can't usually wear necklaces... which might be odd since necklaces are always where my inspiration goes... But I probably could wear one like that. I find myself more and more attracted lately to cord and fabric hung necklaces... but there has to be something 'special' about it (ie. not just a bead on a cord). Your creation here is my FAVOURITE I've seen so far! ... Tamara
ReplyDeletePS. Your wirework 'sunburst' pendant in your Life Collection is so AWESOME!!!
I must have had a very "deprived" childhood as I don't remember doing any macrame at school!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think just because kids do it, we adults can't either! Do have a go! And have fun.
Gee Tamara, thanks for the thumbs up on my designs.
I did some macrame when I was a kid, but never did this style of it. This looks really neat. Or Neato as I would have said back then! LOL Thanks for the tips on the types of cord used. That is something I would not of thought of until I tried it.
ReplyDeleteI thought this is awesome, thanks for introducing P.S. site - have it bookmarked. :)
ReplyDeleteCorra
http://jewelry.de-cors.com
This is very cool! Thanks for the share.
ReplyDeleteI love love love the modern, fresh look to this necklace! And I'm going to check out the psimadethis site, what a cool concept!
ReplyDeleteI just tried this with some cord I was using for Kumohimo. Love it. Not sure how to tie off the ends though. I'm thinking about doing another, this time stringing on some random beads. Don't know if the weight of the beads will work, but it's worth the try. This is such a fast little project. Thanks. Love your Posts.
ReplyDeleteJean - not quite sure adding beads will help unless you add it after you make the cord. Use cord ends to finish. If you check out my original Etsy listing, you'll see I made my own wire coil cord ends.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching macrame sites lately and spent some time reading through yours. I was wondering what cord you ended up using instead of crochet yarn. I've been 'playing' w/ waxed cotton, but I like the drape your necklace has.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.