Autumn Leaves Necklace

Use right angle weave to make this intricate necklace of Autumn leaves in warm gold and topaz.

Posted by Beads Unlimited

About

Note: Finishing off and adding more thread.

At some point, when you are making the embellishments, you will start to run out of thread. To finish off, weave your remaining thread through the beads on the necklace base. Every so often knot around the necklace base thread, between 2 beads, to secure. Cut off any excess. To begin a new piece of thread, prepare your needle with about 250cm of thread. Then weave through in the same way as you finished off, again, knotting at certain points until you come out where you left off.

Share

You Will Need (11 things)

  • 4 Small gold plated Bolt Ring
  • 12 gold plated Calottes Bead Caps
  • 5 g gold size 110 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 5 g topaz size 110 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 5 g chocolate size 110 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 5 g gold size 80 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 5 g topaz size 80 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 5 g chocolate size 80 silver lined rocailles Seed Beads
  • 100g packet amber Glass Beads mix
  • 1 x reel golden yellow Nymo Beading Thread
  • Beading Needle size 13

Steps (11 steps, 50 minutes)

  1. 1

    The base of the necklace is made in right angle weave with size 11 rocailles. Bead colours are added randomly to look like the changing shades of Autumn. Prepare your needle with 300cm of beading thread. Add a stop bead by picking up a small rocaille with your needle and moving to about 15cm from the end of the thread. Loop your thread round and through again and pull tight.

  2. 2

    Pick up 3 more rocailles. Thread the needle back through the stop bead, second and third bead once more. Pull taught.

  3. 3

    Thread on 3 more rocailles. Take the needle back through the bead with the working thread coming out of it and then through the next 2 beads along. Keep repeating this sequence until your necklace is the desired length. The one featured is 47cm including the clasp.

  4. 4

    To finish off, tie several knots in the thread as close to the last rocaille as possible. Pick up 1 more rocaille and tie several knots close up next to it to secure. Remove the needle from the thread but do not trim the remaining thread yet.

  5. 5

    The embellishments on this necklace are made up of stems and leaves, glass beads and more right angle stitch. Add them in random order as you go along the necklace.
    Prepare your needle with another 250cm length of thread. Weave through the first couple of beads at one end of the necklace base. Knot between 2 beads to secure.

  6. 6

    Leaves and stems should vary in length. Simply change the amount of beads in the following instructions to make them larger or smaller.
    To make a stem with leaves, pick up 24 small, random colour, rocailles. Starting from the second to last bead, pass the thread back through several of the rocailles. To make a leaf, pick up 9 small rocailles. Pass back through the second to last bead added. Then pick up 7 more small rocailles. Pass the needle through the first ‘leaf’ bead you added and then up through several more beads on the stem. Continue making leaves up the stem. When you get back to the top of the stem, weave through several beads on the necklace base until you are ready for your next embellishment.

  7. 7

    When you add the large glass beads, add them in various ways. Try short and long stems. Add some with no stem. To add a bead with no stem, pick up 1 glass bead and 1 large rocaille. Weave back through the glass bead. If the bead is heavy, weave through a couple of beads on the base and then back up and down the glass bead and rocaille again.
    Glass beads with a stem are added in the same way but pick up a few large or small rocailles before you add your glass bead and last large rocaille.
    Weave through several beads on the necklace base to your next embellishment point.

  8. 8

    As you go along, add small sections, 2 or 3cm long, of right angle weave. Begin close to the necklace base at the bead you have come out of. Use large or small rocailles (or a mixture of both) and make 3 or 4 loops of the weave. The section wants to be slightly raised off the base so weave back into the base slightly short of the length of the section you’ve just made.
    Keep adding the different embellishments all the way along until you reach the end of the necklace base. Finish off as you did in step 4 by knotting, adding a small rocaille and knotting again.

  9. 9

    Place the knotted rocaille in the centre of a calotte. With your pliers, press down to secure. Repeat at the other end of the necklace.

  10. 10

    Trim off any excess threads coming out of both calottes. Add your bolt ring by hooking the joining loop to the calotte hook. With your pliers, press the calotte hook shut. Add the bolt ring tag, in the same way, to the other calotte.

  11. 11

    Your finished necklace should look something like this.