Christmas Planning - Handmade Fabric Necklaces

SPOILER ALERT - To my family and friends, please do not read on as you may see your Christmas Gift for this year!

In my attempt this year to be well and truly organised for Christmas and the busy period leading up to it, I have been making some handmade gifts to give to people at Christmas. So far with my partner in craft, we have made:

Fabric Covered Notebooks
Homemade Works Of Art

This week I am very excited to show you the handmade fabric necklaces that we have made. We have made them using the same fabrics as we did with the fabric covered notebooks. The aim here was to be able to match them together to make a beautiful little gift set for someone special.

Now I must give full credit to my partner in craft who was the brains behind this project. Without her guidance I would not have been able to make these gorgeous little necklaces. I will take you through the steps that she patiently took me through. If I could make these, then I think anyone can.

(1). Cut fabric into strips approx 3cm x 60cm.

(2). Fold the fabric in half with the pattern on the inside. Sew the fabric together and sew one end about 0.5cm in from the edge.

(3). This was the hardest step for me. Starting at the sewn end, use a knitting needle (or like object), to push the fabric through onto itself, so that pattern of the fabric can now be seen. It is very easy to push the needle through the sewn end, so you need to be careful.

(4). Iron the fabric flat with the seam to one side.

(5). Using a small piece of masking tape, we folded and taped the end to allow for easier threading of the beads.

(6). After threading the beads, place them on the fabric, making sure that the middle bead will fall evenly in the middle. (Fold the fabric into the necklace shape to check.)

(7). We tied knots in the fabric to keep the beads in place and to create a pattern. You simply move other beads furhter up the fabric and tie a knot, sliding it down so it sits close to the bead. For the first knots, you need to make sure that there is room for the beads to move so the bottom of the necklace will be rounded and not straight.

(8). The hooks and rings we used can be bought from craft or fabric stores. They come opened and we used some small pliers to bend them close, to secure the end of the necklace.

And with that last step, you have your finished necklace! We made these necklaces from a number of different fabrics and once we have finished all of them, we should have eight each. We are starting to have quite a Christmas present stash already which is very exciting.