Featured Free Beading Pattern: Cascading Willow Necklace

The Beadalon Design Workshop is full of ideas to inspire your next beading design. This fabulous Cascading Willlow Necklace by Design Team Member Margot Potter uses black Beadalon 19 for maximum impact. It’s right in line trends for fall with a combination of jet crystals and freshwater pearls and the layered look translates easily from day to night.

Materials

• 60 6x9mm Jet Swarovski™ teardrops

• 63 6mm white freshwater oval pearls

• 33 3mm Jet AB Swarovski™ rounds

• 1 small silver plated toggle clasp

• 16 JFC2B black crimp beads

• 2 4”, 6”, 7” and 8” strands JW15B 19 strand .018 black beading wire

• 2 20” JW15B strands black beading wire 202E-005

• Designer Ergo Cutter JTCRIMP3

• Designer Mighty Crimper

Instructions

1. Create the core necklace first. Attach two 20” strands black wire to the bar end of a toggle clasp using a crimp bead. Keep wires uncrossed inside of bead before crimping. Clip off excess wire with cutter tool.
2. Begin by sliding a pearl on one wire.
3. Thread both wires into a jet round.
4. Slide another pearl on the opposite wire from the first pearl.
5. Thread both wires into a jet round. Create tension by working beads down wire as you continue this pattern.
6. When you reach final pearl, check back through the woven design to even out spaces between beads. The design should not be too stiff or have too much space between beads. Each 3 bead section should be about ½”.
7. Attach beaded wires to circle end of toggle with crimp bead as before.
8. The center sections are built after attaching the wire to the core necklace. Start in the center of the necklace and attach the 8” wire section by threading the wire on a crimp bead and looping the wire through the bottom wire next to the 17th pearl.
9. Crimp and cut off excess wire. The loop should be approximately ¼”.
10. Slide two jet teardrops and a pearl on the wire approximately ¾” from top.
11. Thread wire back into first jet teardrop creating a loop. The pearl should sit at the top of the loop and the two teardrops fall opposite from each other at the bottom as in photo.
12. Continue down wire adding a group of pearl and teardrops every ¾”. There should be six groups total.
13. Thread the tail from the final jet teardrop into a crimp bead.
14. Crimp and clip off excess wire.
15. Repeat this process attaching the 7” strands to either side of the center waterfall on the wire next to the 2nd pearl from the center. The 7” strands have five bead loops. Move up two spaces and attach the 6” strands with four loops. Move up two more and attach the 4” strands with thee loops.
16. Before wearing, pull on the bottom bead group on each strand to lengthen waterfall segments.
17. Check back through design to make sure all wire tails have been clipped.

Cascading Willow Necklace © Margot Potter is intended for inspiration only. Not for reproduction or resale.