Fun with Hand-painted Silk and Crystals

I can’t seem to put my hand-painted silk and crystals down these days. But today I decided to stray off my beaten path and weave a necklace instead of a bracelet. I knew it could not be too thick, because a flat piece that is too thick will not lie flat on the neck. I also wondered what I would use for a clasp. I wanted the clasp to be in front. So while I wove I thought about this issue. And this is what I came up with:

Let me show you the technique. It’s very simple and allows the silk to be woven at a fine sett while also incorporating the 2mm crystals. If I woven the crystals in between every warp the sett would be too coarse. So I realized I could only weave the crystals in two of the three available spaces.

The pattern is simple: weave some silk for a bit, weave two crystals, weave a row of silk, weave two crystals, weave a row of silk, etc. alternating just the silk with the bead and silk combination.

 The clasp turned out to be a sik wrapped O-ring and a small gold button. I slipped some crystals on the botton side before attaching the gold button. There you go: a simple but elegant necklace to wear or give as a gift.

Click here to purchase hand-painted silk to make your own silk and crystal piece!

Would you like to see more detailed instructions for this piece? Let us know in the comments!