My Mother sincerely believes that junk jewelry is a waste of money — and she’s always advised me to avoid it. She says, “If you’re going to buy jewelry, make sure you choose pieces that will hold their value over time.”

That isn’t always easy advice to follow.

As I was designing my project contributions for Delicate Crochet, I knew I wanted to submit a necklace as one of my two project contributions. But, I had a hard time choosing the materials I’d use for the necklace. I wanted the project to be so fabulously special, so remarkable and so unique that it would become a go-to piece in the wardrobe of any crocheter who decided to make it. And I wanted the piece I came up with to have lasting value — to be worth the time and effort

At the time I designed this necklace, the only retail store I had within easy visiting distance was a Walmart. So off to Walmart I went to check out the beads. Somehow, as I looked at the selection of beads Walmart offered in their craft section, none of them seemed quite special enough for the necklace I wanted to create.

In fact, they mostly seemed like the junk my mom warned me not to waste money on — lots of plastic beads, and the few glass beads that were available weren’t consistent in size.

I thought to myself, “The buyers of this book deserve better.”

So I left Walmart empty-handed and turned to the internet to find better beads.

I looked at hundreds (or maybe even thousands?) of different bead assortments before it occurred to me that I should search for gold or silver beads. And after I had that inspiration, it didn’t take long at all to find the beads I knew I wanted to use for this necklace:

They’re delicate, sophisticated, 14-Karat gold-plated beads that add visual interest to the necklace without being gaudy or overwhelming.

Perfect! Just the effect I was hoping for.

The beads, combined with the truly stunning, soft, luxurious yet practical cotton yarn = the ideal combination for a necklace that’s comfortable, beautiful and valuable. It’s a project that I’m proud to offer you — one of the nicest creations I have ever designed.

I hope you’ll consider making one or more of these necklaces so you can experience the dreamy softness of the suggested yarn, Bio Sesia by Plymouth Yarns. It’s a gorgeous organic cotton yarn that I’ve simply fallen in love with. I’ve made more than a dozen variations on this necklace, using up just about every scrap piece of yarn I had in the right general weight range — but so far, my favorite is the project sample I made for the book using the Bio Sesia cotton and the Gold Elegance 14 karat gold plated beads.

I hope you’ll agree that the necklace is worthy of your crafting time. But, if the beads happen to be beyond your crafting budget, or not to your taste, don’t hesitate to try substitutes. I’ve tried crocheting this necklace with bunches of different types of beads, including glass seed beads and others. I’ve found that the pattern lends itself extremely well to being made with beads other than just the gold-plated round ones.

Another selling point: As far as crochet projects go, this is a fast one. If you need to crank out a whole bunch of gifts quickly, this pattern is definitely worth considering. I’m obviously biased, because this is a pattern I designed — but I think this project is definitely worth the small investment you need to make in time, yarn and beads.

Learn More About Delicate Crochet:

• Click here to shop for this book at Amazon.
• Click here to check out our preview of this book at Knittingcrochetcrafts.com

Learn More About Crocheting With Cotton

• If you’ve never crocheted with cotton yarn or crochet thread before, there are a few things you’ll want to be aware of before you dive in. Check out this information on knitting and crocheting with cotton.

Find More Knit and Crochet Jewelry Patterns

• Crochet Necklace Patterns
• Easy Beaded Lace Crochet Choker Necklace Pattern

Posted By: Amy Solovay

This page was last updated on 6-25-2023.