DIY Tassel Collar Necklace

August 6, 2012 By 25 Comments
Gwyneth and I see today’s tutorial as material evidence in our ongoing case for why it pays to be a packrat. Our collection of broken jewelry, tiny pieces of leftover trim and scraps of ribbon looks like a mess in its storage basket, but we played with a few pieces and ended up with this DIY Tassel Collar Necklace!
But trim, bits of jewelry and ribbon aren’t the only saved scraps that contributed to this DIY. When we saw the Tory Burch Pom-Pom Raffia Resin Necklace featured in Women’s Wear Daily‘s Resort 2013 accessories round up, we ripped out the page and planned to pick up supplies to make our version.
via

As stunning as we found the necklace to be, the supply shopping trip moved lower and lower down “the list.” But when Gwyneth and I were straightening up the apartment browsing our inventory of embellishments, we looked at each other, thinking the same thing – our hoarding was about to pay off!

It can for you too if you start stockpiling these supplies (Or pick them up for a still affordable project):
  1. 2 pieces of chain, each 14″ long and with the same size / shape links (We used different finishes for each.)
  2. 1 yard thin leather cord
  3. 14″ string of beads (Here’s where saving your broken jewelry comes in handy!)
  4. 1 yard floral wire (We recommend using the same color as the bottom chain of your necklace.)
  5. 5 large baubles (You guessed it – broken jewelry!)
  6. 14 small tassels (We cut ours off of the trim we had leftover from the lumbar pillow on our couch.)
  7. Two pieces of thin grosgrain ribbon, each at least 8″ long (Alternative: a proper jewelry closure.)
  8. An upholstery needle
  9. Pliers
  10. Scissors (having baby and regular sizes was helpful.)
  11. Tweezers
Final note before we get to the good stuff – This is definitely not a difficult project, but it took a while and can be a little tedious. So find your glasses and some guilty pleasure TV too.
Now let’s do this!
First, tie the first link of your two chains together with your leather cord.

Then you want to connect the strand of beads to the two chains. Here’s how:

  1. Hold your strand of beads between and on top of the chains.
  2. Poke your leather cord under the first link of the chain to the right.
  3. Carry the leather cord over and between the first and second beads.
  4. Poke the leather cord through top of the second link of the chain to the left of the beads.
  5. Then repeat for the entire length of the strand.
Note: If you want a more detailed and truly awesome visual of this technique, check out this post from Jenni over at I Spy DIY.

Now, it is possible that not every space between beads lined up exactly with each link in the chain and you had to skip a few here and there. (This is especially true if you’re working with odd scraps!) If you run into this, you’ll have a few odd kinks that you’ll want to eliminate, so your necklace will lie flat when finished. As you can see, we encountered this ourselves!

But it’s easy to fix! You just add a little piece of reinforcement leather cord wherever you had to skip a link. To be extra safe, we added a reinforcement piece to the link to the right and a piece to the link to the left of any of these places.

For each “missing link situation” you have:

  1. Cut three pieces of cord (Each of these reinforcement pieces should be 3″ long.)
  2. Run cord up through the missing link, across the space between the beads and down through the matching link on the other chain.
  3. Tie in a double knot on the underside of the chain and cut off the excess.
  4. Repeat this for the links on either side of the one you just did and shape your necklace as you go.
It’s all downhill from here!
Loop a 3″ piece of floral wire through each of your 5 baubles, ends untied.

Decide how you want to space your baubles. Then, flip your necklace over and double knot the floral wire to the inside of the bottom chain. (This is where tweezers are your friend.) Trim the excess.

Once your baubles are attached, you’re ready to attach your tassels. You can save a little time (and a lot of sanity) by threading them all at once like we did:

  1. Use baby scissors to carefully remove each tassel from your trim.
  2. Thread your upholstery needle with the rest of your floral wire.
  3. Thread through the top of each tassel.
  4. Distribute the tassels across the wire, so it looks like garland.

Then cut your “garland” in the middle of each tassel to separate.

Just as you did with the baubles, decide how you want to arrange your tassels. Then, flip your necklace over, and double knot the floral wire to the inside of the bottom chain. Trim the excess.

If you’re going the jewelry closure route, attach it to the ends of your necklace. If you’re being scrappy like us, thread a piece of ribbon through the two end links at one end of your necklace and double knot. Repeat on the other end. Then, just tie the ends together when you’re ready to wear!

Ta-da!

Please remember that if you’re inspired by anything you see here, it would make our day to see your versions! Email us your creations, and we’d love to share them on our Facebook page!

xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie

Part of the Link Parties at:
Filed Under: Accessorizing, DIY, Pink

Comments

  1. A Lived in Home says:
    August 6, 2012 at 3:09 am

    Wow! Super cute! What a great idea! My Get Social Sunday party is live. I would love for you to come link up your homepage and show off your blog!

    http://alivedinhome.blogspot.com/2012/08/get-social-sunday.html

    Reply
  2. Niki says:
    August 6, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    This is so pretty! It doesn’t look too hard to make either – I kind of want to try it!!!

    Reply
    • Meredith and the New Yorkie says:
      August 11, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      Hi Niki! It’s not hard at all! Please let us know if you end up making one of your own! We want to share photos of our friends’ takes on our projects on our FB fan page! So if you make one, please send us a photo to share!

      xoxo,
      mk & Gwynnie

      Reply
  3. Beth @ Free Stylin' says:
    August 6, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    SO pretty, Meredith!!

    Reply
  4. Jade Sierra says:
    August 7, 2012 at 4:36 am

    I LOVE this! I may have to add this to my “DIY list”. Thanks for linking up! :)

    Reply
  5. Full Circle Creations says:
    August 8, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    Looks great! Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party.

    Holly

    Reply
  6. sturdydesign says:
    August 10, 2012 at 2:19 am

    yours is 10 times better than the inspiration piece!

    Reply
  7. Etcetorize says:
    August 10, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    Very nice! So funny that you had all those odds and ends already gathered. Funny what we collect sometimes. Thanks for sharing at Etcetorize this week!

    Reply
  8. Pam says:
    August 11, 2012 at 2:22 am

    You are so talented. I’ve only tried jewelry making once and it did not have a good ending.

    Reply
  9. Kelley @ TheGrantLife.com says:
    August 11, 2012 at 2:47 am

    Hi! Visiting from tt&j. Ohhh.. what a beautiful necklace! I love the colors and I agree.. its is way prettier then the inspiration piece!

    If you get a chance I would love for you to share this (and any other awesome post you have) at my Friday link party!
    http://www.thegrantlife.com/2012/08/financial-friday-fabulous-features.html

    Reply
  10. Bethany says:
    August 11, 2012 at 4:40 pm

    I was obsessed with that TORY pom pom collar too, but yours blows hers out of the water!!!!

    Reply
  11. ...love Maegan says:
    August 12, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    Well done! So gorgeous!!

    Reply
  12. Tutus & Tea Parties says:
    August 16, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    It looks great! Thank you for sharing at our
    Pinteresting Party!

    Reply
  13. Tutus & Tea Parties says:
    August 16, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    It looks great! Thank you for sharing at our
    Pinteresting Party!

    Reply
  14. Daisy says:
    September 8, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    I have just made my own, thanks for the idea :) x

    Reply
    • Meredith & Gwyneth says:
      September 8, 2012 at 9:11 pm

      Hi Daisy! Love hearing this! If you send us a photo of your finished product, we’d love to share on our Facebook page (and link to your blog if you have one!)
      If you’re up for it, please email us at hi@meredithandthenewyorkie.com!

      xoxo,
      mk & Gwynnie

      Reply

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