Thursday, December 31, 2009

2-Hour Statement Necklace



The hottest trend this year in jewelry has undoubtedly been the “statement necklace” or bib necklace. Every upscale jewelry and fashion house has produced some form of this with escalated price points. I originally had a few made in India based on some of my favorite embroidery designs, but realized you can easily make your own ‘couture’ creation whenever you need an accessory fix.



To start, grab some ribbon pieces, (the standard is satin or grosgrain ribbon, but anything that won’t scratch your neck will do). Next, find some fabric scraps and start cutting out flowers, shapes, obscene motifs, whatever you wish. Then, embellish them with  jewels, buttons or trims that you have on hand.  Stitch them together or thread them like beads and add a side of ribbon to each end… Voila!  I made the necklace above as a gift to my Mom.  I cut some tulle into tiny squares and threaded them with loose pearls and glass leaves.



Not a fabric flower type? If you have a pile of beads, you can string them together between the ribbons for another variation. Old chains from belts, ribbons made into bows, all work as well. Just stagger the lengths of each strand for the 'bib' effect.  The necklace above was made from different lengths of chain samples I had on hand attached to grosgrain ribbon.  I used two loose, Swarovski crystals to attach the bows where the chains connect to the ribbons.

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