Helping Hand

The non-working threads stuck down

 Don't you sometimes wish you had someone around to hold things whilst you use both hands to work on a tricky bit of jewellery?

I found myself in this situation when working on piece of bead weaving. Having created a seed bead loop to attach the threads to a pendant I needed to keep the tension on the loop whilst working on the bead weaving for one side of the necklace. My solution - stick the pair of threads that would eventually become the other side of the necklace to the worksurface.

Having adapted a project from a magazine I wasn't entirely certain how long the side I'd beaded first needed to be so, rather than finish it off with a crimp and one half of a clasp, I again resorted to sticky tape to hold the ends whilst I worked the other side. It took me a couple of tries to find the right position to stick the threads down to ensure I could comfortably work on the second part.

Once the beading was complete on both sides it was simple to hold the piece at my neck in front of a mirror and find that I needed to remove several pattern repeats to achieve the right length. I was quite relieved to have used tape rather than a crimp!

You can see the completed necklace here