Create a braided necklace in today’s DIY!

May 26th, 2010 → 10:00 am @ Maria

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Lately I’ve been seeing quite a few braided fabric necklaces pop up in the fashion blogosphere. I fell in love with the way it almost blends into your outfit, making a basic top look like an intricate piece. I coveted one of my own, so I looked for leftover fabric from previous projects to create a one-of-a-kind piece (and talk about eco friendly!). After a bit of experimenting, I put together a little tutorial for you to follow. Enjoy!

What you will need:

  • Fabric
  • Scissors
  • A needle and thread
  • Findings; I used a lobster clasp

Step One:

Cut your fabric into strips: Three 35″ pieces, three 25″ pieces, and three 6″ pieces. (I am showing you how I made my design, but you can alter this tutorial very easily to create various shapes of your liking).

Oliver was dying to snatch some of my fabric away!

Step Two:

Taking the three longest strips, tie them into a basic knot, secure it (I placed it under a table leg), and begin doing a loose, basic braid.

Knotted...

...and braided for about 5"

Step Three:

Before I start explaining part three, I want to let you know it’s really simple, it’s just a bit difficult to explain. With that said, I’m going to try my best! Take a break from your main braid and completely braid (again, loosely) your 25″ strips. Take this 25″ braid and lay it next to your main braid, between the middle strip and far right strip. Taking the far right strip, wrap it around the 25″ braid. Continue braiding to secure it in place. After every 4″ or so, again, wrap the far right strip around the 25″ braid and secure it by braiding. This will connect the two strips together with a nice chain like appearance.

Lay your finished braid so that it is between the middle strip and the farthest right strip.

Continue braiding the main braid as usual to secure the 25" braid.

Attach the 25" braid the same way every 4" to create a chain-like appearance.

Step Four:

Secure the ends of the 25″ braid by sewing a few simple stitches to the main braid.

Step Five:

Loosely braid your 6″ strips. Attach them to the bottom curve of your necklace with a few simple stitches.

I placed this second attachment directly above the main braid, but you can place it even higher to show more of a disconnect.

Step Six:

Hold up your necklace to you and see if you would like to trim off any of the main braid ends to make it shorter (I ended up snipping off about two inches on either side). Fold the end knots over, and secure with a few basic stitches. Attach your findings and you’re done!

Now, I left my necklace with the frays because I liked the way it looks. If you rather it be 100% finished looking, cut the strips a bit larger and sew them in half to create a hem. Or, you can use Fray Sprays like this one and lightly spray your necklace and set dry. Tomorrow I will be wearing it in my outfit post, so you can see even better how much fun this piece is!

Do you like the fabric necklace look? Is this a project you think you could tackle? Let me know!

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