How to :: Rainbow Smile Necklace ::

Following on from yesterdays "Crochet I-Cord' post, today I'm sharing with you a little tutorial on what you can make from all that lovely i-cord. I simply made this necklace as a way of using up all the icord I myself had been making, I raided my jewellery making supplies and gathered together a rainbow of cords.

It's pretty easy to put together and such a fun and bright piece of jewellery. Of course you don't need to make a rainbow, I think it would look fab all in the one colour or use a super chunky yarn to make just one big cord.



So if you fancy having a go you can find the i-cord tutorial here, though if you'd rather you can also knit your i-cords.

Ingredients ::

• 6 lengths of i-cord in a range of colours
  For the size barrel I used, double knit weight yarn worked perfectly, you may need to make more or less cords if you're using a different weight yarn.
  I made my cord in a range of lengths between 14 and 22cm, so they would sit in a smile shape.
• 2 x 24cm lengths of chain 
• necklace clasp
• 4 x jumprings
• 2 x 10 x 14mm barrel end caps
  I used these ones here.
• paper tape
• super strong glue
  I used 2 part resin glue, as through lots of experience I've found this to be the strongest for jewellery making.
• jewellery making pliers

Method ::

First make your i-cord, you can find my tutorial on how to crochet i-cord here.

Next up collect your cords together and tie them, using the yarn ends, once you've done this wrap the rest of the ends around the bundled together cords, securing them with paper tape. Your ends want to fit snuggly inside your barrel, so you may need to fiddle about with them to make this so.

Once your ends are all taped up and the correct fit for your barrels, get your glue ready. Cover the inside of the barrel with glue and pop your taped end inside, holding it in place firmly whilst the glue does it's thing.

Get your chain lengths ready, by attaching the clasp to the end of one length with a jump ring and putting another jump ring on the end of the other length to act as the ring for the clasp to join to.

When your glue is all set, use the other jump rings to attach each chain length to a barrel.

That's it, you're all done! Pop your gorgeous new necklace around your neck and admire your hard work. I'd love to see your creations so please share your makes with me if you so desire, you can find me in the following places ::

If you fancy a necklace for yourself but don't fancy the crafting, I'll be adding a few to my etsy shop over the next few days, so keep an eye out over there or drop me an email (vicki@vickibrowndesigns.com) and I may be able to make up a custom piece for you.