Soon after Half Tila beads became available, I designed this necklace (the original, as shown in bronze). I posted photos of it on Facebook and it received lots of praise and requests for a pattern, but there were a few problems.
When I wore the necklace, it didn’t sit quite right. The components twisted and turned. The focal pearl bezel tilted upwards instead of lying flat on my neck. I knew how to fix it but the beads that I envisioned that would work were just not available at the time. This was just before the market became saturated with every type of two holed bead imaginable. Back then, there were only Tila Beads, SuperDuos, and the new Half Tila Beads.
A few years later, I found the cool silver colored Etched Drum beads from Kelly Stevenson of Back2Bead (as shown in the gunmetal colorway below). I knew that these beads would work well because they have a flat back and two holes. The two holes help keep the components from twisting, and the flat back helps the focal lie flat when wearing it! I remade the necklace using these beads and was quite pleased with it, so I started to write the tutorial.
Unfortunately, my pattern writing skills were not up to the task at the time. Each time I made a component, I made it differently and I had trouble finding a thread path that would be easy to diagram and to teach. I put it aside and focused on other projects.
Now, years later, Melissa Speicher from my local bead store saw the necklace and asked me to teach it at her store Crystal Garden Designs of NY. I agreed, knowing that I now had the skills to write the pattern, but I still faced a problem. The Etched Drums did not come in many colors, and some of Melissa’s customers prefer a glitzier look to the industrial look of the gun metal colorway. I searched my stash and some bead vendors and found that the pattern would work well using Preciosa Candy Beads as the connectors and a Swarovski Rivoli as the focal (peach colorway below). I remade the necklace again, and wrote up the pattern with instructions for both the gunmetal version and the peach version.
The pattern is now available in my shop. You can purchase it here: Half Tila Arches Necklace Tutorial. I hope you’ll give it a try! It’s for intermediate to advanced beaders.
Supplies for this necklace can be purchased at the following links:
- Bronze Half Tila Beads : Potomac Beads
- Gun Metal Half Tila Beads: Potomac Beads
- Opaque Salmon Half Tila Beads: Potomac Beads
- Candy Bead – Alabaster: Potomac Beads
- Etched Drums: Back2Bead
