Description
Austin Powers Necklace
This pattern was originally a commission for Bead Magazine’s edition celebrating beadwork through the ages. It was inspired by the 1960s. The title for the project came from the lettering that I chose to use: for those of you who have never seen the Austin Powers films, his catchphrase is ‘Groovy Baby’. If this is a little bit ‘out there’ for anyone, then it is possible to incorporate different lettering or even omit the letters completely!
Pattern details
The pattern gives six pages of instructions with diagrams and photos. I made this Austin Powers necklace from individual components that are stitched together. So you have a lot of scope for innovation. The project combines basic wirework with Peyote. So, you will use wrapped loops and using split rings to assemble the necklace. Then, work in Peyote stitch (circular, two drop and odd count) to make the focal smiley face and flowers.
The stitched sections are made using size 11 delicas. In order to get as much colour as possible into the necklace, I used up a lot of tubes of beads that had small numbers left from other projects.
The Austin Powers necklace project is suitable for intermediate to advanced level beaders with some experience. If you are not a lover of wirework, then you can replace some elements of this with simple stringing. I have used a couple of slightly more advanced types of Peyote stitch, notably the two-drop circular method. So this isn’t really one to try if you are a complete beginner!
The necklace will take a few hours to complete, but has a lot of scope for playing with different colour variations. You can also work the components into various different designs. So this is a great project for experimentation. I loved designing it. So I hope you will enjoy making it!
