Description
Duracoat Delicas Aslan Necklace
This Duracoat delicas pattern originally appeared as a project in Bead and Jewellery Magazine, issue 58, in October 2014. The issue had a theme, ‘Winter Sparkle’.
Thinking of ‘Winter Sparkle’, I was taken back to a childhood favourite book, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, by C.S. Lewis. Descriptions of Narnia conjured up a magical land of wintry beauty.
However, this necklace design actually took its original inspiration from the centrepiece: a Swarovski Chessboard Square. I was trying to find beads to bring out the colouring in the square. I felt that this combination of gold and silver did the best job. It also happens to be quite ‘on trend’ to mix different metal finishes.
As the design evolved, something about the colouring and the tactile feel of the embellishment reminded me of a lion’s mane. So, I came up with the project name!
Techniques and Materials
This project uses a combination of Right Angle Weave and Peyote stitch to create the pendant and make a matching beaded clasp.
I decided to keep things simple and hang the pendant on a peyote rope. So, I added a touch of asymmetric embellishment to create some interest and ‘visually’ link the pendant to the clasp.
I created this design in response to a request by the Beadsmith to do a little promotion for Duracoat Delicas. So, I thought I would try them out in a few designs.
The beauty of Duracoat delicas is not just the fabulous regularity of the beads – this is the same for all delica beads – but the finish. This is very metallic-looking, but also very durable. The Duracoat Delicas come in a range of different colours. So, you don’t have to just stick with basic metallic. They are certainly worth investing in, I think!
For this pattern, I combined them with Swarovski crystal and also O beads.
This project is suitable for intermediate to advanced beaders who are comfortable with the techniques I have used. However, you can find free tutorials on here to help you out if you need a reminder, or you are just learning these techniques.
