Hey everyone!! you guys seemed keen on a tutorial on how to make a more subtle/gender neutral pendant out of the @stimtastic gem bead necklace. so here it is!! i’m sorry if the instructions/pictures aren’t clear enough, message me if you have any questions!!
things you’ll need:
• stimtastic’s gem bead necklace
• a loom band* (or otherwise small elastic band)
• a long needle (i used a needle felting needle so i’m not sure if there are any alternatives?)
*this isn’t completely necessary, it’s used to secure the bead. however you could just tie the string. i prefer the loom band as it’s slightly squishier/matches the chew texture more.
NOTE: this is quite fiddley to do, people who struggle with hand eye coordination/fine motor skills will likely struggle with this!! see if you can get someone to help you doing this!
also worth mentioning that this pendant is able to be chewed w/ back teeth.
with all that out of the way, let’s get started!
STEP 1:
start off with the original necklace. untie the small knot inside of the clasp, and slide the clasp + beads off the string.
STEP 2:
grab your needle + string, find the middle of the string and push the needle into it.
STEP 3:
get your bead and and push the needle + string through until you reach the other side of the bead.
(fair warning that 1. you will probably puncture the string but it’ll be fine so don’t stress if there’s a stressy rip noise 2. needle felting needles have ridges through them therefore increasing grip so i don’t know how a smooth surface would work 3. this will probably take a few tries)
STEP 4:
use your fingers to pick at the string peeping through the bead hole, until you have enough to pull a decently sized loop. take this time to pull either side of the string to make sure your bead is centred.
STEP 5:
thread your loom band through the string loop. created a slip knot with the loom band by looping it inside itself.
(to be fair i can’t exactly remember how i achieved this but the idea is to create a ball on the end which will prevent the bread from falling off) keep looping and twisting the band (it was trial and error for me so i’m really sorry i can’t explain it) until it’s created a ball.
ALT FOR STEP 5:
tie your string into a simple knot and tighten it.
(i prefer the loom band as it’s more compact and the rubber consistency triggers my gag reflex a lot less)
STEP 6:
slide your bead as close to the ball/knot as it can get. rethread your clasp onto the string & re-tie the knot so everything is secure.
STEP 7:
give yourself a pat on the back, congratulate yourself on your craft, put on your necklace and look amazing!!!!
i hope you found this helpful! message me if you have questions, and make sure to tag me if you try this yourself! i’d love to see if it worked for you guys!
( @stimtoybox !! )
1: a plain white background with stimtastics gem bead necklace on it. the necklace consists of 3 horizontally threaded beads in the colour order of black, burgundy, black. the string is black.
2: a light skinned persons palm holding the string from the previous necklace, displaying the small knot holding the clasp onto the string.
3: the same palm, this time showing one of the roughly cut “gem like” black beads, and a long needle felting needle.
4: the same palm, holding the needle pointing into a loop made by folding the string. the needle + loop are pointing towards the bead.
5: the palm holding a black bead, now with the string fully threaded through it to form a loop on the other side.
6: fingertips belonging to the same hand, are holding the loop of string. the loop now has a smaller rubber band threaded through it.
7: fingers holding the bead and showing how the previous rubber band had been repeatedly looped until it formed a ball.
8: an enby wearing a grey sweater and a black hoodie. they have an egg sticker covering their face, and are wearing the necklace that was just made. there is now only one bead and it is vertically threaded ]
