Long Dangle Necklace

I have seen these necklaces all over and have made quite a few for members of my family. They are easy to make, and fun to wear. This is what the necklace will look like when we're done.

The first thing you will need is chain. As always, MICHAEL'S. They have a great selection and great prices! You can buy chain in smaller amounts, or by the spool if you think you're going to be making a lot of jewelry.

What you want to do first is put the chain around your neck, decide how long you want your necklace to be, and then subtract about 4 inches. I like to use a larger chain for this type of necklace since the whole concept of the design is BIG.

Next, you are going to need earring post wires. There are two different types shown here. One has a loop on the end and the other a flat pice to hold the bead on the wire.

You can buy just the flat end piece posts and snip of the end to make your own loop. For this project you will need both. I tend to only buy the long length wires as I use my left over pieces for other projects.

Next you will want to select 3 beads to go on the side of your necklace. The large black beads that I chose will need to have an earring wire with a loop on the end run through them. Bend the wire at the edge of the bead and then cut it with the wire cutters on your pliers to about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch past the bend.

Now use your round jewelry pliers to grab the end of the wire, then twist your pliers to roll the wire around the pliers and make a loop.

You will need to do this with the other bead as well, or with whatever beads you use. The third "bead" I chose was more like a piece of chain that doesn't need a wire, just a couple of jump rings.

The next thing you will need is four jump rings.

Use these to connect the three beads together and to either end of the chain.

You will need three more pieces of chain, each one longer than the next. The smallest need only be about 5-7 links long and the longest no more than 15.

Then select your 3 "dangling" beads. This is where you will need the earring wire with the flat end. Run it through your bead, then make the other end into a loop just as you did before.

Now attatch each dangling bead to a small piece of chain with a jump ring. You will want to put the largest bead on the longest chain, then put the others on which ever you want.

Now we need to make a spot for these to go. Take your necklace, lay it out, and open the chain up 4-5 inches down from your row of beads.

Next you will need a larger size jump ring. I have shown the size of the one I used here in comparison to my beads. You can use a larger one, I just didn't have one on hand.

Where you have opened up your chain, put it back together using the large jump ring. Mine was too thick to fit through the links, so I used two smaller jump rings to attach it. Then you will use three more jump rings to attach your dangling beads and chain to the large jump ring. It will look more balanced if you put the largest bead in the center.

And now you are finished! I don't worry about putting a clasp on these necklaces as they are long enough to easily go over your head. Try using different colors and random patterns. There's no limit to what you can do with these!