my first tutorial

Fabric jewelery is becoming more popular and with that in mind I want to get in on this trend and make myself some wonderful pieces.



And yesterday I finished my first attempt at creating fabric jewelery. I'd say it was a success. I am happy with the end product and have already synced it with my wardrobe.
Just to fit in with other crafters on the net I have decided to do a tutorial on my version of 'the fabric necklace'.



You'll need:
-7 pieces of material (I've used 5 blue and 2 white)
optional:
-beads (I've used 3 beads, all wooden)
and this is so simple it could be either hand or machine sewn.

Step 1.
Cut out the 5 pieces you want to use for the necklace part.
Mine were about 40cm, but you could make them varying lengths to add variety. I also ripped them so they had raw edges. If you wanted your necklace to look neater you could over lock the edges.

Step 2.
Cut out the 2 pieces of white fabric, making sure one edge will match the width of the blue material.

Step 3.
Take the white fabric and fold it in half, making sure the right side of the fabric is facing inwards. Sew a seam along the raw edge. Turn the fabric inside out. Iron.

Step 4. (optional)
Add some beads to the blue fabric. You'll have to make sure the holes in the beads are big enough to fit the fabric in. It took me a few tries and I did have to change the size of the beads before I found some that fitted properly. (I chose the wooden beads to represent drift wood ad this version is inspired by the ocean and waves).

Step 5.
I twisted the blue fabric so that the pieces didn't I guess sit 'neatly'. You could keep them in order or twist them. If you're a neat freak you can over lock the edges or you can just sew a seam to hold them in place. Do this on both sides.

Step 6.
Pin the white straps to the blue fabric and sew and/or over lock. Make sure that you have the seam on the same side of both sides.

Step 7.
I tied the ends of the straps in knots but you could leave them raw. You could even add some matching beads before tying the knots.

I am pleased with my first attempt and feel like making more. Other themes could include forest, shells, futuristic or something eclectic.

Something I discovered about the necklace....

It doubles as a scarf. Sorry about the dodgy pictures, I just wanted to get pictures up on the net quickly. When I've made some more I'll definitely be uploading them to my deviantART page
www.amyyy-xd.deviantart.com/