Step-By-Step Tutorial for a Beaded Crochet Necklace

By
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay
Amy Solovay is a needlecraft expert and professional textile designer who designs knitted, printed, and woven fabric for mass production. She shares her lifelong love of needlecrafts by writing tutorials and patterns. Amy has over 20 years of professional textile design and writing experience.
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Updated on 05/11/20
Photo of a Blue Red and Orange Beaded Crochet Necklace

Amy Solovay / The Spruce

Project Overview
  • Total Time: 6 hrs
  • Skill Level: Intermediate

This beautiful necklace is made with glass seed beads studding crocheted embroidery floss and accented with a dichroic glass pendant. The pattern makes a 14-inch long choker necklace, but you can adapt it to make any length you desire. There are so many possibilities for combining colors and textures, you may not be able to make just one!

About Beads and Beading Needles

The needle and floss you choose for this project must be sized to go easily through the hole in the seed beads. This project calls for size 6° seed beads, a relatively large size for a seed bead. Beading needles are designed to make it easy to get the beads over the eye of the needle. A thin tapestry needle, such as a size 25, may also work.

If you buy inexpensive beads, the hole sizes can be irregular; some of the beads could be too small to fit over the needle easily. Make sure to buy more than you need just in case; put those beads aside for another use.

Abbreviations

  • ch = chain
  • ch # = chain # stitches, where # is the specified number of stitches
  • rep = repeat
  • sl = slip
  • st(s) = stitch(es)

Notes

Pendant: Each dichroic glass pendant is handmade; you can expect differences in the hardware used by artisans when they construct their pendants. When you buy your supplies, keep in mind that the pendant you choose will need to have some mechanism for attaching it to your necklace.

Embroidery floss: The sample is made with a metallic embroidery floss, DMC Light Effects in the color "Carnivale Fun." It is a little tricky to use, as it splits and tangles easily. If you are a newer crocheter, you may want to use regular cotton embroidery floss.

Clasps and closures: There are many different types of jewelry findings from which to choose. There are so many, it can be difficult to know how to choose the right one. This necklace uses a lobster clasp with a jump ring.

Photos of supplies for making the beaded crochet necklace
Amy Solovay

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • US C/2 (2.5 mm) crochet hook
  • Beading needle for threading beads
  • Tapestry needle for attaching jewelry findings

Materials

  • 8 3/4 to 17 1/2 yard metallic embroidery floss
  • 1 small dichroic glass pendant (1/2-inch or less in size)
  • 81 size 6° glass seed beads
  • 1 lobster clasp and jump ring or other closure

Instructions

  1. String the Beads

    You will be working with all six threads held as one. Wind the embroidery floss skein into a ball; thread one end on the beading or tapestry needle.

    Take the needle through the center of each bead to string it on the thread, carefully pushing each down the strand (see H above). String all 81 beads.

    Tip

    Jewelry makers use beading trays to sort beads and keep them in one place. Use a small tray, bowl, or cup to confine the beads until you are ready to string them.

  2. Placing Beads on the Chain

    To place a bead on a chain, slide the bead up right next to the hook and work a chain stitch as usual, working over the top of the bead. The bead will fall to the back of your work (K and L show both sides of the chain).

    • Make a slip knot and place it on your hook.
    • *Ch 3, place bead and ch 1 to secure it; repeat from * 27 times, ch 3—115 sts.

    Working over the bead will feel awkward at first, but gets easier with practice.

    Photo collage of how to crochet the foundation chain
    Amy Solovay

  3. Slip Stitch Plain Row

    In this row, you will slip stitch in each stitch. When working in the bead stitches, it might be a little bit of a tight squeeze to get your hook in the stitch; wiggle the head of the needle around a bit to get it past the bead.

    • Sl st in second ch from hook, sl st in each st to end.

    The beads fall to one side of the work, so when you look at the piece from the working side, you can't see them. Flip the work to see how they look from the other side.

    Row 1 of the beaded crochet necklace
    Amy Solovay

  4. Slip Stitch Bead Row

    There's no turning chain in this project. To place a bead while working slip stitches, slide the bead up, then insert the hook under the chain stitch of the previous row (see V, W) and finish the slip stitch as usual.

    • *3 sl st, place bead and sl st to secure it; repeat from * to last 3 sts, work 3 sl sts.

    The beads of this row fall on the other side of the work. The beads end up on both sides, staggered, with more beads on one side than the other (see Y). The cord of your necklace is complete.

    Row 2 of beaded crochet necklace
    Amy Solovay and Michael Solovay

  5. Attach Findings

    The necklace has a lobster clasp and jump ring closure. If you left long tails of floss at the beginning and end, you might be able to use them to attach your closure.

    • Lobster clasp: Thread one of the ends through a tapestry needle, and stitch the floss through the ring on the end of the clasp several times, then back through the end of the necklace. Weave in the loose end.
    • Jump ring: Thread one of the ends through a tapestry needle, and stitch the floss around the jump ring several times, then back through the end of the necklace. Weave in the loose end.
    How to attach the lobster claw clasp closure
    Amy Solovay

  6. Attaching the Pendant

    The pendant is attached by stitching through the ring attached to the pendant itself. Depending on the type of ring, you may be able to open it and attach the ring directly to the crocheted cord. Alternatively, you can stitch it to the center of the cord as done here.

    • Cut a 6-inch length of floss and thread it through the tapestry needle. Fold the cord in half to determine the middle. Line up the pendant with the front facing, and stitch through the cord and ring several times such that the pendant stays facing "front." Secure the ends and weave them in.

    If your pendant is significantly larger, heavier, or configured differently, you might need to find additional hardware or use a different method to attach the pendant to the necklace.

    Tip

    If your pendant has a large ring, it might fit over the necklace cord. Most pendants will have some mechanism allowing you to attach them. If not, you can always add any additional hardware necessary to attach the pendant to the necklace.

    Photo of a blue red and orange beaded crochet necklace
    Amy Solovay