Introduction: Beachwear Necklace With Earrings Made Using Paracord

By 1st Indian Featured Author :).
About: An artist by birth, a software architect by choice, a lamp maker by passion, a learner forever. Featured Author here:)

Hello Friends,

Since my first paracord project till now, I have become very very Knotty...LOL. I mean it, I have been trying and experimenting with knots a lot, especially the decorative ones. I like to thank JD of fusionknots.com for his amazing book on decorative knots. Which had inspired me to create this jewelry set.

I like to dedicate this jewelry set to a special friend who had always shown a great deal of interest in my jewelry projects and motivated me when I felt miserable.

This necklace set is my original design and I call it beach jewelry because of the colors, beads and paracord (waterproof, strong....?).

This necklace set is made up using several knotting techniques, which made it look so awesome and complex. But my dear friend, it is very simple to make, take my words because I am also a knot beginner so I could not choose anything complex to make.

Another interesting thing about this necklace set is that it uses only a few things to make up.

Are you ready to get knotty... ha ha ha?. Great...lets get started.

Step 1: Stuff Required to Make

To make this necklace set, you would need:

  1. 2 Nylon Paracord of different colors about 20 feet each. I will let you know, how much length is required for making necklace and earrings separately but its totally up to you to choose length. You can also using macrame cords
  2. A cigarette lighter.
  3. A sharp scissor.
  4. Some wooden beads approximately 10, you can choose any beads as long as the hole in the bead is large enough to let 2 cords pass through.
  5. 2 Earrings findings
  6. 2 Jump rings.
  7. Optional flat nose and round nose pliers. This may come in handy to pull cords from beads and also to adjust jump rings.
  8. A ruler to measure cords.

Step 2: Making the Celtic Heart

The foundation of this necklace starts by tying a celtic heart knot, which is a very popular and simple knot that a beginner like me only can choose to use, but at the same time it looks awesome too. To make this knot it best to follow the pictures above (sorry about one grey-scale pic) rather to put the process of making in words.

See images above and follow:

  1. Take about 10 feet of paracord each color.
  2. Find their middle.
  3. Follow the process using the pictures above to finish the knot.
  4. Just make sure that while knotting, the cords must lie flat to surface side by side, they must not cross over or twist.

In the end, make sure the knot is firm.

Your two-color celtic heart knot is beautifully hanging in the middle of the necklace.

TIP: For beginners like me, sometimes working with doubled paracord can be diffficult, therefore I suggest to practice the knot using a single cord first.

Liking the knottiness? Lets get more knotty :)

Step 3: Snake Weaving the Cords With Beads

Honestly, celtic heart dangling in the middle itself makes a necklace but why stop when you can imagine more beautiful :).

You can find a dozen patterns of weaving using two strands of paracord so why I chose the snake weave?

Good question. Here's why.

  1. Snake weave is very very simple
  2. The weave results in a round pattern unlike flat strap like pattern, I think it is going very well with the oval beads.

So lets see how to make a snake weave. See the pictures above and follow:

  1. Start with cords on the left of celtic heart.
  2. Intersect yellow cord (left cord) on the white cord.
  3. Loop the intersecting yellow cord from below the white cord to form an flipped P shape..
  4. Slide the white cord below the yellow cord.
  5. Insert the white cord inside the loop (yellow) of flipped P shape.
  6. Pull and adjust the cords carefully to form the knot. This is your first snake knot.
  7. Make snake knot 4 more times by following steps 2-6.
  8. Once you are done, repeat the process on the right side of the celtic heart. Start with white cord (left cord) this time.
  9. Once you finish make 5-5 knots on both sides, you will see the celtic heart is now looking even more beautiful and prominent.
  10. Insert beads on both sides and make 5 knots on each sides.
  11. Repeat to add 4 beads each sides. You don't have to add 4, you can add more or less it is totally upto you.
  12. After the last bead, just make one snake knot to secure the bead.

Now relax for a while, admire your work of art by looking at this beautiful necklace. But it is not yet finished, we will add more awesomeness to it.

Lets jump to see how to make this necklace length adjustable.

Step 4: Making the Necklace Cords Adjustbale for Length

Starting from last bead, measure the remaining cord to the length your desire. See images above and follow:

NOTE: When I say both cords I mean left and right side cord (pairs)

  1. Lets say you choose 7". Arrange cords on both sides parallel to each other.
  2. Exactly at 7" of the right cord, make a loop from above the left cord such that the running end passes from below both the cords.
  3. Insert the running end into the loop formed on the right.
  4. Adjust the cord to make a firm knot.
  5. Repeat 2-4 for left cord.
  6. Snip access cord and singe using the lighter.

Voila... you just made your necklace more awesome by adding an adjustable length mechanism to it.

hmmm...so now the final part of the necklace is remaining. The Pendant. Lets hold it for a while and make the earrings first to understand and practice the knot involved.

Lets make those awesome earrings.

Step 5: Making the Earrings

The knot used by our earrings here is a beautiful Chinese knot known as PIPA knot named after an ancient Chinese musical instrument know as Pipa.

Once you make this knot, you will smile and say to yourself..'oh, that was really simple'. Once you make these earrings, adding a pendant to the necklace would only take a couple of minutes.

To make a single earring, you would need

  1. approximately 4 feet of paracord here.
  2. A wooden bead.
  3. An earring finding.
  4. A jump ring.

See images above and follow:

  1. Start from one end of the cord.
  2. Make a flipped P shape, the smaller end must pass below the long end.
  3. Make an 8 shape using the longer end.
  4. pass the long end below the intersection of the flipped P shape.
  5. Wrap the cord around the intersection.
  6. Line a smaller loop inside the bigger loop and repeat 4-5.
  7. Repeat 4-6 until the loop within loop becomes so small that only a hole is visible.
  8. Pass the long end inside the hole.
  9. Flip the arrangement.
  10. Bend the running end upwards.
  11. Snip the remaining cord and singe it at the back of the knot.

The earring pipa knot is ready, now we just need to add the finding and bead.

  1. Insert the cords forming the top loop inside bead.
  2. Add a jump ring in the peeking loop and finding in the jump ring.
  3. Close the jump-ring using hands or pliers.
  4. Now pull the short cord on the right so that the loop on top gets narrowed down.
  5. Cut the cord close to the knot and singe it very carefully, you may burn the other cords.

Aren't they beautiful?. :)

Now that you have mastered PIPA knot, lets us make the pendant and make the necklace complete.

Step 6: Making the Necklace Pendant

You just need to find a mechanism to hang the pipa knot with the celtic heart. You can also use jump rings but then it would be a very delicate join. So here's what I did.

Gently pull a single cord from the pointed side of celtic heart to form a tiny gap.

Pass through a cord from that gap. Follow instructions in the previous step to make PIPA knot.

Ta da.... and you are done with an amazing piece of jewelry.

I hope you will like this necklace set as much as I did while making it. Should you have questions, comments or suggestions, please do share. If you choose to make it, please share that too using the 'I made it button'.

If you like it, please vote and share.

You are awesome.

Stay Tuned.