Monika Wiklund

Even though this seashell pendant is pretty big, this has quickly become one of my favorite necklaces. I knew that it was a large seashell pendant when I ordered it, but I did not realize just how big until I received it.

Like with some of my earlier seashell necklaces, I created a seed bead frame for the seashell pendant, and in this case I also made the pattern go all the way around to cover the back of the seashell which is kind of neat since it does not matter which side of the pendant that is showing. This necklace is a perfect match for one of my sweaters, and I have used it several times.

Photography by Kristian.

I am very happy with how this necklace turned out, and especially with the random pattern that I created with the seed beads as I went along. This is not the first example of using a seed bead frame for a seashell pendant that I have made, but in my earlier versions I have combined the pendants with other type of necklaces rather than with a tubular peyote necklace.

When I made the necklace, I started with the white seashell pendant and I decided that I wanted to put in a frame that would bring the mind to think of the sea. I selected two shades of blue and one shade of trey for the colors, and started to sew the frame using the peyote stitch. At first, I had a bit of trouble with the shape of the seashell pendant, but when I started from the edge of the pendant and worked inward it was easier to adjust the shape of the frame.  Once the pendant was done, I still had some seed beads left, and I decided to make a necklace of tubular peyote to go with the pendant and I think that they work perfectly together.

Photography by Kristian.

I bought this seashell pendant because I liked the shifting colors and the cut out pattern but I had a bit of problem figuring out what to do with it since I found it a bit flat and boring to use as a pendant by itself. It took a while, but finally I decided to sew a seed bead frame around it using the peyote stitch.

As you can see in the picture, there is a zig zag pattern with black and white seed beads at the front, but the pattern is gradually fading as it passes around the edge and to the back of the pendant which is completely covered by the seed beads.

When I had completed the frame, I had a pretty vague idea that I wanted to use it in a long necklace and that the necklace should not draw the attention from the pendant. After some searching among all my beads and chains, I found this simple chain and decided to add a few raw chalcedony nuggets to make this necklace.

I think that the different materials go very well together, and I have found out that the color scheme makes it possible to combine with almost any colors since the chalcedony nuggets are slightly transparent and they let through and brings out the color of the clothes.

Photography by Kristian.

For this necklace, I wanted to make a “frame” for the heart-shaped seashell pendant using black and silver-colored seed beads. At first, I tried using peyote stitch but that did not work very well so I decided to go for the RAW stitch instead. It was a bit tricky to get it together, and it took some experimenting to get it right, but I really like the result.

From the start I was considering making a necklace from seed beads as well, but when I had completed the frame of the pendant I realized that it would steal the focus of the pendant, so I went for a simple suede string necklace instead and made a seed bead bracelet to go with the necklace. Even though I used the RAW stitch for the pendant frame, I used the peyote stitch for the bracelet and used some more suede string as the core of the bracelet.

Photography by Kristian.

At first I was working mainly with seed beads and other small beads on wire. This is one of my early designs.

It is based on seed beads with small glass beads and natural crystal chips, and with a seashell flower as a pendant. The dark seed beads are all of the same metallic grey color, but the light ones are mixed shades of grey, white and silver lined crystal. The small dark glass beads are black pyramids with AB finish, and the larger beads are rectangular glass beads with metallic grey finish. The clasp is a small toggle clasp with details.

Edited, updated with a slightly better picture.