How to make a French knit necklace

If you are at home on lockdown or isolation at the moment why not try this fun jewellery making project shared by jeweller Anna Campbell, founder of Jewellery School Scotland.

The project can be adapted to suit the materials you have at home and you can create a unique piece of jewellery for yourself or a gift.

You will need:

A French knit bobbin (I use the Clover Wonder knitter which is great for jewellery projects as it has a large central opening for beads to pass through. A smaller one is fine and will make a finer necklace but ensure your beads will fit through the central hole). If you don’t have a French knit bobbin in your craft stash then you can make your own from toilet roll and lolly sticks! Check out this video showing how from Incredibusy Ali Clifford

Tiger tail (I used 0.30mm diameter, 31 metres length beadalon in bright/brilliant) The length of tiger tail needed depends on the desired length of your piece, I did not need to use all of this but it is annoying when you don’t have enough! If you don’t have this then you can use an alternative e.g. wire at 0.6mm thick, cord and even wool!
Beads of choice (I used 110 6mm diameter simulated grey pearl beads for this project although smaller beads also look good). This project can also be made without beads or you could use sequins – get rummaging to see what you have!
Bunch of keys
Clasp – use a clasp with cord end caps (this is what I used for this project) or ribbon crimp ends or fold-over crimp cord ends. If you use the crimp cord ends you will need to place the end of the necklace into them, dab a little superglue onto the cord where the clasp will cover and use flat pliers to fold the ends over, pressing them down tightly.
Superglue
Little bit of extra wool (10cm is plenty. This will be hidden so any colour is fine!)
Cocktail stick

How to make a French knit necklace

We can’t wait to see what you create from your stash! Do share photos of your finished pieces with us.

Thank you to Anna Campbell for sharing this tutorial. Anna is a qualified teacher and the founder of Jewellery School Scotland. She teaches jewellery making classes in Edinburgh, Scotland, specialising in working with silver clay.