Clove Necklace

Intro: Clove Necklace

This simple project can raise your status to super-boyfriend.

STEP 1: Materials

-thin, ordinary sewing needle

-good quality sewing thread

-scissors

-jewelry clasp

-microwavable, heat resistant bowl / saucepan (depending on method used)

-H2O

-whole cloves - san francisco herb sells 4oz of whole cloves for $1.83. Its a good deal if you're local, but they have a $30 minimum for web orders. To my boyfriend's dismay, I have had no problem surpassing this minimum on two occasions. One warning: a pound of dill is a LOT of dill even if it is only $3. If you would like some dill and you are in the bay area, please, please contact me.

STEP 2: Choose a Design

Decide how you want to string the cloves. Sooner or later the heads (actually the petals of this dried bud of an evergreen tree) will break off. I've had my first necklace for about 6 years and about half of the heads are missing now, but the necklace still smells wonderful.

STEP 3: Select Cloves - It Pays to Be Picky

The easiest cloves to string are straight and fat. The necklaces strung lengthwise use around 30 cloves each. The remaining ones can be used to season your cider, grind up in a coffee grinder or used in other recipes.

STEP 4: Clove Tea - the Steeping Process

Cloves can be softened using either the microwave or the stove.

Microwave: Place cloves in microwavable bowl with enough water to cover them well, leaving room for boiling. Microwave on high, checking tenderness every minute for approximately 3 minutes. Like your mother always told you, times will vary between individual microwaves.

Stovetop: Place cloves in saucepan with enough water to cover them well, leaving room for boiling. Steep at a low boil, checking tenderness every minute for approximately 3 minutes.

The clove stems will feel soft and flexible when ready. If the clove is not ready, you will risk either splitting the clove with the needle, or earning sore fingers by trying to force the needle through. Duct tape thimbles will not last long when working with wet cloves.

STEP 5: Thread It

Tie the end of your thread to one side of the clasp, leaving a tail of about 2 inches.

Thread the needle and run it down to the clasp end, threading the tail through the needle's eye, too. The first clove will be strung on both threads in order to secure the knot and hide the tail. You will clip the tail flush after your first clove.

If you are threading your cloves on lengthwise so that the needle passes through both the head and tip of the clove, thread the head end first so as to avoid pushing the head off the clove. If you are threading the cloves on crosswise, have at it. No special rules there.

Keep threading. Add cool beads--I think red would look nice. Once dried, the cloves will shrink slightly and stay where they're strung. I think this is a great feature. If you want your cloves to be close, push them very close as they will shrink just a tad once they're dried.

Once done stringing, tie the other end of the clasp on and run the tail back through the last clove. Cut the string flush. Dry flat. Voila.

Comments

[WUVIE]

Oooh, I love the smell of cloves, and often use clove oil in my essential oil diffuser. I have some old cloves in the spice cabinet that will be perfect for this project. Thank you!

[TheCrafter101]

Could you also make some earrings to go with this?

[patapitsa]

What can I say? You are just brilliant!!! Well done! Nice necklece with nice perfume!!!

[KMaq]

very nice! i am going to make some with cardamom pods and star anise! thanks for sharing! 

[theHERO]

 THis is great!! Thanks so much for the idea, and great instructable!

[RadiantLux]

This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing it. I like your photos. They are simple and elegant.

[kylara70]

I really like the idea of putting the black beads in place of the flowers, I was thinking "but the heds come OFFF!" when I first read the intro. The black beads would give the illusion that the heads stayed on. Nice instructible.

[porcupinemamma]

Really unique. I am going to try to make one. Very creative. Thanks so much for sharing.

[QuietDelusions]

I like! Needed something fun to wear at music fests this summer, and this seemed perfect! Not only will I look cool and hippie, I'll be smelling good too. :)

[mrbob1000]

sweet! that looks pretty cool, i might make one of those.

[ephelba]

Ooo! What about using red white and green peppercorn! Maybe a nutmeg pendant?

[RyuuKasai]

Hmmm... this looks really neat. Could you add , say, some sort of a cinnamon pendant in the center? I wonder if a cinnamon stick could be carved or embossed or sanded in some sort of way...

[kelseymh]

So....does this keep Turkish vampires away?

[Mark Rehorst]

The lovely smell of cloves comes from a chemical called eugenol. Besides the wonderful smell, it is used as a local anesthetic (chew on a clove and see how numb your tongue gets) and a component of a type of cement used to secure crowns on teeth.

[oskay]

I imagine that you could do something similar with garlic to keep the vampires away.

[FunkNattidelic]

i think that is sterotypical =P Just Kidding

[iain010100]

The problem is when the cannibals get you. They'll be so impressed by the flavor they'll start hunting down the rest of us.

[jessyratfink]

I think I'll be making one of these today. I need something to do that doesn't require a lot of movement. :D

[dkrmwiz]

ooooh! i like that! i love the smell of cloves!

[lyndsey]

Hmm... wouldn't smell quite as beautiful, though! :D This is really neat, I'll have to try it some time.