Making Paracord and Wire Necklace

Hello Good citizens of instructables,

Phewww..my contest just got over. What an amazing 20 days loaded with awesome inspiration. So to reward myself with some creative time, I grabbed my paracord leftovers and experimented with some designs.

Today I will show you a very easy to make but beautiful necklace using paracord and some jewelry wire. I could never think of such a combination if I had not made these earrings and this paracord necklace in past.

In this ible I will be referring to the aforementioned instructables for techniques and some pictures.

What makes this necklace unique in design is it simplicity.

So lets jump in to see how to make paracord and wire necklace.

Step 1: Stuff You Need

Just like any paracord project , you will need

1. Some paracord, about 10 feet.
2. Scissors
3. Cigarette lighter

Along with that, you will also need

1. Flat nose plier
2. Wire cutter
3. Some jewelry wire, any gauge size will do.
4. Some metal rod or similar object for making coils

NOTE: it does not matter what gauge size of wire you choose. What matters is that you choose appropriate thickness of metal rod which allows you to create a wire coil that let 2 strands of paracord pass through it.

Step 2: Making the Coil Beads

It is very easy to make coils, see images above and follow:

1. Start wrapping the wire around the rod until you reach about 3" of length. That would make 6 1/2" coils.
2. Creafully remove the wire from rod.
3. I chose about 1/2" inch size to cut small pieces of coils.
4. Using the wire cutter, cut 1/2" inch coils to make 6 such pieces.

NOTE: The length of coil is totally upto you and so does the count. In the picture above you will notice that I have cut more than I actually needed.

Now the coil beads are ready , lets do some weaving :)

Step 3: Making the Necklace

NOTE 1: Some images above have been borrowed from my other ible, but the technique is exactly the same. PLEASE IGNORE THE CELTIC HEART. I will refer the cords and their color for easy understanding.

NOTE 2: The start loop shown in the images above should be at least 6" or more, I made a mistake to keep it small and later I had to cut, burn and join extra paracord to extend the length, you don't want to do that :).

See images above and follow, we are going to weave the snake weave:

Snake weave is very very simple

The weave results in a round pattern unlike flat strap like pattern, thats why I chose this weave.

1. Fold the cord from the middle .
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

You will notice a nice round weave is formed after 4 such knots. Now

1. Insert a coil bead into 2 strands all the way close to the 4th knot.
2. Using the flat nose plier, bend the sharp edges of wire inside the coil. This will also secure the coil.
3. Make 4 more knots and insert coil bead.

Repeat the process of making knots and inserting coil beads until desired length of necklace is achieved.

Ok, so now you are done with weaving, lets make this necklace adjustable and wearable :)

Step 4: Making the Necklace Length Adjustable

See images above and follow:

1. Once you are done weaving, hold the cords using your thumb and index finger to leave some gap and tie a single snake knot as described in previous step.
2. Cut the starting loop from middle to make two strands and repeat #1 for this side too.
3. To Make an adjustable length mechanism see here (sorry I did not take the pictures :()

And your beautiful paracord and wire necklace is ready :)

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 share and vote (when you see the voting button on top)

You are awesome.

Stay Tuned.