Bohemian Necklace Pattern :: 1

The beauty of the bohemian style is how free and open the designs are. Here, our bohemian necklace has raw edges and lots of bling. Anything goes!

I am a fan of the bohemian style. I suppose it is a throw back to my “hippy days” back in the early 70s. I guess I’ve never really given up the style, and although I CAN dress trendy, for the most part I’ve never let go of the style that I so loved in my youth. The word “carefree” always comes to mind when I think of the style. Carefree and liberating. Anything goes. And, if you are crafting, there is not need for perfection. Make something that makes you happy. The process should be every bit as fun as the end result. Today, we are sharing a bohemian necklace pattern. Using the word “pattern” along with “bohemian” almost seems like an oxymoron, because the creative process should be free, open and fun!

Consider this tutorial as nothing more than “guidelines”. This is what I did to make this necklace. I promise you I will never make another one that looks just like this again. I drew up a pattern freehand. I gathered together a bit of this and some of that. I added things and took things away. To be quite honest, I’m not sure I’m done yet. I might add a string of beads or a tassel. Who knows!

Anyway… consider this just a starting point. There is no wrong or right way to make this necklace. Each will be unique depending on your mood and supplies on hand. Check out all the many bohemian necklaces online (Pinterest has hundreds) and take a gander at the Showcase I shared last week for inspiration. You can see it HERE.

Mostly… just have fun… let your creative juices flow… and be as whimsical as you like. Enjoy!

Materials for the Bohemian Necklace

• pattern 
• felt or light weight cotton batting
• fabric scrapes 3 1/2″ x 6″
• 6 strand embroidery floss
• 3/16″ dowel rod or bamboo skewers
• embellishments – buttons, beads, felt, etc

Directions for Bohemian Necklace

Make a copy of the pattern and cut a piece of felt or light weight cotton batting out of the inner shape.

Place the wrong sides together of your scrape fabric. I wanted the back and front to be contrasting colors. Cut out the 2 outer shapes.

Center the felt on the wrong side of the back shape.

Using a disappearing marker, mark 1/4″ around the entire outer edge of the top shape. Place over the felt and pin all 3 layers together.

Using 3 strands of floss, hide your knot on the inside of the necklace.

Using a running stitch, sew the necklace front to the back. The felt will be sandwich between the 2 pieces. You can begin embellishing the front of the necklace, but I wanted quilting lines to be part of the design. Following the line of the bottom of the necklace, I marked 1/4″ lines over the entire front. I then stitched all the lines using 3 strands of floss and a running stitch.

NOTE: There are a couple of photos I forgot to take while preparing this tutorial. First, after I finished the stitching, I trimmed the outer edge all the way around the necklace to 1/8″. I intentionally wanted my edges to have a frayed look. Then, I created a pocket to slide my dowel rod through. To do this I simply folded the back of the necklace forward 3/4″ along the top edge and stitched it in place using 3 strands of floss and a running stitch. Here is an awful photo of that! Actually, you can see clearly photos later on!

Now, embellish your necklace any way you want! I had a small piece of fabric with birds on it. (“Put a Bird on It”… anyone?) The birds were the perfect size for my necklace. I picked a bird and cut it out leaving plenty of scrap fabric around the design.

Using 2 strands of floss and a running stitch, I appliqued the bird to the necklace. I sewed on the outside of bird design.

I then went through with small embroidery scissors and cut away the access material. No need for perfection! It is meant to look a bit messy!

Finally, I went through and added some metal flowers and a butterfly, the seed beads along the rod pocket, and I guess a felt sun???

Tim cut several 3/16″ dowel rods and bamboo skewers 3 1/2″ long. (I will be making more!) He also drilled 1/16″ holes about 1/4″ away from either edge to string floss through. You do not need to do this. You can glue or tie your necklace “chain” directly to the rod. If you do drill holes, make sure both holes go through the dowel rod in the same direction.

For each hole, cut 3 pieces of embroidery floss 36″ long. With a needle, thread each piece of floss through 1 hole. Fold the pieces of embroidery floss in half, with the middle of the thread directly in the hole. Knot the thread close to the hole. There will now be 6 pieces of floss coming off the hole. Do the same to the other hole.

Tape your dowel rod to a table top and braid the 6 strands of floss. I used 3 different colors and I held the pairs of colors together while I did a 3 strand braid. Knot the end of the braid when you are done. Slide the dowel rod through the dowel pocket and do the other braid. I tape the entire necklace to the table while I did the braiding.

Finally, tie the 2 ends of the braid together and slip it over your head. All done! Bet you are ready to start another necklace. I know I am!