I love the look of fringe necklaces, but I didn’t want one that was just a chunk of fabric store trim hot glued to some chain. This version requires more time than that would, but the results are worth the effort. In a few hours of measuring, cutting, knot tying and gluing I had a beautiful result. The same process would work with a wide variety of colors and fringe lengths.
The cord used in this example is Omega nylon cord in size 2. You could get several necklaces similar to this one from one 300 yard spool. I recommend Fray Check for this project because it dries nearly invisible. A clear jeweler’s cement would be a good alternative, or a clear drying craft glue could work if those aren’t available. The craft glue could darken the cord a bit, so you might want to test it ahead of time.
If you don’t want to bother with assembling the necklace you could find a chain that’s ready to wear and add fringe to that just as easily.
Supplies and Equipment:
- approx 18” of chain
- jumprings and a clasp
- thin nylon cord
- Fray Check or clear glue
- scissors
- ruler
- basic jewelry making tools
- optional – woodburning tool with cutting edge or candle to melt the cord ends
1. Cut the chain to the length you want your necklace to be, less about 1/2” to accommodate the clasp.
2. Attach the clasp and jumprings to turn it into a necklace.
3. Put the necklace on, and measure how long you would like your fringe to be in front of a mirror.
4. Cut strands of cord twice as long as your target fringe length. You’ll need 2-3 strands per link on a small chain, more in a larger chain. The chain shown used 2 strands per link.
5. Fray Check or glue the ends of the cord to keep them from unraveling. Alternatively, you could use a heat cutting tool (they are often sold for woodburning) to cut the strands of fringe, or cut them with scissors and hold them near a candle flame for just long enough to melt the end. The woodburning tool and candle both carry more risk of injury so use them at your own risk.
6. Locate the center front chain link. Fold a fringe strand in half and push the two ends through the center link. Send the ends of the strand through the loop to form a lark’s head knot and pull it up snugly. Do this with as many strands as you’ll need for this link.
7. Repeat, working out from center, until you have as many fringe strands as you want. Use the Fray Check/glue to secure all of the knots in place to keep the fringe from coming loose. You’ll probably want to do this every few links if your cord is springy.
8. If your fringe isn’t hanging smoothly you can fix it by getting it wet and hanging it up to dry. Don’t do this until the Fray Check/glue has had at least 24 hours to set up, and don’t get the chain wet unless you know it’s made from something that won’t rust.