Hemp Jewelry Designs

This really isn’t a full pattern per say but it will show you a technique that can be used in making hemp jewelry.

These instructions will show you how to use 8 hemp cords to make a necklace or choker. You can add any type of beads you wish to it, or use none at all. The pattern will speak for itself if you use no beads.

I do not have a finished product for you to look at, but this is what I am going to accomplish with this post.

Step 1:

Cut 8 hemp cords. The length is going to depend on how long you want your necklace. If you want to practice this I would suggest to cut them about 2-3 yards each.

Step 2:

Seperate 4 cords because we are going to work with them first. I used a couple of beads and strung them into the center of the 4 cords. On each side of the beads I made 3 square knots. Set this one aside.

Step 3:

Take the extra 4 cords and find the middle and make square knots until the length is the same length as the first four cords used in step 2. As you can see, in this picture, I did NOT make the second one as long as the beaded one to save me time.

Step 4:

This is how you are going to “intersect” both sets of square knots.

Put the two sets next to one another and use all 6 ‘inner’ cords as your knot bearers and the two outside cords as knotters and tie a square knot. You can see the 2 square knots I made in the above picture. This is where you can add beads or not, and you can make as many of these square knots as you wish to.

Step 5:

Now you are going to separate the cords into 4 cords on the left and 4 cords on the right and make two separate square knot sinnets.

You can make them as long as you wish to. When you are done, then go back to Step 4 and repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are done with this side of your necklace or choker.

Then you will go to the other side and repeat exactly what you just did with this side.

I know, not exactly a good pattern, but I wanted to get this up to show you how you can ‘intersect’ hemp cords to make an unique looking choker or necklace. Plus I was asked :)

Happy Knotting

I have been busy making inventory for a festival coming up at the end of May. So with making all this new jewelry I have had the chance to be able to get some hemp jewelry patterns to be able to post!

Here is a easy braided hemp necklace that you can make. This design is good for beads that have huge holes. If you can’t find ones with large holes, I suggest making your own polymer clay beads for this one!! That way you can make the hole large enough to suit your needs.

This pattern is for a 15″ necklace.

What you will need:

1. 48# hemp twine
2. One bead with large hole
3. Clasp, if you want to use that for a closure. I always use tie ends, so the clasp is a matter of preference.

Please note: This pattern is for personal use only. If you wish to use it for commerial use, be nice and contact me for permission.

Step 1:

Cut 6 strands of hemp at about 60 inches. (4 times the length of the necklace) This is probably overkill, but I want extra hemp rather than not enough.

Step 2:

String your bead onto 4 strands of hemp and center it. IF your hole is big enough to string all six strands, you can string them all in the bead. My bead wasn’t big enough, so I just used 4.

Step 3:

Your bead should be in the center of your strands of hemp. You will be working on one side of the necklace.

Take one of your left over hemp strands and make an square knot next to the bead. (IF you used all 6 strands through your bead you will NOT have to do this step) Now you have 6 strands of hemp on the one side of your necklace.

Step 4:

Seperate the strands into groups of two. So you will have 3 sets of 2 cords. Using the 3 strand braid technique you are going to braid the hemp for about 7 inches.

Make sure that you keep the 2 strands in each set ‘flat’, if that makes sense? Or maybe next to each other while braiding so that they don’t bunch up. Maybe that explains it better.

Step 5:

When you reach the end, I take 3 cords and make an over hand knot on one side and then 3 cords on the other side and make an over hand knot. Cut excess cord, but leave enough cord so that you can use that for tie ends.

Here is what mine looks like:

Step 6:

Turn your necklace around and work on the other side of the bead. Go back up to step 3 and repeat through step 5. Your necklace is DONE.

Questions? Comments? Let me know.

Happy Knotting

To continue on with how much cord you will need for a project, I have a few more tips on how to determine length of cords.

The question:

“Are these lengths like so if you used one cord for -both- strings? Like two strings this length and four strings to knot with, if that makes sense? I would imagine it’s like this, but that’s a lot of wasted chord and work if I’m thinking wrong.”

If I am understanding the question, you are asking if the tips I posted about determining cord lengths are for both sets of cords…the bearers and the knotters.

The answer:

It depends. Depending on what style of knotting you are going to use, your cord lengths for the knotters and the bearers can either be the same or they can be different.

I know if I am going to make a bracelet that will not be using the knot bearers as knotting cords (such as the switch knot) I will not need as much cord for the knot bearers. Hence, I can cut those cords shorter than the knotting cords. Usually, I measure the finished length of the piece of jewelry and then add about 6 inches to that to make sure I have enough left over cord for tie ends. (assuming that is the closure I am going to use)

If I am going to use the knot bearers somehow as knotting cords within the piece, I am going to cut the same amount of length for both the knot bearers AND knotting cords.

Is it a waste of hemp? Sometimes. But I will tell you, I would rather have TOO much hemp than NOT enough. Nothing sucks more than being in the middle of a piece of jewelry and realizing that I will not have enough cord to finish the project.

The more you work with different knotting styles, the more you will automatically know how much cord you will need for the bearers and for the knotters. At first it will be almost trial and error. But if you stick to some guidelines in the beginning that will help you along the way.

Does this make sense? If not, let me know any questions you have. IF you don’t ask questions, then I can’t help

Happy Knotting