Updates on Colors for the Dancing Skeleton Jewelry

If you prefer to shy away from the brighter colors, try a combo with Natural Calavera and White Wood Beads. 

 

The White Wood beads are made from natural pangantuon wood, a light weight wood with a light color and even texture, sometimes bleached for more even tone. The color gets a bit darker when worn or can be darken with a light application of a natural oil or wax such as micro crystalline or beeswax.

For the Chinese Knotting Cord, I chose Beige Fine Weight for the legs and Black Extra Fine for the arms and body, and for the neck cord.

I added extra overhand knots for the shoulders and buttocks for the earrings, but omitted the knots for the buttocks for the amulet. I also omitted the overhand knot above the Calavera beads for the amulet. I used the Beige Fine Weight for the square knot closure, even though it is a bit bulky, but no other thinner Chinese Knotting Cord had an exact color match.

 

For this next piece, I made the skeleton fully with the Beige Fine Weight and chose the Beige Medium Weight for a thicker neck cord. A 1.5 mm sterling silver clasp was added to the neck cord.  

For the shambhala bracelet, I chose Beige Fine Weight for the cord that goes through the beads, and Beige Medium Weight for the knotting cord. These white wood beads were rubbed with a light coat of micro crystalline wax to darken them, but just regular wear will darken the white wood a bit over time. Check the previous post for the step by step tutorial to make the Dancing Skeletons. 

Dancing Skeletons DIY Jewelry Tutorial with Calavera "Skull" Beads for Dia De Los Muertos or Halloween

I made many "Huesos Bailando" Dancing Skeleton or Bones earrings, amulets, and bracelets with "Calavera" Skull beads and sold them at the Chico Art Center in conjunction with Dia De Los Muertos exhibits. So here is the tutorial with step by step picture. I hope you will enjoy it.

Dancing skeletons are probably the most iconic and playful symbols of Day of the Dead. They represent a life after death and those who have died engaging in their favorite activities. Since Dia De Los Muertos is now celebrated worldwide, why not make an amulet, or a pair of earrings celebrating this Mexican holiday. Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2, but festivities in the USA usually starts on October 31 on Halloween.  

Calavera (Skull) Beads
For this project you will need skull beads. The ones I have for sale are made of out of magnesite an off-white soft gemstone with little vein lines often used to imitate turquoise and they are about 13.5 mm long. The magnesite beads are carved, dyed, and stranded on an elastic cord. The strands have 15 beads each and can be worn as bracelets as is. Each strand has 7 beads paired by color, and 1 unique colored bead. The color of the single bead changes from strand to strand. For an amulet, you will need 1 Calavera Skull Bead. 

Preliminary Step

Prior to working with these beads, enlarge the bead hole with a reamer. A large fine point reamer used by hand works well for a few beads, but if you go into production an electric reamer is a nice tool to have on hand. Choices for reamers can be found HERE. Use water as a lubricant and let the diamond reamer enlarge the hole without pushing or forcing the tip in. Doing so will overheat and damage the reamer, and it will loose all of its diamonds. 

Wood Beads
You will also need 6mm round Black Wood or Black Ebony Wood Beads for the amulets and earrings, and 10mm ones for the bracelets. Black Ebony is a bit heavier than the dyed wood beads, but is currently hard to get due to the typhon that just affected the Philipines. For this piece you will need four 6mm wood beads, or two 6mm and two 8mm ones if you would like the boots to be bigger than the hands. Your choice. Get all the beads HERE. 

TOOLS
You will need a macrame board, T-pins, a tapestry needle size 18, a bead reamer, and a thread burner. You can get these tools HERE.

CORD & THREAD
For this piece, you will need about 18 inch of Chinese Knotting Cord New Fine (966 Neon Orange for this example), and about 18 inch of of Chinese Knotting Cord Extra Fine (101 Black for this example), and 12 inch of C-Lon Micro Bead Cord in any color. 

Why 2 different sizes Chinese Knotting Cord? I like the arms to be a bit thinner than the legs... and I have all the choices on hand. However, if you prefer using one size only, go for the New Fine and Fine sizes. 

STEP BY STEP

Step 1. Make a self needle with the Micro cord with beeswax. Join both end of the Micro cord and pull along the Chinese Knotting Cord though the hole. Self needle instructions can be found HERE. 

Step 2. Pull the cord though the bead. If it does not go through easily, ream the bead hole again with bead reamer. 

Step 3. Make an overhand knot for the amulet. An overhand knot is when you fold a cord over itself and go through the loop. Skip this step for the earrings and attach the earring finding here.

Step 4. Pull the bead up. 

Step 5. With T-pins, attach the loop to the bottom of the macrame board, and the cord ends at the top using a slip knot, or if it reaches insert it into one of the slots. 

Step 6. With the tapestry needles attached to one of the black cord end, start a square knot. This shows the first half of the square knot. 

Step 7. Tie 3 square knots with the black cord over the orange cord. 

Step 8. Melt the ends of the cords with the thread burner into points and string the 6mm beads onto the cords. Or if you prefer you can use 6mm ones for the hands/gloves and 8mm ones for the boots. Clear the bead holes if needed with the large T-pin or the tapestry needle.

About thread burners: They are safer and more precise than lighters, and as lighters, they are not intended for use by children.

Step 9. Tie an overhand knots. 

About the next two steps: If this is the very first time you do these steps, practice first on a spare cord. 

Step 10. With a thread burner, cut the cord 1 to 2 mm away for the overhand knot. 

Step 11. Melt the end right into the knot. Smooth the melted end either with your fingers if they are heat resistant, or with the cap of the burner.  

Step 12. Repeat Steps 10 and 11 for the 3 other cords. 

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Add a necklace cord: Check this video.

Add an extra overhand knots... for the shoulders... and for the buttocks too at Step 7. See neckpiece below for all the extra knots. As I made more and more pieces last year, I found myself adding little touches... 

Make earrings: At Step 3, add the earring findings using pliers to open the loop and close it back once the cord in inserted into the earring loop. Skip the overhand knot. At Step 4, pull the bead up leaving a small loop. The Chinese Knotting Cord colors are 546 Cyan in New Fine Weight and Black Extra Fine.

I really like leverbacks made out of sterling silver, or gold filled for these earrings. Many lower quality findings have nickel in them and bother my ears. You can find these leverbacks HERE. 

Make Shambhala bracelets: Use 10mm and 6mm Black Ebony Wood Beads. I have also made them as shown here with 5 Calavera Beads, and 6 x 10mm and 2 x 6mm Black Ebony  Beads, or with 3 Calavera beads and 8 x 10mm beads, with 2 x 6mm beads at the end of the slide pulls. 

If you need instructions on how to make Shambala bracelets, go HERE. 

Try a neckpiece... like this one, if you are more ambitious, with 9 hanging skeletons in the front strung in between 10mm ebony beads, plus 2 more as back drops. 

I had fun with the Chinese Knotting Cord colors for this neckpiece, alternating colors such as a green torso for the orange skull. I made it last year especially for the Dia De Los Muertos exhibit at the Chico Art Center. It sold at the show and I have not made another one since...  so it is a one-of-a-kind. 

Upon request I just made kit bags with all the supplies to make the neckpiece and a pair of earring, plus a few charms with leftover supplies. A 19 page tutorial for this necklace comes with the kit and is also available by itself. I thought I would just write a one page printed set of directions, but truly I did not have the words to explain all the steps, so now it is a full step by step tutorial HERE. 

Check the next post for more color suggestions and combinations with White Wood Beads. 

Necklace Cord for the Knotted Beaded Charms

To make the necklace cord for the knotted bead charm, you will need the following:

–> 1mm Chinese Knotting Cord

–> 1.5 mm Sterling Silver or Gold Filled Clasp

–>  Poly Zap Super Glue

–> Thread Burner

–> Chain Nose Pliers

For longer cords and smaller charms, I like to use a thinner Chinese Knotting Cord, so look at the New Fine and Fine size, and even the Extra Fine size as possible options. Or choose a thicker Chinese Knotting Cord such as the HDQ weight cords for a heavier charm. 

Or forgo the clasp and use a square knot slide closure. That's the same closure used for the Square Knot Bracelet Trio. 

–> Square Knot Bracelet Trio Kits and Tutorials

Go to the previous post for the tutorial on how to make the Knotted Bead Charm. 

Here are some bracelet - beaded charm combo, I like...

Gold Halo Beads, with Hematite Bead Centers

Bracelet Knotted with C-Lon Tex 400 Bead Cord

Charm knotted with C-Lon Fine Weight Bead Cord Tex 135

Necklace cord made with 1mm Black Chinese Knotting Cord

All Hematite, with Pearlescent White Hematite Beads
Bracelet Knotted with C-Lon Tex 400 Bead Cord
Charm knotted with the standard size of C-Lon Bead Cord
Necklace cord made with New Fine 201 Pearl Grey Chinese Knotting Cord

Bracelets made with Gunmetal Halo Beads, and Pearlescent Pink Coral Hematite Beads, knotted with Chinese Coral, Pink Lemonade and Charcoal C-Lon Tex 400 Bead Cord.

Charm knotted with the standard size of C-Lon Bead Cord, with Hematite Ring Beads and Pearlescent Pink Coral Hematite Beads.
Necklace cord made with 1mm Black Chinese Knotting Cord

Knotted Bead Charms with Hematite or Halo Ring Beads | DIY Video Tutorial

Hematite and Halo Ring Beads are very inspiring... I just designed the Square Knot Bracelet Trio using these beads... and I wanted a small necklace to go with them, a small addition that could be made with either leftover beads or just a few additional purchased beads... the idea became the knotted bead charms.

–> Square Knot Bracelet Trio Kits and Tutorials

For making the charms use the following materials:

Hematite or Rainbow Titanium Coated Hematite Ring Beads available HERE

or

Halo Zamak Beads made in Greece available in Antique Brass, Copper or Silver, Gunmetal, Gold or Rose Gold finishes available HERE - All nickel and lead free and meeting European jewelry standards. 

+ 

6mm Hematite, Rainbow or Pearlescent Hematite Beads for the center, available HERE

or 

6mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls available HERE

+

4mm Hematite, Rainbow or Pearlescent Hematite Beads for the center, available HERE

or 

4mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls available HERE

As for tools, you will need a macrame board, a bead mat, 1 1 3/4" T-pin, beeswax, a large fine point reamer, a thread burner, beading tweezers, scissors. All these are available HERE. 

As to cords, use C-Lon Bead Cord with the Hematite Rings, and C-Lon Fine Weight Bead Cord Tex 135 with the Halos. You will need about 24 inches or 60 cm per bead charm. 

For the necklace cord for the charm, use Chinese Knotting Cord, it is a braided nylon and it look great as a neck cord and use a small sterling or gold filled clasp. Go to the next post for the video tutorial on how to make the necklace cord for the charms...

Turkish Flat Bead Crochet Bracelet Tutorial with Metallic Cord

This is a new version based on a very popular crochet bracelet I first wrote about in 2012. Please refer to the original post of December 16, 2012 for an alternate tutorial. A brand new Metallic Braided Nylon Cord is featured in this new tutorial with coordinated beads and buttons. However the crochet process is the same and it uses only chain stitch and single crochet stitch, so it is easy to learn.

Here are the materials you will need to make 2 bracelets:

- 1 Spool of Metallic Braided Nylon Cord - 0.9 mm in Ø - Gold, Silver or Copper - 6 m/6.5 yd
- 2 Buttons - Antique Silver, Brass or Copper
- Miyuki Duracoat Galvanized Seed Beads - Size 6 ~ 100 beads
- 1 Tapestry Needle Size 20

Or you can get a kit HERE with all the supplies listed above.
And why 2 bracelets? It is because each bracelet takes about 3 yard of cord. so there is enough on the spool for two bracelets...

Tools needed:
- 1 Crochet Hook - Amour Size 0, Clover Soft Touch 0, or Lacis 3
- Thread Burner or Zapper - Available Here
- 1 Bead Mat

1. With the thread burner, melt the end of the cord and make a pointed end, just like a needle. 

2. Load about 50 beads. 

3. If you already know which button you will be using, put to cord though the shank. If you are not sure which button you will use, you can wait to attach it until later. 

4. Make a slip knot. 

5. Insert the crochet hook into the slip knot.  

6. Crochet 2 chain stitch. Slide 1 bead down. Crochet 1 chain stitch.

7. Turn the work around and make 1 single crochet stitch right into the first chain stitch. Slide a bead down and make a chain stitch. 

8. Turn the work around. Make 1 single crochet stitch right into the previous bead (not the one you just added, but the one already in on the other side). Slide 1 bead and add a single crochet chain stitch. 

Repeat this step until you get the bracelet length you want. 

9. Tighten the button in. With the thread burner cut the cord leaving a 2mm tail. 

10. With the thread burner melt the end and press it in with your finger or the thread burner cap. If you have never done this before, test this step first on a small piece of cord before proceeding on the bracelet. 

11. Make the button loop with single chain stitches. 

12. Cut the cord with the thread burner. Melt the end and press it flat in with your finger or the thread burner cap so it will fit into the tapestry needle Size 20. Stitch the loop back in. Cut the cord leaving a tail about 2-3mm long. Melt the tail and press it into the crochet. Doing this close to one of the bead will make the burn mark less noticeable. 

The first bracelet is now ready to wear. Repeat these steps for the second bracelet and give the second one to your best friend or daughter... These bracelets are easy to wear and light weight. They can be stacked, worn in water, and washed when needed. 

References

Turkish Flat Bead Crochet Bracelet with C-Lon Tex 400 Bead Cord  - Go here to see this step by step tutorial 

> Watch these steps on video on YouTube

Materials & Tools

Turkish Flat Bead Crochet Kits

Metallic Braided Nylon Cord 

Metal Buttons

Crochet Hooks

Thread Burners