Bohemian Forest Necklace Tutorial

Ideally when crocheting with beads, you would work from a full spool of thread. But if you need to calculate the approximate number of beads needed and the amount of thread needed for a bead crochet design, you can create a short "sample" section of the bead crochet design you desire. Lay out several beads in the manner you would string them. You will want a good representation of the different bead sizes if they vary. Your sample could be as little as five or six beads or as many as 15-20 beads. We strung 15 beads onto the TOHO Amiet thread, as you can see in the picture below. Our sample measures five inches long when strung.

Crochet the beads you have chosen in the manner you plan for the design of the piece. If you need help with the simple crochet chain stitch, please watch our video tutorial. We used a size E 4-3.5mm crochet hook to crochet with the beads. For our necklace, we made three empty chain stitches, a stitch with a bead, three empty chain stitches, a stitch with a bead, and so on. As you can see in the picture below, our strand now measures approximately 9 1/4 inches.

Pre-Stringing Beads for Crochet Video Tutorial
Simple Crochet with Beads Tutorial Video

Remove the crochet hook and unravel the beads to measure how much yardage you used, not counting the tail at the beginning. Our sample used 42 inches of thread.

Use the following formula to calculate the beads needed per inch for a design:

• The number of beads used (15) divided by the length in inches of the strand after crocheting (9.25 inches). 15 divided by 9.25 equals 1.62. So you will need 1.62 beads per inch for our design.

So, if you want a 40-inch necklace, you would multiply the number of beads per inch (1.62) by the desired length of your piece (40). 1.62 times 40 equals 64-65 beads for the total project.

Use the following formula to calculate the amount of thread needed for a design:

• The amount of unraveled thread used in the sample (42 inches) divided by the total length of the sample after being crocheted (9.25 inches). 42 divided by 9.25 equals 4.5 inches. So, you'll need 4.5 inches of cord for every inch of the crocheted design.

So, if you want a 40-inch necklace, you would multiply the amount of cord per inch (4.5) by the desired length of your piece (40). 4.5 times 40 equals 180 inches. You'll need about 180 inches (15 feet or 5 yards) of cord for the total project.

Once you've calculated how many beads and cord you'll need for the desired look, thread all of your desired beads onto the Amiet thread. You can use a big eye needle to add all of your beads to the thread, or you can cut the end of your thread at an angle, add some glue to stiffen the end, and string on the beads after the thread is dry. Add the beads to the thread in the desired order. It doesn't hurt to string more beads than necessary, because when you cut your thread, you can always remove the beads you don't need. If you need to add more beads, add the beads from the other end.

Crochet with the desired beads and design until your necklace is the desired length.

Knot the ends of the necklace together to create a continuous look. We used a surgeons knot. Watch our stretch bracelet video tutorial for help with a surgeons knot. Weave the tails through a few beads to hide them. Then, secure the knot with adhesive if necessary, allow to dry, and trim the tails. This necklace can slip right over your head and you can loop it around twice for a multi-strand look.

Stretch Bracelet Tutorial Video

List of Components
Czech Glass 9mm Transparent Light Green and Opaque White with Picasso Roundel Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-1416, qty 1)
Czech Glass Denim Blue Silk with Purple Bronze Finish Medium Flower Coin Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-3165, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS7985)
Czech Glass 14mm Royal Blue Silk with Dark Bronze Wash Tree Coin Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4373, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS8060)
Czech Glass 16mm Mayan Sun Table-Cut Coin Orange Opaline Picasso Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4821, qty 1)
Czech Glass 10mm Table-Cut Lentil Coin Burnt Orange Silk Picasso Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (beads-4833, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS-4834)
Czech Glass 12mm Opaque Ivory with Dark Bronze Wash Bird Coin Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4836, qty 1)
Czech Glass 12 x 10mm Red Opaline Picasso Saturn Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4844, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS-3234)
Czech Glass 9 x 6mm Fuchsia, Pink Opaline, and Opaque White Mix with Bronze Finish Faceted Rondelle Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4862, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS7649)
Czech Glass 18 x 15mm Horned Owl Opaque Orange with Gold Wash Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4881, qty 1) (Or, try BEADS-0899)
Czech Glass 17 x 13mm Mixed Aqua, Turquoise, and Gaspeite Green with Dark Bronze Wash Oak Leaf Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4885, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS-1458)
Czech Glass 9 x 6mm Turquoise Silk with Bronze Finish Faceted Rondelle Bead Strand by Raven's Journey (BEADS-4910, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try BEADS-1028) 
Dakota Stones Matte Cuprite 8mm Round Bead Strand (R1424, qty 1)
Dakota Stones 8mm Denim Lapis Large Hole Rondelle Bead Strand (R1457, qty 1)
Dakota Stones 8mm Matte Denim Lapis Large Hole Rondelle Bead Strand (R1458, qty 1) (Not available anymore, try R1437)
Dakota Stones 6mm Aqua Dyed Impression Jasper Round Bead Strand (R1470, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Amethyst 8mm Star Cut Round Bead Strand (R1482, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Smoky Quartz 8mm Star Cut Round Bead Strand (R1488, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Blue Druzy Agate 8mm Faceted Round Bead Strand (R1502, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Rose Quartz 6mm Star Cut Round Bead Strand (R1528, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Sodalite 10mm Faceted Round Bead Strand (R1595, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Peruvian Amazonite 6-10mm Chip Bead Strand (R1596, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Peruvian Amazonite 10-12mm Chip Bead Strand (R1598, qty 1)
Dakota Stones Crazy Lace Agate 10mm Faceted Round Bead (R1617, qty 1)