Chapter 17

Easy to Make This Egyptian Broadcollar

Start with a 6" length of .22 gauge wire and make a loop at the bottom.

Start with a straight 6″ length of .22 gauge wire, and make a loop at the bottom, as shown.

This is what it looks like INSIDE the bead. Do NOT build this example!!!

This is an example of what's inside the drop, which you can't see unless the bead you've put on is transparent, but typically, it won't be, if you follow the practice of the Ancient Amarna Workshop of the XVIIIth Dynasty, 1530 B.C., give or take 18 years.

Feed a tube bead onto the vertical .22 gauge wire until it hits the bottom windings.

Feed a tube bead onto the vertical .22 gauge wire, until it hits the bottom windings, then finish the top loop by bringing the vertical open end down and, with your needlenose pliers, you'll want to create a loop about 6mm from the top of the tube bead, then make 3 or 4 windings and flush cut as usual, checking for any sharp spots with your fingertip -- what else?

You can add paddles onto the bottom loop if you wish.

Now merely string an uneven number of these drops onto a necklace, with some spacer beads in between to give them a bit of separation, and you have it. Add paddles onto the bottom loops if you want to make it really truly spectacular and you have a few spare hours to bend and bang out the paddles.

You can make this even more spectacular and complex with a few simple additions, which I'll illustrate just to give you the basic idea. Experimentation is indicated here.

Expansion of the design is easy.

Expansion of the design is easy. You can extend it fairly indefinitely, but keep in mind comfort of wearing the item, and the combined weight of all those beads and metal. It adds up fast, when you're belly dancing with a lot of dangly weight, so keep it light and wearable.

For ideas on the kinds of tube beads you might use for this project, consult my bead table in the index.