Macrame DIY Stone Necklace

I love nature, and I especially love when I can incorporate it into my accessories.  It may be stone or wood beads, a floral motif, or in today’s case: pieces of actual nature as the hero of this DIY stone necklace.  Today I’ll show you how to make a simple series of knots to hold a stone (or other treasure) so that you can string it on a chain and wear it!

I chose to use bright embroidery floss for this DIY stone necklace project, but any kind of cord to suit your style will work!  If you prefer a more subtle color scheme, then hemp, jute, or cotton cord in any color will also work well to capture objects like stones.

Supplies needed to make your own macrame DIY stone necklace:

• Brightly-colored Embroidery Floss
• River Rock(s)
• 4mm Chain – 24-36 inches per necklace, depending on your preference
• 6mm Split Rings
• Lobster Clasp
• Large Eye Needle
• Scissors
• Pliers (you may find split ring pliers especially helpful)

First, cut 4 cords to a length of approximately 18 inches.  This was plenty to cover a 2-3 inch stone.  If your stone is smaller, then you won’t need as much length, but it’s always better to have too much length than not enough!

Take one cord and string on a split ring.  (You can substitute a regular jump ring, but this ensures that it won’t slip off your chain later.)  Position the ring in the center of the string, and tie it around the other three cords at their center point.  This will create a central ring with eight 9-inch strands knotted together at the center.

Next, pair up two cords that are next to each other.  Tie an overhand knot in both of them, connecting them together, about 1/2 inch from the center ring in each pair of cords, as shown above.

Separate the pairs of cords, and re-pair them with the neighboring cords.  Tie another knot in each pair of cords about 1/2 inch from the first set of knots.  You will continue to separate and alternate the pairs, creating knots a short distance from the last set of knots.

Note: if your stone is especially small, you will want to place the knots closer to the central ring, and closer to each other.  You’re creating a sort of “net” to hold your stone, and the distance between knots will determine how large the holes are.  Smaller stones will of course require smaller holes.  You may need to experiment with your stones to find the distances that work best for you.  Try slipping your stone inside the net as you work, to determine if your sleeve is a good fit.

When you have created a large enough net to hold your stone, slip it inside and tie it tightly around the stone.  Here’s a tip to get it tight – separate the cords into two parts, and tie them together the way you would tie a shoe.  Double-knot it to get it very tight around the stone.  Then, tie an overhand knot around the double knot (which you may also call a square knot) to finish it for appearance.

Trim off the ends to create a tassel, and your DIY stone necklace pendant is complete!

Optionally, you can brighten up your chain to match your stone pendant by doing some simple weaving.  Cut a length of embroidery floss that’s 6-8 inches longer than your chain.  Tie a knot at one end of the chain, and string the floss onto a large eye needle.  Weave the floss back and forth through the chain, tying a knot to the other end of the chain to secure it.

String your pendant.  Then connect a ring to one end of your chain, and a ring and lobster clasp to the other end to finish your DIY stone necklace.

Don’t forget that you can adapt it to any item that’s difficult to drill to string another way.

Thanks for joining me for this DIY stone necklace tutorial, and I’ll see you guys again soon!

Adrianne

Adrianne is a writer, artist, designer, wife, and mom of 2 kids. She blogs at happyhourprojects.com where the theme is tutorials and recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Her favorite projects are jewelry-making, paper crafts, and recycled crafts. She participates annually in ArtPrize, an international art competition, and she’s the author of the book DIY T-Shirt Crafts: 50 Ways to Recycle a T-Shirt (August 2015).