Michele Made Me

Series 5: Halve a Circle #3 – Dragon Tail Necklace

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“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”
 
Roger von Oech
I love making stuff. And trying things. And letting whatever happens happen. No judging. No criticizing. Just fun and play. That’s where this little series comes from. A ton o’ play.
Do you play? If not, drop everything; this is your chance. Let’s have a little fun right now, okay?
Tutorial: Dragon Tail Necklace
You will need:
a scrap of vinyl
cardboard circle template (~2 inches or 5 cm in diameter)
cord or shoelace (~ 4 ft or 1.2 m long) which isn’t round but is flat and about 1/4 inch (7mm) wide
pair of scissors
pencil
sewing machine
contact cement (glue)
clothes pins
spring loaded fastener
Using your cardboard circle template and a pencil, trace out several circles onto the back of your vinyl (I made 17 circles, a random number). Cut out all circles. Cut each circle in half.

Go to your sewing machine. Place a half-circle down on the sewing surface. Place the cord down flat along the center of your half-circle starting at least 12 inches (30 cm) down the cord. Place another half-circle on top. You’re constructing a half-circle sandwich with a cord in between. Yummy delish. With your sewing machine, stitch down the center of your half-circle sandwich along the cord.
Repeat with the remaining half-circles. Your necklace should now look like the photo below.
Apply a little contact cement to the corner of one of your half-circles.
Pinch the two corners together and clamp with a clothespin.
Repeat for the other half-circle in the pair as below.
Glue and clamp each pair of half-circles. Let dry for a few hours.
Create a necklace by threading both ends of the rope through a spring-loaded fastener. Trim the rope to a length that is right for you.
Note: This necklace is quite long. For a shorter, smaller necklace, simply decrease the number of circles you cut out at the start and reduce the length of your cord.
There it is! One completed dragon tail necklace… You like? I like.

Enjoy!
Now you have a great day. It’ll be play-time again shortly!
See Part 1 of the “Halve a Circle” Series here. See Part 2 here.
To find out who won the Spacey Stitchy Giveaway, check out the previous post.

Linking to Tater Tots and Jello!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CREATIVE MIND says

    Its totally cute…not just dragon tail,it looks like petals of a plant(i forgot the name of that plant),very nice tutorial..thanks for sharing

  2. Little Treasures says

    I think this is the most gorgeous necklace I've seen!! I absolutely love how it looks and how easy it is to make it!!
    I am also playing with faux leather and having tons of fun!

  5. bego says

    incredible work! really! sorry for my silence, i´m crazy busy, but i doný forget you, i admire you. kisses

  6. Anji* says

    This is awesome, and I had forgotten all about those half circle butterflies.. I must schedule those in to make with my kids..

  13. Michelle L. says

    Whoa! Love this so much, Michele! Puff the Magic Necklace? I really like the simplicity of the spring-load fastener. Why have I never thought of that??? Genius, perfect for this bold architectural beauty.

  18. Mary Anne Enriquez says

    I think I may try this with plastic bags! Or old book pages as a garland! I don't have a working sewing machine in the how…so that will be a interesting challenge….lots of gluing or fusing.

    Love your blog Michelle.