Floating Gemstones Necklace
Our earth creates some truly amazing things: rainbows, fireflies, orchids, and, more to the point, an incredible variety of sparkling, fascinating, mind blowing-ly beautiful gemstones.
Our new Floating Gemstones Necklace celebrates these creations, delving into the beauty of topaz and opals, carnelians and moonstones, pearls and more. Braided onto a pretty silk cord, these semi-precious stones seem to levitate like morning dewdrops on autumn spider webs.
We chose each stone not just for its color and depth, but also its shape and cut. The world of gemology is a wonderland of faceted or smooth, roundel, oval, drop, cube… The iridescence of faceted marquise-cut citrine (see the glowing yellow teardrop above?) versus the dense opacity of faceted roundel-cut sleeping beauty turquoise (yes, that’s a thing! It’s the little aqua-colored one below).
Each Floating Gemstones Necklace Kit is organized by color family and comes with 80 gorgeous gemstones. The six palettes are shown below and are, left to right, blooming Iris, fiery Ginger, soothing Aloe, eclectic Market (one of each bead from all the other kits), pure Magnolia, and deep blue Lake.
Making these necklaces is pie: Just a 3-ply braid, the very type most of us have made in our own hair or in someone else’s, and a bead on one of the silk cords every now and then. The whole thing comes together with a closure made by slipping a bead through a braided loop. The final touch is two little braided tails finished with bitty beads (because details are everything!).
One Floating Gemstone Necklace Kit includes enough materials to make one, two, or three necklaces: one 60-inch necklace, two 30-inch necklaces, three 20-inch necklaces, or a combination of a 20- and 40-inch necklace. Short or long, solo or together, we love the playful elegance, the scientific inquiry, and the natural beauty.
As far as gift-giving goes, these necklaces are seriously special. Spread one kit out by making three necklaces for three lucky recipients, or pour all the love on one person, with one very long necklace or several shorter ones.
And what about the crafty people in your life who want to get in on the pleasure of making? Giving them a beautiful kit will not disappoint! Each kit is thoughtfully assembled in a pretty pink box and includes a test tube filled with 80 gemstone beads, nestled alongside silk beading cord, beading needles, and semi-precious closure beads. They’ll also find complete instructions, as well as a Gemstone Identification Sheet for the curious!
Designed for Purl Soho by Carrie Laing.
MATERIALS
Each Floating Gemstones Necklace Kit includes…..
- Update: This Kit is no longer available but the materials needed may be purchased individually. Please note that the Closure Beads may be substituted with Small and Large Gemstone Beads.
- An Assortment Of Gemstone Beads, or 80 semi-precious gemstone beads in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. We used some of Purl Soho’s Small, Medium, and Large Gemstone Beads.
- 6 Small semi-precious Closure Beads, measuring about 2-4mm in diameter (two for each necklace)
- 3 Large semi-precious Closure Beads, measuring about 7-9mm (one for each necklace)
- A package of 3-ply bead cord, size D, 100% silk. We used Purely Silk’s.
- Beading needles
- A Floating Gemstones Necklace Pattern
- A Gemstone Identification Sheet (included with Pattern purchase)
Our Floating Gemstones Necklace Kit comes in six palettes, they are…
Top Row: Magnolia, Aloe, Lake
Bottom Row: Iris, Ginger, Market
GEMSTONE IDENTIFICATION
Here are the exact beads you can expect in each kit. All include different amounts of each bead listed, except for the Market palette, which includes one of each.
SIZES
With the Floating Gemstones Necklace Kit you can make…..
- One 60-inch necklace
or
- Two 30-inch necklaces
or
- Three 20-inch necklaces
or
- One 20-inch and one 40-inch necklace
PATTERN
Have your own beads? Pick up our Floating Gemstones Necklace Pattern all on its own!
Hi,
How difficult are these to make if I have never made jewelry?
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for reaching out! All of our jewelry kits are designed to be totally accessible for beginners! We include a full color instructional booklet that illustrates the process fully with pictures and written directions and the only special tool you will need is a beading needle, which is included in the kit. If you are ready to dip your toes into the world of jewelry making, this is an excellent place to start!
Best,
Julianna
I’m thinking of buying this kit for a young teen. Are the two cords twisted together or left floating(side by side) between the stones as the necklace is assembled?
Hi Paula,
Thanks for reaching out! This kit is wonderful for beginners and would be very suitable for younger crafters! The necklace consists of three cords that are braided, the same way you would braid hair, and the braid simply continues around and between each stone.
Best,
Julianna
I’d like to purchase some of your items. How do I do that?
Hello Bob,
Thank you for your interest in our store! You just need to go to the Shop part of our site rather than our Create part. You can find it here; .
Happy Shopping!
-Marilla
when i click on buy this kit for it takes me to another yarn bundle, how much are the necklace kits?
Hi Katie,
Thanks for reaching out! We are so sorry for the mistake and are fixing it right now! The kits for these lovely necklaces can be found here and cost $80.
Best,
Cassy
Do you have any tips for keeping braiding tight and even? I’m working on the 60” necklace and having trouble getting started because the threads are so long. Thanks!
Hello Jennifer,
Thank you for reaching out! 60″ is the trickiest one because of this, but so beautiful and totally worth it. I would reccomend making sure that your tape is enough to give you the tension needed as this will really be the key to keeping your braid tight enough.
I hope this helps and let us know how it goes!
-Marilla
When I braid a long necklace like this, I secure the beginning of the braid on a clipboard which helps secure it. The long strands especially at the beginning are very cumbersome but try wrapping them on separate cards after you string some of the stones on each one so the stones are ready when it’s their turn to join the braid. I hope this helps a bit!
-Gail
I am considering to purchase this kit in Market. What color of silk 3-ply bead cord does it come with?
Hello Aye,
Thank you for reaching out! The Market colorway comes with the Ecru Beading Thread.
Happy crafting,
Marilla
Hi,
Will the “Lake” palette be offered again?
Thanks,
Lara
Hello Lara,
Thank you for reaching out! Unfortunately, the Lake palette is discontinued and will not be back, but I will certainly pass along your request!
Warmly,
Marilla
I purchased the kit but I am intimidated by the instructions. Any chance you would offer a tutorial? If I need help can I go to your store for assistance? thanks
Hi Caren,
Thanks for reaching out! We do not currently have plans to add a video tutorial for this pattern; however, if you stop by the store, we would be happy to help out!
Best,
Julianna
Good morning! I made this necklace in the Ginger palette and love it. Will you be restocking other palettes or will you only be offering the kit in the Market palette in the future? Thanks so much!
Hi Megan,
Thanks so much for the kind words and for reaching out – I’m so glad you are enjoying your necklace! At this time we are only planning on offering the Market colorway.
Best,
Julianna
I would like to purchase the floating gemstone necklace kit for a birthday gift. When will they be back in stock?
Thanks.
Hi Haden,
Thanks for writing in! We are currently working with very limited staff at our warehouse due to social distancing requirements, so unfortunately, we are experiencing some delays in building and restocking kits, including the Floating Gemstones Necklace Kit. I’m afraid I can’t say when it will be back in stock, but if you enter your email address on the product page, we will let you know as soon as it’s available!
Best,
Julianna
Hi! I am interested in getting a kit for my daughter. I was looking at the Aloe, Lake, or Ginger – do you have any plans to bring these colors back, or just the Market?
Thanks so much!
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, at this time we are only offering the Market color palette.
All the best,
Gianna
Good morning!
I made one of these necklaces in Ginger about two years ago when the kits first were released and love it! I am so excited to see that you’ve got new tubes of assorted beads available that would be perfect for the pattern. What would you recommend using for the small and large closure beads? Thanks so very much 🙂
Hi Megan,
Thanks for reaching out! We love this necklace and are so excited to have all of the colors back! Since we are no longer selling this in the original kit, and are not selling the ‘Closure Beads’ we instead recommend using one of the Small and Large Gemstone from the tubes, a simple substitution!
Warmly,
Gianna
Hi! Will we be able
To order the market beads soon? Also the white string isn’t available!
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, we have discontinued the Gemstones for this necklace, so what we still have available on the Assortment Of Gemstone Beads Sale page is all that we have left, and once they sell we won’t be getting more. Also for the PURELY SILK Silk Beading Thread, it doesn’t come in white, we used Ecru for the market necklace which is available!
I hope this helps, happy crafting!
Gianna
6/9/23
Happy Friday!
I know that the Floating Gemstones necklace kits are discontinued but can you recommend a source for gemstones similar to what you offered? It would be my first time buying and making something like this.
It would also be helpful to know the diameter of the hole in the gemstones.
Thank you!
Erika
Hi Erika,
Thanks for reaching out! We sourced these gemstones from Stone USA, so you should be able to purchase similar ones from their Etsy shop. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili