How to Make Beaded Necklaces in 3 Skill-Building Designs

There’s something so satisfying about making your own necklace, bead by bead. In this tutorial, I’m sharing three easy beaded necklace designs that are perfect if you’re just starting out.

We’ll start with a classic strung necklace using seed beads and pearls, an easy piece you can wear with anything. Next is a beaded pendant necklace with a single teardrop bead at the center, great for dressing up a simple top. Then a beaded station necklace with small beads dangling along the strand, perfect for a boho, layered look.

You’ll only need a few basic supplies for all three: beads, thread, headpins, bead tips, and a clasp. Beaded necklaces are one of our favorite Jewelry Making projects to teach, because these same beginner skills carry over into almost any jewelry project you try next.

Beaded Necklace at a Glance

• Difficulty: Beginner
• Time: 20-30 minutes per necklace (about 90 minutes for all three)
• Cost: Under $20 for supplies for all three designs
• Ages: 10+, with adult help for the pliers steps
• Best for: Everyday layering, gifting, and dressing up a plain outfit

What You Need to Make Beaded Necklaces

Materials

• Seed beads, small enough to string close together for the classic and station designs; grab at least two colors if you want to alternate them
• Teardrop bead (or another accent shape), the centerpiece of the beaded pendant in Design 2
• Beads of different sizes, small round beads for the stations in Design 3, plus any pearls or crystals you’d like to mix in
• Beading thread or embroidery floss, silk or nylon beading thread is sturdiest for seed beads, though doubled cotton thread works in a pinch
• Headpins, for looping the pendant and the beaded stations
• Bead tips or bead clamps, to hide your knots and give the thread a clean, finished end
• Jump rings, to connect your clasp to the bead tip
• Lobster claw closure, our pick for an easy one-handed clasp, though any clasp with a loop works

Tools

• Needle, a fine one makes threading seed beads much easier
• Scissors, for trimming thread
• Round-nose (looping) pliers, for looping the headpin wire on the pendant and station beads
• Flat-nose or chain-nose pliers, for opening jump rings and pressing bead tips closed

How to Make Beaded Necklaces

Design 1: Classic Strung Bead Necklace

Knot Your Thread and Slide On the First Bead Tip

Thread your needle. If you’re working with regular cotton thread instead of proper beading thread, double it up to two strands so it can support the weight of the beads. Slide a bead tip onto the thread with its little cup facing outward, then tie a knot at the very end, a few times over if you need to. The knot just needs to be bigger than the tiny hole in the bead tip so it can’t slip through.

Glue and Close the First Bead Tip

Nestle the knot down inside the bead tip’s cup, dab on a small amount of glue, and press the two halves of the cup closed around it with your fingers or pliers. Slip a jump ring through the tip’s loop before you set it aside, that ring is what your clasp will eventually hook onto. This end of your necklace is now sealed and ready for beading.

String Your Beads to Length

For this design, alternate small seed beads with a faux pearl every few beads, repeating the pattern until you reach the length you want around your neck. Leave about 3 inches of bare thread at the open end when you stop; you’ll need that slack for the second bead tip and closure.

Push everything snug so there are no gaps between beads, then run your needle back through the last bead you strung. Pulling it through locks that bead in place so nothing can slide backward off the thread.

Add the Second Bead Tip and Attach the Clasp

Slide the second bead tip onto the working thread, then pass the thread back through the tip’s hole twice to cinch it against the beading. Tie several knots with what’s left of the thread, right up against the tip, then trim the tail.

Close this bead tip the same way you closed the first one, and hook a lobster claw clasp onto its jump ring. Your first necklace, strung the classic way, is done.

Design 2: Beaded Pendant Necklace

Build the Pendant on a Headpin

Thread your needle with two strands and attach a bead tip exactly as you did for the first design, then string beads until you’ve covered half the necklace’s length and stop there, that gap is where the pendant will sit. Slide a seed bead onto a headpin and push it all the way to the flat head, then follow it with your teardrop bead (or whatever shaped bead you’re using for the drop).

Loop and Secure the Pendant Bead

Grip the headpin just above the teardrop bead with round-nose pliers and bend the wire into a small, snug loop. Snip off the extra wire close to the loop so nothing pokes out. Your pendant is finished and ready to hang.

Hang the Pendant and Finish Stringing

Slip the pendant’s loop onto your half-strung thread so it sits at the center front of the necklace, then keep beading the rest of the strand the same way you started it. Finish the closure exactly as you did in Design 1: bead tip, knot, glue, jump ring, clasp. Your pendant necklace is ready to wear.

Design 3: Beaded Station Necklace

Prep Your Beaded Stations

For this design you’ll need seed beads, small round beads (2 to 3 times bigger than your seed beads), and a few crystal beads. String thread, attach a bead tip, and bead the first third of the necklace with seed beads. Then build your “stations”, the small round beads on headpins, the same simple-loop way you built the pendant in Design 2: bead, loop, trim.

Space the Stations Along the Strand and Close It Up

Working along the middle third of the necklace, add your beaded stations one at a time, threading a few seed beads between each one so they sit evenly spaced rather than crowded together. Once you like the spacing, bead the final third with plain seed beads and finish the closure the same way as the other two designs. All three necklaces share the same simple stringing and closure method, just dressed up differently.

Tips for Beaded Necklaces

• No beading thread or floss on hand? Regular cotton thread works fine, just double it to two strands so it can hold the weight of the beads.
• Match your beads to your thread: if you’re using cotton thread instead of proper beading thread, stick to small, light beads rather than heavy glass or stone ones.
• Seed beads are fiddly to thread. A thin, fine beading needle saves a lot of frustration compared to a regular sewing needle.

Want to see all three necklaces come together? Here’s a video walking through the whole process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the Best Thread for Beaded Necklaces?

Silk or nylon beading thread is your best bet for seed beads, pearls, and stone beads, since it’s strong enough to hold their weight without stretching. Since these three designs use small beads, either one is a solid choice. If you don’t have either on hand, doubled cotton thread works as a stand-in, just avoid the largest and heaviest beads with it.

Can I String These Necklaces on a Cord Instead of Thread?

Yes, as long as the cord is thin enough to fit through your beads’ holes. If you switch to cord, look for beads with larger holes so you’re not fighting to thread each one, seed beads especially can be too small for a thicker cord.

Can I Use a Different Clasp Instead of a Lobster Claw?

Yes, any clasp works as long as it has a loop on its closed end to attach a jump ring to. We use a lobster claw because it’s easy to open and close one-handed, but a toggle clasp or a spring ring closure finishes these necklaces just as well.

Do I Need Crimping Pliers to Make These Necklaces?

No, none of these three designs use crimp beads, so you can skip crimping pliers entirely. If a future project does call for crimping, flat-nose or needle-nose pliers can flatten a crimp bead in a pinch, though dedicated crimping pliers give a neater result.

How Do I Make a Beaded Necklace Without a Clasp?

Bead the strand long enough to slip over your head, then tie the two open ends together in a double knot instead of adding a closure. Take one open end and weave it back through four or more beads in the direction it’s pointing, do the same with the other end pointing the opposite way, then trim the extra thread. That hides both tails inside the beading so there’s no knot showing.

How Long Does Each Beaded Necklace Take to Make?

Plan on 20 to 30 minutes per necklace once your beads are chosen, longer for Design 2 and Design 3 if looping headpins is new to you. All three designs share the same stringing and closure steps, so your second and third necklace go noticeably faster than your first.

More Jewelry Making Tutorials

Here are a few more beaded jewelry tutorials you might like:

• DIY Beaded Festive Earrings
• How to Make Beaded Bobby Pins
• How to Make Beaded Charms
• How to Make Mixed Beaded Bracelets

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