It’s been months since I made a craft project.  Summer has been a blur, but I’ve been slowly cleaning the house when possible.  As much as I wanted to start a project, it was just too much trouble to break out the materials, spread out all over the table, and then have to deal with clean up.  Plus, I wasn’t really sure what project to work on next.  There are plenty of things I would love to try making, but nothing appealed enough for me to put the effort into researching, shopping for materials, and actually making.

I was doing some browsing and shopping online, and a photo of a lace choker popped up.  I’ve never been into chokers, even though I somehow acquired a bunch of them during my middle and high school years.  I don’t like how restricting they feel, plus I think my neck is too short and thick to pull one off.  But man, I could not stop thinking about that lace choker.  It was kind of goth, dark yet delicate, and sexy.  I don’t know if I’d ever wear one, but I wanted one.

I’ve been avoiding the craft stores, but my daughter wanted to go yesterday, so I jumped at the opportunity to get some materials.  This was a really easy project, and I’m not just saying that so you’d get suckered into making one too.  It really was an easy project.

I got a yard of lace ribbon from the craft store.  There were all sorts of lace ribbon, but I wanted one that I could hang beads off of, so I got this doily looking one.  After much hemming and hawing, I picked a pendant to be the centerpiece.  Also needed are ribbon clamps for the ends of the ribbon.  There are several size clamps, so get ones that fit your ribbon.  I also got out an adjustable lobster clasp with jump rings to attach to the ribbon clamp.  I wanted to add additional little beads, so I picked some beads from my stash, and head pins.  Get a pair of sharp scissors and needle nose pliers too.

I first wrapped the ribbon around my neck to figure out how much I needed.  I left a small gap between the two ends, so someone with a thinner neck could also wear the choker.  That’s why I used an adjustable lobster clasp.  I used the pliers to attach the ribbon clamps to the ends of the ribbon.

Then I used the pliers to attach the jump rings to the ribbon clamps.

I went over this in my bead earrings post, but to attach the little beads, just slide the bead onto the head pin.  If your head pin is too long, just snip a bit off with wire cutters.

Use the pliers to curl the end of the pin into a loop.  Don’t close the loop yet.

Use the pliers to squeeze the loop shut once you hook the head pin onto the ribbon.

I attached the little beads first, and then my pendant as the finishing touch.  There you have it.  That was pretty simple, right?

Ok, so the choker is way too big (there is a ton of overlap on the back of her neck) and grown up for my five year old, but I needed a neck to model the choker, and it was either her, or her 3′ tall Elsa doll.