Food-Coloring-Dyed suede cord jewelry - Belle Armoire Magazine Winter 2019

​Food-Coloring-Dyed suede cord jewelry

This food-coloring-dyed suede cord jewelry made a cover of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine (DEC/JAN/FEB 2019).  You can find techniques for this piece in the magazine, but I would like to share a little more details for this piece that didn't show in the magazine.  I hope you will enjoy making this piece. ​

Wrapping Stone with Cotton Crochet Thread

1. Cut eight strands of cotton crochet thread to the same 12” length. ​

2. Hold the threads together and tie a knot two and a half to three inches from one end. ​​

3. On the long side of the knot, separate the eight threads into four pairs. ​​

4. Tie a knot along each pair, approximately ¼ inch from the base knot. ​​

5. Splaying all 8 threads from the 4 pairs on your work surface, tie together 4 new knots (again about ¼” apart) using threads not from the same pair, but from neighboring pairs.

6. Use clips to hold each pair to avoid confusing them. Repeat knotting together threads from the same neighboring pairs at your desired distance until reaching the ideal size of the net bag. ​​

7. Place the rough cut amethyst into the net bag.

8.  Grab all eight strands and make a knot as close as possible to the stone. 
Braid both sides to their ends.

Making Centerpiece

Size 10 - 100% cotton Crochet Thread

28mm - 31mm rings

About 1 inch long

Wrap the braided ends of the net bag to the three rings    (front)

(back)

Secure the wrap with wire along the back of the piece (back)

Use wire to secure the both sides to prevent slipping along the  centerpiece  (front)

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(back)

​Dyeing Suede Cord 

1.  Choose any food coloring brand. 

2.  Need single drops of red & blue.

3.  Add 2 ounces of water.

4.  Soak the ivory suede cords in a dye for 1 minute (soak longer for a stronger color).

5.  Pat the cords dry with paper towels and place them on a cutting board.  
To add a little color variation, spot-treat certain stretches with more or stronger dye-mixes. Rinse the cords and treated areas as desired to distribute the spread the coloration if too strong.

6.  Hang the cords with clothespins to dry. ​

Tips: Less is better. Start with small amounts of food coloring first; you can always add more later.  Remember that when the cord dries, its coloring will be stronger than when wet. ​

RED & BLUE Food Coloring
​​

BLUE Food Coloring

YELLOW & GREEN
​Food Coloring

RED, YELLOW, GREEN & BLUE Food Coloring

RED & BLUE Food Coloring

BLUE Food Coloring

RED Food Coloring