Golden delicious

Make Kelly Caine's mouthwatering pearl jewellery in fresh green shades

Kelly Caine, MJ Designer

The herringbone effect of this jewellery is easy to achieve with this looping technique

This pretty necklace, bracelet and earrings may look complex with their distinctive herringbone pattern, yet the look is simple to achieve with some creative looping. Lustrous pearls in chartreuse, forest and sage create an evergreen colour scheme that will stay in style all year round.

Necklace

1. Thread a bead cap, a sage 6mm pearl and another bead cap onto a head pin, then repeat with two more sage pearls, plus three chartreuse and four forest pearls. Draw a 2cm line on a bead mat with a ruler and biro; this will act as a guide when making 'P' loops as they need to be all the same distance from the end of the head pin to get a good result.
2. Take a head pin and place it on the bead mat so that the pearl is against the line. Grip the head pin at the end of the line with round-nosed pliers and make a simple ‘P’ loop. Snip off any excess wire and neaten the loop. Repeat for another beaded head pin. Once you’ve neatened the loop, gently open out the loop from the first head pin and thread it onto the pin you’ve just made.
3. Repeat until all 10 head pins have been linked together, alternating the colours in a repeating pattern; for the last one at the top, form a wrapped loop. Attach the finished pendant to a length of antique brass chain using a jump ring. Finish the necklace by adding a toggle clasp using two more jump rings. Give the pendant a shake and the pearls should all sit in a herringbone pattern.

Bracelet

1. Make up 26 head pins as for the necklace, using nine forest, nine sage and eight chartreuse pearls. Form a wrapped loop on the first pin, then make the next one into a 'P' loop and attach it to the first. Repeat, linking the head pins together as you go and alternating the colours until the bracelet is the desired length. Remember to form the last pin into a wrapped loop. Attach a toggle clasp to the ends using jump rings and chainnosed pliers.