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Addison & Courtland

This is probably only of interest to me and James and our adoring family. It’s six long minutes of Sunny holding her new sister. And we can’t get enough.

Daisy Chain Necklace

ANNOUNCEMENT: A select number of these bracelets are available for sale here.

During my master’s program, I interned for the Curatorial Department at the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Art. During that time, I helped research artists for a show titled, Material World. That is when Orly Genger and her insane rope, knot installations entered my life. The image below of the room filled with red, oversized rope is what was later installed at MASSMoCA for her piece of the show. Epic indeed.

In addition to being taken with her installation work, I became totally obsessed with her jewelry line with pal Jaclyn Mayer. Sadly, I am not in a financial position to purchase one of these artistic accessories, but I finally got my butt in gear and made myself a utility cord necklace inspired by her work.

I even had someone ask me if I was wearing an Orly Genger piece while rocking this necklace, so I call this DIY a success!

Materials:
Utility cord (I purchased mine from REI)
Chain (I picked mine up at a local hardware store, literally in the chain section. I selected the one I liked best, which happened to be this over-sized, gold number)

Directions:
To make this necklace I used three different kinds of utility cord (this 3mm utility cord in blue/green, this 3mm GLOW IN THE DARK (um, awesome) utility cord and this 2mm utility cord).

Honestly, the entire necklace is made using a basic Daisy Chain knot (something you may remember from your days as a kid at camp). Below is an excellent video tutorial to teach you this knot by Tying It All Together. Give it a gander and you’ll have the basic skill set for the necklace.

I began with one of the 3mm lines and attached the starting loop to one end of the metal chain. I then daisy chained for 20 or so loops and attached the line to the other end of the metal chain. I made sure that the necklace would fit over my head since I was not creating a clasp.

I then picked up the other 3mm line and attached it to the end of the starting 3mm line. I daisy chained back along the starting chain by inserting each loop of the 2nd line into one of the loops from the 1st line. Once I reached the end, I doubled-back, again, daisy chaining by inserting the loop of each knot into the loop of the former chain. You can layer and layer and layer the rows as much as you’d like. When you’re happy with your necklace, secure all line ends by burning with a flame.

Peruse some of Genger’s necklaces, and you’ll be inspired by the many ways that she combines rope and metal to create her pieces.

LINK: ORLY GENGER BY JACYLN MAYER
Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart