Albanian necklace reproduction in progress
Photograph of Albanian crochet beaded necklace courtesy of Marvin Moehle.
This photograph was sent to me by Marvin Moehle, who photographed it in a store in Skopje, Macedonia. It is particularly interesting because the central triangle is made with a crochet technique that is different from that of the surrounding triangles. I have seen crocheted triangles with both techniques, but this is the first one I've seen with both approaches in the same piece.
Since I doubt I'll ever get a chance to have an original necklace like this, I thought I'd try to reproduce the central triangle to have it as a personal reference. I pulled out beads, crochet cotton and hook, and went to work. I understood the technicalities, but was not satisfied with the feeling of the first attempt. Getting right back up on the horse, I used finer thread the second time, and got the proper feeling. I think it is a good idea to try things out myself, to understand how scale and materials affect the finished product as much as the technique. Now my fingers can understand the way this piece was made, as well as my intellect.
Step 1 - string the beads
I just want to share what the triangle looked like before it was crocheted. Stringing the beads is an intriguing part of the process for me. As much as I have practiced this technique, I continue to be surprised at how the color relationships of the beads as strung do not prepare me for how the finished piece will feel, colorwise. The colors seem so random on the string, yet line up in solid areas of color when crocheted. I still find it miraculous.
Same beadsize, different size thread
These two triangles use the same size beads, but are crocheted on different sizes of thread. I used mixed 11 and 12 beads. The larger example used size 20 crochet cotton, and a size 11 needle. The smaller one used size 30 thread, and a 12 needle. The larger one seemed too loose, with too much crochet cotton visible between rows. The smaller one is more like the original. If you look carefully, the smaller, tighter one curls sideways slightly, and you can see the side line of dark blue and white peeking out on the right side, just like it does on the original. Now I have a permanent record of how thread size affects the look and feel of the finished piece.
