We made this Boho Leather Tassel Necklace by hanging leather cord from an ordinary washer! We bought a large washer at the hardware store then hammered it to give it texture. We used a jewelry hammer with a round end to make curved marks. It’s called a dapping hammer. Didn’t it turn out cool?! Here’s how we did it.
How To Make a Boho Leather Tassel Necklace With Hammered Washer
Materials
112″ Leather cording, 1mmx3.5mm
Zinc-plated steel washer, 1 3/8″ outside diameter, 5/8″ inside diameter
9 Large hole steel beads, 8mm diameter
9 Crystal bicones, 3mm, Montana blue
Silver-color wire, 26-gauge
Tools
Jewelry hammer
Jeweler’s bench block (steel block to hammer on)
Scissors
Wire cutters
Masking tape
Steps
1. To get started, hammer the washer to give it texture. To do this, lay your washer on a jeweler’s bench block or alternatively the garage floor. Hammer the washer until it is covered with a dappled texture. We used masking tape to tape down the washer on the left side while we hammered the right side, then switched to cover the entire washer with texture marks.
2. Cut a 4-inch piece of leather cord and a 4-inch piece of wire. Wrap the end of the wire onto the leather cord about 2 inches from the end. Wrap the wire around the leather cord four times. Feed three crystal bicones onto the wire. Then wrap the other end of the wire onto the leather cord, again making four wraps. Trim the ends of the wire with wire cutters.
3. Next, cut six 8-inch pieces of leather cord. Make the tassel by gathering the 8-inch cords together and feeding them through the hole in the washer. Pull the cords through until the ends match up. Wrap the top of the tassel with the smaller 4-inch piece of leather. Lay the section of cord that you beaded in step 2 on the front of the tassel. Wrap the ends around a few times and tie in a knot in back.
4. To make the necklace, cut two 30-inch pieces of leather cord and line them up side by side. Fold them in half and feed the folded end into the washer about two inches. Then slide the cut ends through the folded end loop to make a cow hitch onto the washer. (We grew up calling this a slip knot, but learned it is actually called a cow hitch!)
5. Slide two steel beads onto two of the leather cords and two steel beads on the other two cords.
6. Add three cystal bicones to each side using the same technique as step 2.
7. Add two more beads to each side.
8. Create an adjustable clasp, by feeding two cords from one side of the necklace through a steel large hole bead. Then feed the other two cords into the same bead from the other side.
We love how the hammered washer looks like a hand crafted piece of silver. Isn’t that fun?! And the steel washer only cost about a dollar!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
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