How to Make a Custom Color Pearl Necklace

Materials:

For dying pearls:

• 21 pearls
• Rit Dye in color of your choice
• warm water (not boiling)
• small glass container
• small whisk
• paper towels
• sieve

For necklace:

• 21 dyed pearls
• 22 eye pins
• focal bead
• one decorative head pin
• 23 5mm jump rings
• two 4-inch pieces chain
• necklace clasp
• chain nose pliers
• round nose pliers
• wire cutters

Instructions:

To dye pearls:

1. Add 2-3 teaspoons of powdered dye to small glass container. Whisk in 1 tablespoon warm water. 
    
2. Add a small piece of paper towel to bottom of container; then add pearls on top of toweling. Add more warm water to cover pearls.
    
3. Allow pearls to sit in solution for 10 minutes; then drain into a metal sieve. Rinse and allow to dry on toweling.

To make necklace:

1. Slide a pearl onto an eye pin. Use chain nose pliers to grasp wire just at point where it exits pearl. Bend wire at 90-degree angle.
    
2. Grasp bend with round nose pliers and wrap wire around pliers as far as possible to start to make a loop. Reposition pliers to finish loop.  
    
3. Use wire cutters to trim wire where it crosses beginning of loop.  
    
4. Repeat to make 20 pearls links.
    
5. Repeat steps 1-3 to add focal bead to an eye pin and to make one pearl dangle with decorative head pin.
    
6. Connect all 20 pearl links with jump rings. Attach a 4-inch piece of chain to each end of chain of pearls. Add a jump ring to one remaining end of chain and a clasp with a jump ring to other end of chain.
    
7. Attach pearl dangle to focal bead with jump ring.
    
8. Use a jump ring to attach focal bead to center jump ring of necklace.