DIY Sea Glass Necklace

What a perfect way to remember your coastal vacation. This project also makes a wonderful gift. Check out the supply list and instruction guide to make your own DIY Sea Glass Necklace.

Collecting Sea Glass (vacation)

We have collected sea glass during several of our coastal vacations, including the San Juan Islands in Washington, the Oregon Coast, Southern California beaches, and Puerto Rico. Need more travel ideas? Check out this Guide to the best sea glass beaches in the US. Have other recommendations? Please be sure to share them in the comments section.

We recently had the opportunity to collect sea glass and pottery during a visit in Positano, Italy. You can check out our itinerary, accommodations, things to do and places to eat in my Positano travel review. The sea glass I collected on this trip is what I used for the project outlined below, a DIY sea glass necklace. The sea glass pendant hangs from a Czech glass seed bead necklace. If you haven’t had the pleasure of collecting your own sea glass, no worries….it can be purchased. Check out the supply list below.

Skills required to complete this project

This DIY jewelry project is a little more involved than most. Skills required to make this necklace include 1) drilling the sea glass, 2) creating a bead necklace and fixing a clasp and jump ring to the ends, and 3) wrapping the sea glass pendant with wire to attach it to the necklace. Check out the list of supplies and instructions below to prepare your DIY sea glass necklace.

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Supplies

Sea Glass Preparation

Seed Bead Necklace

Instructions

Sea Glass Preparation

To drill the sea glass and prevent cracking, you will need to place the piece of sea glass underwater. This will prevent the drill bit and glass from overheating.
Place the cutting board in the plastic storage container and fill with water until your piece of sea glass is just submerged.
Wear safety glasses. The board will prevent you from drilling through the container.
Have someone help you hold the drill cord away from the water. I hung it over the cabinet knob above my counter workspace to keep it out of the way.
With the drill bit installed on your Dremel, begin to drill a hole in the desired location. Start slowly to prevent the drill bit from jumping. Apply light to medium pressure using a pulsating motion.
Flush the glass with water and rinse the drill bit often. This will keep everything lubricated leading to a more efficient drilling process. Good lubrication will also extend the life of your drill bit.
Take your time. Don’t rush.
It took me about 4-minutes to drill a hole in this thick piece of sea glass. Lots of pulsating and rinsing.

Making the Necklace

Determine the necklace length desired. My necklace is 20 inches.
Connect the jump ring to one end of the wire. Pass the wire through the crimp bead and then pass the wire through the jump ring. The next step requires that you pass the wire back through the crimp bead and use the crimper to ‘smash’ the crimp bead so the wire doesn’t move and the jump ring is held in place. Cut off excess wire, but don’t cut it down too close to the jump ring.
Begin stringing the beads on the wire. String the beads over the excess wire and press them again the crimp bead.
When you reach the desired length, follow the steps outlined above for the jump to attach the lobster clasp. Pass the wire through a crimp bead and then through the lobster clasp. Next, pass the wire back through the crimp bead and through a few of the beads strung on the wire. This will allow for extra wire that will be hidden under the beads. The extra wire helps prevent the wire from being pulled back through the crimp bead, destroying the necklace.
Pull the wire and adjust the beads so everything is tight and there’s not a lot of slack in the wire and beads. Once everything is tight, crimp the bead.
Check out this bracelet tutorial. It highlights how to use the jump ring, clasp and crimp beads. I do recommend wire vs the stretch cord shown in the link. The crimp beads eventually slice through the cord, reducing the life of the bracelet or necklace.

Attaching the Pendant to the Necklace

To prepare the pendant, pass the wire through the sea glass and wrap the end around the extending wire. Cut the excess wrapped wire to have two full wraps.
Add a Czech glass seed bead to the extending wire. Pass the wire through a jump ring that hangs from a seed bead on the necklace. Loop the wire and wrapped it back down towards the seed bead. Next, wrap the wire around twice and cut off the excess wire.
I have found the ability to wrap and connect beads with wire invaluable. I’m still developing my skills with each piece of jewelry I make. Check out the JTHG Academy Wire Wrapping for Beginners Course. This is how I started my wire wrapping journey.

Wire wrapped sea glass pendant hanging from Czech glass seed bead necklace

The bead necklace was 20″ long to allow for the pendant to hang well below the collar bone.

Ready to make your own sea glass jewelry?

The instructions might seem a little overwhelming when you read through them. Just take it one step at a time and use the linked tutorials. I promise you can do this. Use the contact form or comment section below if you have questions.

Not interested in purchasing all of the tools and supplies? Just don’t have the time to make this on your own? Check out my collection of sea glass jewelry available for sale on Etsy at Provenance Emporium. Items are added frequently, so browse the site often or contact me if you have a special request.