Cross Necklace

Here is my first original tatting design!

At the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin, I purchased some unique cross-shaped marble-looking beads. I had no clue what to do with them, yet they were so beautiful I could not resist. For about two months, I would occasionally look at them, wondering what they might become. Well, here is the necklace:

This is a really big necklace! It is five inches from top to bottom. I have never made any jewelry this large before - I haven't even ever worn jewelry this large before. Even my "statement jewelry" is half the size of this. Yet, I made this to wear to renaissance festivals, and there anything goes. 

The piece is made with two shuttles using size 20 black thread, 4mm and 6 mm clear Swarovski beads and 5 silver beads (at the 4 corners and in the center). There are green seed beads on the border chain.

As with most tatting, this is not 100% original. It was inspired by many items that I have already done. The clover stitch counts are the same as the clovers in the cross bookmarks that I make. The self-closing mock rings around the beads are inspired by Marilee Rockley's jewelry. Using split rings to move from one motif to the next is inspired by a pendant from Pinterest. Finally, the optical illusions created by so many clovers and rings clustered together is inspired by another pendant. Here are some photos of my inspiration: 

First, I created a test single motif:

Then I drew out a full-size mock-up of the entire piece:

Then I was ready to make the full piece:

Because the piece is so large and heavy, it wouldn't stay flat against my chest. While at the Faire, I was wearing another, longer necklace. So, I wove that necklace through this one and it stayed in place all day long.