DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace Tutorial

DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace tutorial

Does Jewelry grow on trees? Well, this one certainly does!

In the last one year, I have been looking for ways to include natural or altered natural materials in my work. Trips to Pulicat got me interested in Palm leaf jewelry. My Siem Reap travels introduced me to seed jewelry. While I have been looking at incorporating coconut shell and wood in my jewelry collection, it calls for more experimentation. In the meanwhile, I got reintroduced to Cork. I say reintroduced, as I saw cork products being designed for the first time about two years ago at a student graduation showcase. It was used in bag design. I then wondered about using cork discs as modern earrings. However, I could not source them locally. Eventually this year, I sourced some beautiful cork cord and tape and decided to make Ethnic jewelry with it.

DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace tutorial

What is cork

Portuguese Cork is extracted from Quercus suber – the cork oak tree, that is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is a unique natural plant tissue that is found on the outer layer (bark) of the tree. According to Corkor, After the uncorking (extraction) the oak tree produces a new layer of bark with the same thickness. It is cut, pressed, and shaped into a form that can later be converted to accessories and jewelry.

DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace

I made this necklace using the finest Portuguese Cork cord from Endless Leather. Its beautiful with subtle gold splashes that lend it a luxurious look. I contrasted this with the dusty, crusty distressed silver-tone Afghan pendant, chain, and ghungroos to get a contemporary looking Ethnic Cork Necklace.

afghan cork cord necklace

Materials

  1. Silver tone Afghani pendant
  2. Distressed Silver tone chain
  3. Distressed Silver tone ghungroos (dangles) – 26 pcs
  4. 10X 2mm natural gold Cork cord – 20 in
  5. 5mm Distressed Silver tone jump rings – 25 pcs
  6. 10mm equivalent pewter ribbon ends -2
  7. Liquid fusion glue
  8. Silver tone lobster clasp
  9. Carnelian embroidery thread
  10. Tools – nose pliers, Scissors, needle (optional)

Method

1.Cut chain into 16 pieces of 2.5 inches. Using Jump rings add dangles to one end.

2. On another ring add two such prepared chains and connect it to a gap in the pendant. Since I used a focal instead of a pendant there are no loops on the focal. Instead, I used the gaps in  the Jali pattern to connect my rings

ethnic cork necklace tutorial3. Add dangles using jump rings to fill the side gaps in the focal. Now the focal will look like the one on the left. I am sorry that I do not have a before picture of the pendant to show you.

If you are using a solid pendant, you can skip step 3. But the beauty of Afghani pieces is in their dangles and tassels. So this turned out to be an advantage for me.

ethnic cork necklace tutorial

4. Cut two pieces of cork tape at 10 inches length. I wanted the pendant to be at chest level with the tassel hanging below.

5. Glue the tapes to the ribbon ends and let dry.

6. Using jump rings connect them to the prepared pendant

7. Interlace embroidery thread through the gap, from one side to the other and back again to get a band of colour. Repeat if you want a thicker band. You can also use multiple color threads for a bright look.

8. Knot the end and glue with the fusion clear glue. Let dry.

9. Connect a clasp in the end of the cork cord with jump rings to complete your necklace. You can wire wrap more beads or dangles to the focal or the cord to create variations.

Alternatives

In India shining silver metal is more commonly available than dull distressed silver. However, I wanted an aged look for this piece to juxtapose perfectly with the cork cord. So I bought two Afghani necklaces which had several ghungroos, layers of chains, and pendants on them. I dismantled them and used one of the focal components as the pendant and cut the chain up for the tassel. But you can use a pendant with loops and lengths of chain for this design.

At the moment, I am fascinated with Ethnic jewelry and have been looking at images of jewelry from all over the world these days. I intend to recreate fun variations of designs that catch my fancy. This DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace Tutorial is just the beginning. Do share your valuable feedback with me on this tutorial and the possible variations you can create. If you like ethnic jewelry, you might also like reading Faux Afghan Tribal jewelry. If you did find this tutorial interesting, please share on social media channels and tag @jewelsofsayuri or @sayuri (on facebook)
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I hope you found it interesting
Cheers

14 responses to “DIY Ethnic Cork Necklace Tutorial”

  1. Maya avatar

    Lovely design Divya! Back in 2011/12 I was obsessed with embroidering cork discs that I cut from wine corks and the tutorial gained a huge popularity. Clearing up the stash I came upon several of the “cork beads” and thought if time has come to play with them once again.

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      I have never seen cork beads before. So it would be interesting for me to see what you do with them. Upon checking the embroidery tutorial on your blog, I do recollect it. Wasn’t it featured on Etsy blogs or a magazine? Now that I think of it, it was your post was what introduced me to cork jewelry.

  2. Rozantia Petkova avatar

    I have seen cork used in jewelry and other handmade items and always wondered if it is flexible enough to endure wear and tear. Apparently, it is 🙂 You have achieved a genuinely ethnic look and blending of juxtaposed design elements. The red thread is such a find!

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      Cork (cord) deforms but it can be pressed back into shape. I tried a design with a round cord too. As far as the wear and tear goes, we’ll have to wait and watch

  3. Alysen avatar

    Divya, as I mentioned on Ig, have never seen cork used in place of chain, ribbon or what-have-you. I think the red embroidery thread really sets off the silvertone components beautifully.
    My pleasure to share at https://www.facebook.com/ChicChixandChampagne/
    and doesn’t look like you have a fb page …?

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      Thanks so much for the share. Try tagging it as @Sayuri

  4. Gayathri avatar

    Having seen only the end products until now, I love seeing how these artistic pieces are made. And your post is always a pleasure to read.

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      If you are interested I have a host of tutorials on my blog. Do take a look

  5. pushpendra dwivedi avatar

    so beautiful classical touch jewellery

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      Thank you for your compliments

  6. Pearl avatar

    Lovely design!!

  7. Esha avatar

    All the designs look so cute, Divya!

    1. jewelsofsayuri avatar

      Thanks Esha, please do try them out

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