make civil war jewelry
Make a Girl-Worthy 19th Century Coral Necklace
In among all the fun of clothing a girl, it’s important to consider some of the elements that are often overlooked, like accessories that include jewelry!
With a bit of minor effort and hand dexterity, you can create a lovely bit of period-appropriate jewelry for your favorite girl (infancy on up) to wear in historic settings.
Coral bead strands show up with fairly good frequency in stories, advertisements, fashion notes, letters, and photographs, as well as in engravings and paintings, and in every case, there seem to be variations that suit a working class setting.
There are some very ornate mid-century pieces, but my focus was on the simple styles well-suited for a child or teen.
Many images show a necklace that’s a bit more generous than a choker, but is definitely not a long dangling strand. I chose a length that would curve neatly around the collarbones, without hanging low or feeling “chokey.”
Natural coral has a lovely heft and coolness to the beads; definitely use semi-precious natural materials, versus anything plastic. The end “drape” of the necklace has everything to do with the finished period look.
To make your own, you’ll need:
Coral Beads: I chose 6mm real coral beads (talk to Elizabeth Aldridge about getting your own strand); original coral strands vary in size, so you could opt for smaller beads or graduated beads, and still be very consistent with originals. Plan to spend about $15 on a strand long enough for a girl’s necklace.
Some coral harvesters use unsustainable practices and have poor track records with human rights. If you can’t get responsibly-sourced natural beads from Elizabeth above (her stock won’t last forever), consider using a natural semi-precious stone round bead, or a ceramic bead, that can mimic the weight, smoothness, and color ranges of natural coral.
For instance, this Etsy seller has smooth red jasper beads in a 6mm size, with a fine hole (they are imported from China, so there may be additional issues there); Fire Mountain also carries deep red jasper beads in 6mm in 4mm sizes.
Dyed red carnelian beads are another option for a mid-century girl’s jewelry; if you’ll recall from Little Women, Amy has a carnelian ring (fiction is not what we base historical impression on, but Louisa May was not making up her details from thin air!) Less-marbled pink rhodochrosite and deep coral pink or red agate are interesting visual choices, too. (Avoid overly-marbled, pearlized, crackled, or matte options for any bead.)
Silk Beading Cord: after looking at recommendations on-line, I settled on Bead Buddy #4 silk bead cord, which has a fine beading “needle” (a fine wire that slipped through the bead holes effortlessly) attached already–handy! I found it at Joann’s, of all places, for about $3.50 a packet. One packet was enough for two necklaces. For the style of necklace I chose, I needed a cord that would knot large enough to hold without sliding into the hole of the bead, so I looked for something that was about the same diameter of the bead’s hole, knowing that a simple overhand knot would then be sized just right. And while it’s described as “cord”, this stuff is very fine. (Silk has the strength and rot-resistance advantage over pearl cotton or other cotton threads.)
Period-Passable Clasps: none of the clasps currently sold market themselves as “antique replica”, so I went on a visual hunt to look at clasp styles on original simple bead strands. Flat “bar” or “box” clasps, and round slide-in clasps both showed up pretty consistently, as well as a few other styles. I found a set of 10 clasps from Hildie & Jo (again, at Joann’s) for under $4, and got four “period unobtrusive” clasps for historic purposes (plus a few that will work for modern use). Avoid lobster, toggle, and magnetic styles–these will not hold up well to the weight of the coral beads, and also look entirely modern. (Fire Mountain Gems and other jewelry suppliers have great options; WalMart does not.)
A Straight Pin: this is my main tool for getting the knots close to each bead without any fussing or cussing. Any straight pin will work, but I found a ball-headed pin worked more comfortably for the knot manipulation, without putting big dents in my fingers.
Some Time: about two hours. If you’re wanting someone else to make one for you, plan to pay them skilled rates on top of materials. While you can make one yourself for under $30, you should expect closer to $60 for someone else to make them for you with the same methods described here.
Key Technique: Individual Knotting
Placing a single, snug overhand knot between each bead gives the whole strand more stability, making it less likely to kink or knot, and should the silk cord break at some point, you’ll lose at most one bead.
The knot between each bead also cushions them from clacking against one another, which can crack or damage them over time. The extra time needed to do the knotting is well worth it!
An overhand knot is the first one most of us learn: it’s the foundation of tying your shoes. The trick to placing them very close to each bead is accomplished by using a pin in the knot’s open area, and gently pulling the free end of the cord as you move the pin snug to the bead. When the knot is snugged to the bead, you can remove the pin and firm up the knot.
Attaching the Clasp
I used the same overhand knot (well, three of them, around the last bit of cord between the clasp and bead knot) to attach the clasps. A bit of modern Fray Check or period gum arabic helps keep the cord ends intact and knots firm over time.
Then I trimmed the excess cord off.
And then two little girls ran off giggling madly into the sunset, wearing their very lovely coral necklaces.
And then the one with pierced ears came back to request some coral drop earrings… for which I’ll share notes another time.
