First think about the length you want your necklace and whether or not you want the thread to be covered completely. A shorter necklace or choker usually has a largish bead or pendant as its centre piece. A popular design feature of this style is to leave a portion of the cord or leather thong on view.
If you are filling the thread and using beads of the same size, you can work out how many you will need once you have decided on the length. Use a tape measure around your neck to get an idea. Then divide that measurement by the length of a bead (hole to hole). So, for a filled choker of 40cm you will need 50 x 8mm beads.
| Experiment with different sized beads. The most usual way is to use smaller beads at the back where the necklace needs to be comfortable to wear, and larger beads at the front, on prominent display. Consider using spacer beads between larger beads. Choose a colour to tone or contrast, or simply neutral like silver or gold.You could knot the thread in between each bead. It can be very effective to knot groups of beads along the thread
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