How to make a new upcycled necklace from an old one

I've recently bought a vintage necklace that looked rather old style and dusty. However, the beads were of high quality and of a very pretty color. They reminded me cranberries of all sizes and shades of red. I decided to upcycle the vintage necklace and turn it into something more contemporary and hip.



First of all I cut the necklace with a help of regular scissors to free up beads. I was lucky that the base of the necklace was a regular cotton thread and not a metal wire.
Beads looked very nice but were a bit dusty. I washed them with soap and left them to dry.



Once dry I put my beads in a glass jar. They looked so pretty with light coming through the jar and making beads shine. Beads are of all shades of red and of different sizes. I decided I won't use metal beads that were originally a part of the necklace. I'll to save them for a later project.



To crochet a new and hip necklace I used a crocheting hook and a super thin light blue thread. The combination of bright red and light blue looked super pretty! For a start I threaded all the beads mixing up sizes and colors. It saved me time and made the process of crocheting a necklace easier.



Having so many beads I was able to crochet a long necklace. It's really great as I'll be able to wear it not only as a necklace but as a bracelet, a belt or a head accessory. I crocheted a simple foundation chain adding red beads about every inch. The necklace crocheting took about 15 minutes. When the necklace was ready I attached a toggle clasp to complete the work.

It looks bright, hip, and very different from the original vintage necklace I bought. The new necklace is a perfect summer accessory! I'm especially happy I could reuse something I already had and turn it into something new.