How to Make Your Own Morse Code Necklace
Morse code was invented by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in the 1840s as a way to communicate via Morse's telegraph. This code represented letters, numbers and punctuation marks as a series of dots, called dits, and dashes, called dahs. Even after the telegraph fell out of use, Morse code remained an international standard code. Today, you can send your own messages through necklaces which use seed beads and bugle beads to represent dots and dashes. You can string your words together into a single strand or knot them into equally spaced positions to represent the pauses used by the telegraph system.
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Things You'll Need
- Silk cord
- 10/0 Seed beads
- E-beads or 6/0 seed beads
- Spring ring
- Bugle beads
- Split ring
- Clear fingernail polish
Instructions
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1
Cut a length of silk cord that is slightly longer than you want your finished necklace to be. You will use up some of the extra length in knotting and tying on the clasp.
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2
Slide a seed bead, an E-bead (or 6/0 seed bead) and the spring ring onto the the cord, then thread the loose end back through the E-bead and seed bead.
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3
Tie a double knot next to the seed bead to hold it in place.
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4
String E-beads and bugle beads onto the cord in a pattern that mimics the dots and dashes of a message in Morse code.
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5
Lay the necklace on the table and bring both ends of the cord up to meet each other. Arrange the beads so the pattern, including spaces, is centered along the string.
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6
Tie a single knot in the cord just before the first bead. Allow the beads to settle onto this knot, then tie another knot on the other side to hold the beads in place. Repeat this process for each word, if you are using spaces.
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String a seed bead, E-bead and split ring onto the other end of the cord. Then thread the loose end back through the beads as you did on the other end.
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8
Tie a double knot, and cut off the extra cord on both ends of the necklace. Dab clear fingernail polish on the knots to secure them.
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References
Resources
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