Necklaces in Uganda are becoming a trend. They are put on by almost everyone in the country from children, women and a few men. Necklaces have been put on by Ugandans since time immemorial and they were made from stones and bones but they kept on evolving from time to time. Then the necklaces were imported into the country but then as time went on, Ugandans started making their own necklaces from materials like porcelain glass, beads.

They add on the beauty of the person putting them on and also increase on the fashion sense of the person wearing them.

There are three major necklaces in Uganda and these are chokers which sit on the neck of the person, the lariat which is long and the collar which is 14 to 16 inches.

Materials used in making necklaces in Uganda

• Beads     

There are different tools and materials that can be used to make necklaces and below are some of the materials needed and how you can make it even from home.

Beading thread

This comes in shades of black and white and it’s the main support where the beads are placed for the different shape of beaded jewelry that you need.

Crimp covers

These help keep the end of the wire from touching the skin around the neck and it gives off a classic finishing touch to the jewelry.

Beading wire

Beading wires also come in different colors but the most commonly used and best is the silver wire since its neutral. They have different brands 0f beading wire and when getting it you need to look at the diameter and quantity of strands.

Clasps

Clasps can be used for both bracelets and necklaces and they add a classic look to the jewelry. You can either use the lobster clasps or the spring clasps.

Steps on how to make a beaded jewelry

• The starting process

• Prepare the beading materials

You need to make sure that all the materials are available before you start out. The wires to be used should be flexible and all the materials should be bought in large quantities.

Preparation of the materials includes sorting the color of the beads to be used and the length of the thread to be used.

• The necklace type

After preparation of the materials you need to know which type of necklace you are going to make. You can either make short or long necklaces depending on your choice.

• Make the right length

When we talk about the length of a necklace, this includes the beads used and the clasp. You can make a short necklaces and long necklaces.

It does not necessarily have to be long or short you can also choose your own length depending on what you really want. You can also measure necks to find the perfect length for the necklaces.

• Prepare the design for the necklaces

• Get a flat surface and arrange the beads

The flat surface can be a table or anything that allows you to work comfortably. There are different types of necklaces that you can make that is you can have a necklace with a single line of beads or several lines of beads.

The beads are laid down on the table in the different designs that they are to form. This makes it easy for them to be put on the strings once they are laid out.

• Get the proper length of thread

The length of the string will be highly determined by the type of necklace that you are going to make. If you are going to make a chocker, then the length of the string can be short but if the necklace design is a bit complex, then you can cut a long string.

The strings is cut using a wire cutter and note that if you cut an estimated length of the string, you need to add a few inches almost six inches to cover up in case of an emergency.

• Start making the beaded bracelets

After getting the proper length of the string, you need to start on the making of the beaded necklaces.

You start by sliding one bead at a time on the string and make sure they are well placed. You will need clasps that will be used to tie the necklace once you are done with designing it. These clasps are put on both ends that are one clasp is put at the start of the string before putting up the beads and the other at the end of the string after designing the necklace.

• Papers

The papers that are needed to make the necklaces should at least be colorful to attract the attention of the buyers. These papers are usually are magazine papers and they are folded to the design that one wants. There is a simple step by step process on how to make necklaces using paper and this includes the following:

• Get a pin, the papers and some paper glue as requirements needed for the making of the papers.
• The papers are cut into long different shapes using either scissors or a razor blade and after cutting, the pieces are then rolled with a pin in the middle which makes the two holes in between the rolled paper where the string will pass.
• After rolling the papers according to the shapes that you want, you should add the glue which helps the rolled paper to stick together.
• After gluing the paper together, the sealant is added to make the papers water proof and then they are hanged in the sun to dry.
• When the papers are dry, they are placed in a on a string and a necklace formed. It can be either a single string paper necklace or a double string necklace or more.
• Clasps are put at the end to ease the opening and closing of the necklaces and then they are ready for sale.

• African print clothes

These are imported from the different countries in Africa like Tanzania, Congo and Nigeria although a few Ugandans have started to make their own

They are made of different colors and prints and these are sown onto the different materials like wood or curved metal to create a necklace.

These are cut according to the design that the customer wants and sown onto a material using a sewing machine or a needle and threads by hand.

You can add beads onto the cloth to increase on the beauty and clasps at the end of the necklace for easy clasping and unclasping and then they are ready to be sold.

• Wood

There is different jewelry made out of wood in Uganda and this includes wooden earrings, necklaces and others. Below are some of the steps involved in the making of wooden jewelry and they include the following:

• Get the materials which include cut wood, stretching strings and polish.
• The wood is carved according to the type of jewelry you want to make that is earrings bracelet and necklaces are all covered differently.
• After curving the jewelry, wood polish is added to add a shine and hanged for them to dry.
• After the drying of the wooden jewelry, they are placed on the strings to make the perfect jewelry. The wooden stone beads should be a little bit elastic so that they can be stretched easily when designing.

• Shells

These are sold in shops around Kampala and they have different shapes, sizes and color. They are majorly cylindrical and have a hole in the middle where the stretchable strings are passed while making the necklaces.

These shells are delicate and they should be taken care of from time to time that is they should be dust free and kept in a jewel box.

• Porcelain plastic

Porcelain plastic is also sold in the shops around town and it comes in different colors, shapes and sizes. Stretchable strings are bought and these are used to make the necklaces.  The porcelain plastic has an open end hole that passes through the plastic and this is where the strings are passed.

• Wood

There is already curved wood that is sold in the country in the different shops. These can be used to design necklaces and these come in different shapes and are engraved with beautiful designs.

Below is a step by step process on how to make necklaces using wood in Uganda

• Buy the wood from the different shops in Uganda and make sure you get different shapes and sizes and the strings.
• Make sure the strings are stretchable so that the designing the necklaces becomes easy without breaking the strings.
• Place a clasp onto the string before you start putting the wood on the strings and also place one after.
• Vanish is added to the wood to give it a shiny look and then they are put out to dry in the sun and after that they are placed on the market for sale.