Stonehenge Rock Necklace

Ok, so this necklace isn’t actually made from rocks at Stonehenge, I just photographed it there. The rocks are from my little weekend trip to Montauk last spring and finally got around to making something with the rocks this summer. I *did* collect some rocks *ahem, gravel* from the Stonehenge parking lot, though. 😉

We visited Stonehenge on our last day in England before we took a train up to Scotland. (More on the England part of my UK trip here!)

Stonehenge feels like it is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by these rolling hills that don’t look too different from some spots in Indiana. It is actually one of thousands of stone henges still standing in the UK, but what makes Stonehenge so unique and special is the size of the megaliths, the shape of the stones, and the general sophistication of the design. To me, it’s just crazy to think of how much work went into building something like this in the 2000s BC.

And now to a much less impressive rock structure, my necklace. To make the necklace you need some bronze ball chain, a special rock, some wire, and something to make a tassel with. I used tiny rhinestone chain for this and I got my bronze ball chain from my For the Makers coffee sleeve, but you can get bronze ball chain from hardware stores or on Amazon. (For the Makers has some amazing fishbone chain, though.)

To begin, you start by tying two pieces of bronze ball chain together in the middle with wire or thread. I used thread at first, but I should have used wire. Then you begin creating a web of bronze chain that encases the rock by wiring the chain together in different spots.

You can also wrap part of the bronze ball chain with gold embroidery thread like I did at the top of the necklace in this photo, but you don’t have to. I just wanted a way for all of the chain to come together.

To make the tassel, I took little strips of rhinestone chain, folded them over each other and wrapped them in thread. Then I added a jump ring to attach it to the bottom of the necklace.

Sean was telling me about this short fiction story he once read about this guy who visited Stonehenge. The guy is walking around Stonehenge looking at everything and he wasn’t too impressed. The guy gets done and then takes a trip to the bathroom before he leaves.

When he walks into the bathroom he is struck by how quiet everyone is, just thinking. He realizes that this introspective bathroom silence is part of Stonehenge’s wonder and beauty. The fact that it makes everyone think about the same deep things… All at the same time.

Still to this day no one really knows for sure what Stonehenge was used for and there are myths and legends about who built it. Everything from Merlin hired some giants to do it to aliens.

For me, I think the most fascinating part about Stonehenge is the myths and mysteries that surround it. Whenever there’s an unanswered question, there are always wild, imagination-flexing theories that are so fun to think about.

I definitely recommend a visit to Stonehenge, even if you don’t like rocks as much as I do. 😉