Patchwork Textile Bead Bib Necklace

• Four layered rows of textile-wrapped beads
• Slim brass bar spacers
• Lobster clasp with 3 in extender chain
• No two beads alike

Each bead is wrapped from a reclaimed sari fragment, so the color and print on every bead is one-of-a-kind and will vary from piece to piece.

Kantha is the running-stitch tradition of rural Bengal — layers of worn cotton saris and dhotis restitched into new cloth instead of thrown out. Here that instinct for reuse moves into jewelry: the sari fabric is cut into small pieces and wrapped around bead cores, so each bead preserves a fragment of someone's printed cloth.

The brass bars are what give the piece its shape. They hold the wrapped beads in four tiered rows, disciplined enough to sit flat against the collarbone. Irregular fabric spheres inside a structured metal frame — that contrast is the piece's defining idea.

Artisans in India sort the reclaimed cotton by color and print, cut and wrap each bead by hand, then string and set them into the brass channels row by row. Because the source fabric is never uniform, every bead placement is a color-balance decision made by eye.

• Technique: Kantha textile reclamation

Keep the textile beads dry. Store flat to preserve the collar shape.