Kantha Bead Four-Strand Collar Necklace

• Four-strand graduated design
• Hand-wrapped textile beads in mixed prints
• 3 in adjustable extender
• Gold-plated brass hardware
• One-of-a-kind color combination

Because each bead is wrapped from a reclaimed piece of textile, no two necklaces are alike. Slight variation in color placement and pattern is a natural mark of the handwork.

Kantha is a textile practice from the Bengal region of India and Bangladesh, built around reuse. Worn cotton saris and dhotis are layered and joined with running stitches, turning fabric too worn to wear into quilts and wraps.

This necklace applies the same instinct to a different object: strips of reclaimed Kantha cloth are wrapped tightly around wooden bead cores, so each bead carries a fragment of the original textile — a floral, a stripe, a block print. Because the source fabric is never uniform, the mix of prints across the four strands is unrepeatable from one piece to the next.

Artisans in India sort and cut the scraps, wrap each piece around a bead core by hand, then string the beads across four graduated strands with gold-plated brass jump rings, working from smallest at the ends to largest at the center front.

• Technique: Kantha textile beadwork

Keep the beads dry and away from perfume, lotion and direct sunlight. Store flat or gently coiled so the fabric wrapping and brass finish stay in good condition.