Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Monday, March 5, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Make a Morse Code Name or Word Necklace!

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PST

There are different ways to make a name or word necklace. You could use metal letter beads or if you are good with wire, wire names. But there is another way - make a morse code necklace.

"Debra" necklace photographed with my Modahaus Steady Stand

Shown above is one I made with golden glass pearls for the dots and coiled colored copper wire sections representing the dashes. Each letter is contained in each wire wrapped section. The front of the necklace spells DEBRA as it is a gift for my very good friend, Debbie. It will be a humble addition to her gorgeous but imperfect cartouche pendant from Egypt.

It was inspired by Erin's tutorial over at Thanks, I Made It who used metal round beads and long metal tube beads for the dots and dashes for the above necklace. Knots were added to separate the letters. It was based on an Anthropologie design which really appealed to her as she loves coded writing.

Below is the morse code alphabet. If you use it, you can see how our necklaces spelled the names!

The modern morse code is different from the original 1840's code created for the electric telegraph designed by artist Samuel F. B. Morse, physicist Joseph Henry, and Alfred Vail.

The chart below shows the historical comparison and progression from the original American code to the modified German (Gerke) one used in Europe to the internationally recognized version today. The morse code is noted for its coding efficiency. The most frequently used letter in the English language is "E" so it is represented in the shortest form - just a single dot.