Our VIB jewelry making community is full of creative crafters and uncommon artists. Talented jewelry designers from all over the world post their creations daily. It is an exciting hub of inspirational media and educational messages. Today, we are putting the spotlight on one designer, Cathy Davison. Cathy caught our eye when she started posting her stunning crocheted necklaces. We were intrigued by her process of crocheting with our Very Fine and Fine diameters of beading wire and the smaller gauges of our Craft Wire. Our colorful beading wire looks so playful, dancing around her selected beads. We wanted to know more. Let's learn about Cathy and how she creates crochet jewelry.

Have you joined our Facebook group yet? VIB (Very Important Beading Studio) is a group with thousands of jewelry designers and hobby/ craft creators. We have members that have been designing necklaces for decades. And we have members that have strung their first bracelet a day ago. We welcome all talents and styles and we foster an atmosphere of creative energy. We want to share the joy of creating and we want to learn a new trick or three. Check out the group and get advice from a pro.

Would you like to be a part of our 'Spotlight On Our VIB Jewelry Making Community' series? If you are a member of our VIB group and an active jewelry designer, we may be asking if you would like your name in the spotlight!

Spotlight On Jewelry Maker Cathy Davison

Cathy Davison - Designer, Maker, Owner Of Designs by Cathy D

My name is Cathy Davison. I live in Elizabeth City, North Carolina with my husband Jim, my 16 year old son John, and our adorable border collie Chewy.

I left government after working in economic development and management for more than 20 years to work for an electric cooperative as a Vice President of Finance and Accounting.

In my spare time I love to create jewelry. I love singing and spending time on the water - we live less than an hour from the Atlantic Ocean where we fish and boat every opportunity that we can. Some nights we have dinner, just floating on the Little River.

The inspiration for my designs comes from nature: sunrise, sunsets, anything ocean related, and the beach. I also try to expand my color palette by using a color wheel.

I started creating jewelry six years ago with simple stringing designs. I have expanded my skills from Facebook Live classes and YouTube.

I have always been crafty, thanks to my mom Sandra. I enjoy making cards, wreaths, stamping ceramic tiles - and, of course, making simple jewelry. I learned how to crochet two years ago. I learned when my family was on vacation in the Smokey Mountains with my sister Nicola, her family, and our parents.

Cathy's Gorgeous Crocheted Jewelry Designs

I was intrigued by beautiful crocheted jewelry I had seen online. So, I asked my mom to teach me to crochet - just the basics: Cast on, chain, single and double stitches. My mom is a fabulous teacher and within a day I had mastered crocheting with thread and then loading beads on the thread to crochet a chain. This was a good experience for me. My first try was messy but I kept trying until I created the look I liked.

Beaded Jewelry Diva has a great  YouTube video that I watched to help perfect my technique.

For most of my creations I use a size 10, 10.5 or 11 metal crochet hook. For tiny stitches, like with my Luck of the Irish bracelet, I use a size 6 hook.

One of the things that I particularly love about wire crochet and using Soft Flex Wire is the variety of wire available.

For multi-strand designs I use the Econoflex Very Fine or Fine. I also enjoy using the Soft Flex Fine in numerous colors. Champagne or the sterling is my go to with blue and green gemstones and Czech glass because they let the beads SHINE!!!

When I crochet with the craft wire, I use 28 gauge and create my clasps out of 20 gauge of the same color. 

One of the things that I have learned is when you think your done, go ahead and cut your wire and leave a 6-8 inch tail before you finish your strand with 5 single stitches. This will let you add a bead or beads should you need to and then you can finish off your chain. You do this by adding the bead, crochet a stitch repeat if needed then crochet the 5 single stitches to end the strand.

For my multi strand necklaces (3 or 5 strands), I load 35 beads on the wire. I crochet 5 stitches and then crochet the first loaded bead - you do this by sliding the bead up and grab the wire with the hook and crochet one stitch. I found that if the bead is larger than 10mm I crochet a stitch after the bead before crocheting the next bead; this helps the beads drape well. Once all the 35 beads are crocheted, and you are sure your strand is the length you want; leave a 6-8 inch length of wire so you can add beads if needed. Then chain 5 more stitches. Repeat for how many strands you want.

After you have all of your strands crocheted, match the wire ends up and crimp the them as you would in regular jewelry design or you can wire wrap them together with 28 gauge craft wire with one side of the clasp you desire. With one end crimped together, twist the strands to get the look you want and finish off the necklace as you did the other end. With the twisting of strands you can change it every time you wear the necklace either twisting it or not. 

I’m on Facebook and Instagram with my creations that I started posting in January 2020. Prior to that I made jewelry for my friends and family. I also enjoy donating my creations to charities like Network Endangered Sea Turtles (NEST).

I also make cancer awareness bracelets for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma patients (I was diagnosed in late 2020 with this rare form of cancer). I use my jewelry to remain creative and when I don’t feel well or am tired, I can still create particularly with my crocheting. 

Visit Cathy's Links

My Facebook is  www.Facebook.com/designsbycathyd

My Instagram is  www.Instagram.com/designsbycathyd

Join our Facebook group – VIB. Stay in the know. Stay up to date. From our bead shows to our video shows and sales, you can stay in touch with us. The community is full of artistic and helpful beaders and crafty people. Inspire and be inspired. Share your pictures and get the beading bug from others!

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Blog contributor Thomas Soles loves Jazz Age writers and crunchy french fries. His favorite gemstones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Freddie Mercury's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com