Version 1 of Plunder, flat, on model, and layered with an intended necklace. This necklace is currently sitting (mildly) dissasembled on my desk. I'm swapping out some of the charms, namely, the 'Plunder' tag! It will replace the diver's heart charm so it looks like he's thinking it. Both charms counterbalance him nicely. He would hang skewed otherwise and I love that he's constantly hanging just in balance. I would like to add a little treasure chest somewhere too - likely replacing the little bundle of bells? - but the only one I have is plastic (oh well, this one is a bit costume-y anyways).
This was my first attempt using a sliding square knot on a choker, essentially like making a big bracelet. My main concern was that I'd need to make the design a specific length, leaving about an inch or two for square knotting, so that it would sit pretty on my neck without being a choking hazard. I was especially concerned since I planned for the "tails" with the water drops to hang down my back, so someone could easily yank on them. It ended up working out very well! The necklace is perfectly sized so I can pull it tight against the knot without choking.
This doesn't mean I executed it perfectly though. I was planning on having the square knot sit in the middle at the back but the length of each motif I ended up liking and using didn't balance out that way. Since the knot is skewed to one side, the droplets tend to fall over my shoulder. The good news is looks pretty good! I think in the future I can plan around square knot placement and whether I want the strings down the back or to either side of a necklace. I like the way the strings hang over the shoulder in the overall display of the design.
My secondary concern was the strength of the string going unguarded on the long "tails". Some of the beads I wanted to use for this design had very small guages so originally I was using even thinner cord. What I ended up doing was stringing most of the necklace on finer jewellry cord, then tying that to slightly thicker waxed jewellry cord to create the tails and to tie the square knot with. It's held up well! But like I said, dissasembled, so it hasn't seen /that/ much wear. See above "costume jewellry" comment. The bauble hanging in the middle is actually a watch! Its face is on the bottom but you can see the dial in some pics.