If you are making an ancient Egyptian costume, you will need a "usekh" collar, also known and spelt as a "wesekh" collar. You've probably seen pictures of the large and decorative collars made of precious metals and jewels worn by Egyptian royalty. You can make one yourself cheaply and easily with simple items you can buy at a craft store. Personalise your costume by choosing the colours that you want to use in your usekh collar.

  • If you are making an ancient Egyptian costume, you will need a "usekh" collar, also known and spelt as a "wesekh" collar.

Open 100 size 0 safety pins and fill the open ends with seed beads in any colour or pattern that you want, using the same pattern and colours on each one. Close the safety pins. You may need more or fewer safety pins, depending on the size of your neck.

Slip the loop ends (not the ends that open) of the beaded size 0 safety pins onto a necklace chain that fits around the base of your neck. The necklace chain must be close to your neck for the finished project to look like a usekh collar. Connect the clasps on the chain and place it front of you so that the chain forms a circle and the safety pins are pointing outward.

  • Slip the loop ends (not the ends that open) of the beaded size 0 safety pins onto a necklace chain that fits around the base of your neck.

Connect the ends of the size 0 safety pins, the ends that are now pointing outward, with jump rings. A jump ring is a simple metal ring used to connect jewellery components. Open each ring with a pair of pliers and slip another open jump ring onto it. Connect one jump ring to the opening in the end of one safety pin and the other jump ring through the safety pin next to it. Close the jump rings by bringing the two open ends together to meet again. Do this all the way around the outside ends of the safety pins.

Bead the size 1, 2 and 3 safety pins the way you did with the size 0 beads, but you will need to use beads with larger holes, such as E beads, which resemble seed beads in shape but are larger, and other types of beads with holes larger than 1 millimetre.

Attach the open ends of the size 1 safety pins to the jump rings you attached to the ends of the size 0 safety pins. When you are done attaching the size 1 safety pins, attach another line of jump rings to the ends facing outward and attach the size 2 safety pins. Repeat the process to attach the line of size 3 safety pins. Do not connect them in the back where they line up with the necklace clasp -- you need to be able to open the collar to put it on.

Connect the ends of the size 3 beaded safety pins together with a final line of jump rings. Finish the necklace by hanging a few beaded size 0 safety pins loosely from different points at the bottom of the collar.

  • Bead the size 1, 2 and 3 safety pins the way you did with the size 0 beads, but you will need to use beads with larger holes, such as E beads, which resemble seed beads in shape but are larger, and other types of beads with holes larger than 1 millimetre.
  • Connect the ends of the size 3 beaded safety pins together with a final line of jump rings.