Necklace of Barberries and Plantain-Stalk
Fig.117 - Make the earring in this way
Plantain is very useful in making jewelry because you can use the stalk as well as the seed-pods.
[Fig. 115] is a necklace made of the plantain-stalk cut in short pieces, all the same length, and the coral-red berries of the barberry-bush. The crooked branches of the barberry-bush grow very close together and are covered with thorns which stand out straight and sharp like pins. That is why it is so often used for hedges; nothing can get through it without being terribly scratched. From the branches the red berries hang down like coral drops. [Fig. 116] shows the way they grow. To make this necklace, string first a piece of the plantain-stalk, pushing the needle through lengthwise, then string a barberry and again a piece of the green stalk; after that a barberry. Keep on in this way until the necklace is as long as you want it.
The berries are exceedingly pretty strung as you see them, hanging down in their natural way, and really, you cannot string them any other way. The upper part of the berry is the only part through which you can pass your needle because of the large, hard seed which fills the space below.