For those of you who are attracted to sparkly jewellery and love a statement necklace how about designing your own stand out piece using vintage brooches which can be found in charity shops. You can use a broken brooch too that is beyond repair which is a great way to recycle and upcycle, or like here, use perfect ones designed in a way that they can adorn your lapel again at a later date.
MATERIALS USED:
- A selection of vintage brooches and maybe clip on earrings
- A piece of flesh coloured felt
- A chain necklace
- 2 split ring hoops
EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
- Jewellery pliers
- Scissors
- Pen
- Needle and thread
- Jewellery wire
- Glue gun and glue (only needed if using broken brooches)
HOW TO MAKE THIS PROJECT
Step 1: Lay the felt onto a flat surface and start to position the jewellery into a design that would work for your necklace.
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There is no right or wrong for this stage – I quite like to create something that is not perfectly symmetrical but it does need to be in a curved shape.
Step 2: When you are happy with your design, draw around the whole collection using the pen, marking the felt. Cut this out.
Step 3: If using brooches with working pins, attach the brooches to the felt. If using broken brooches, you will need to attach using a glue gun and hot glue, then wait to dry.
Step 4: Once they are fully in place, you may need to trim the felt so that none can be seen.
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You may want to fill any gaps with smaller buttons or clip on earrings which will need to be glued into position
Step 5: To make the brooches more secure, sew the pins to the felt. As no glue is being used, you can now reuse the brooches again.
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You may choose to glue another piece of felt to the back of it to cover all the stitching
Step 6: You now need to attach a ring to each side of the brooch design. Split rings are easier to attach using the plyers, but you can use traditional jewellery rings too. I attached one ring to a hole in the end of the pin which was easy to do but the other side did not have a natural place to attach it. If this is the case, create a loop on the pin with a short piece of jewellery wire and attach the split ring to it.
Step 7: Take the chain necklace and fasten it at the clasp. I used one that I already had, but you can buy lengths of chain at craft shops. Using the jewellery pliers, cut the chain at the half way point.
Step 8: Position the last ring to each split ring and fasten using the flyers.
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You could also use ribbons instead of chain for a different look for your brooch necklace.
The great thing about this project is that when you go to that special party, no other guest will have a brooch necklace! And I bet everyone asks where you got it from!
This is my article for October’s Take A Break Magazine. If you liked it do please share on Pinterest.
