Wednesday 15 March 2017

SCARF PENDANT

On the 26th March it's Mothering Sunday and it's always
nice to be able to create something as a gift. You can put
so much more into it - a personal touch, your time and effort,
to make something that is totally unique!

A handmade card also goes down well, or a bunch of Spring
flowers but, why not have a go at creating a ...
SCARF PENDANT?

Basically, you can dangle anything off a scarf to accessorize an
outfit. The type of scarf that suits this best, is a long skinny one.
Over the years, I have made hundreds of different designs,
from flowers, butterflies, hearts etc... and here below, are just a few
to tickle your fancy!

If you don't know where to start, you can always use the pattern
on the scarf as your starting point:






















Or, just pick out the colours, to make it blend:






















With plain scarves, it's easy!






















And if you have any statement beads lying around, why
not use them!






















If you already have my 'How to Make Hammered Wire Jewellery'
Book, you will recognise this design from pages 34-37.






















But really, anything goes!






















It's a wonderful gift for scarf wearers and a great way of
jazzing up a plain outfit!






















Would you like to see some more ... ?






















The picture below isn't great, but I do love a 'wiggle'!






















I also love to make 'Fleafs' (a mixture of a 'feather' and a 'leaf'!).


So, if you're hungry to make one, just follow along with this
FLOWER version, or suspend anything you wish, to make it
special and unique!

STEP 1













Use a mandrel that will take the thickness of your scarf. Wrap 1mm wire
tightly around to create a coil of at least 10-12 complete circles.

STEP 2



















Remove the coil from the mandrel and create links on each cut
end. (I used my 6mm bail-making mandrels to form the links.)

STEP 3






















Form spirals on each side of the coil, making sure that they
end up adjacent (on the same plane and opposite) to each other.

STEP 4














Next, to make the 'hanger' on which to suspend the pendant from the
coil, cut around 6" (15cm) of 1mm wire and form a loop at the centre
of the length.

STEP 5





















Use your pliers to create spirals on each side ...

STEP 6




















Check that the spirals of both units match up, top and bottom and
attach together with jump rings. Now you can suspend any pendant
off the central loop!

STEP 7
FLOWER PENDANT














To create the 'flower' pendant design, I used my flat nosed pliers to
create 3 rows of 7 angular 'petals'.

STEP 8

















Stretch each of the units around to form a circular 'flower'
shape and secure by threading the cut end into and around
the first link.

STEP 9






















Stack the petal units, on top of each other, and using 0.4mm fine
wire, bind them all together at the centre.

STEP 10






















If you have left over wires, bring them to the back of the
flower, and twist together ...

STEP 11





















Spiral the twisted wire into the centre back of the flower and
flatten.

STEP 12





















To create the central area of the flower, you can always wire in a feature
bead or a selection of beads, OR create a wire pom-pom! This can
be made by coiling (I used the Gizmo) 2 x 3cm coils of 0.4mm wire.

STEP 13

Stretch the coils out, leaving some curly-wurlyness! Take one of
the stretch coils (usually the darker in colour) and wrap it around
(like string or wool) to form a ball.

STEP 14














Wrap the second stretched-out coil around the wire ball, pushing
it into the wire beneath to form a two-tone pom-pom.

STEP 15


















Attach some 0.4mm wire to the base of the pom-pom and
connect it to the centre of the flower frame. Spiral any left-over
projecting wires at the back of the unit (as in Step 11).

STEP 16


















As a finishing touch to the back, you could cut out a small
circle of felt (or, leather/suede fabric) and glue to the back
to hide all the 'workings'. I've also glued a flat-back diamante
for some extra sparkle!

STEP 17






















Finally suspend the flower from the pendant scarf slide and
it's ready to wear, or to be given as a gift!

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * .* . * . * . *

I hope that you enjoy this project and for MORE wirework inspiration,
please do watch my 2 shows on CREATE and CRAFT TV on 
Tuesday 21st March at midday and 4pm!
(and it's on 7-day catch-up online if you miss it!)
☺HAPPY WIREWORKING!☺