A couple of months back, one of the wind chimes at my place, came off and most of the parts were unusable. but the ones that caught my fancy were the aluminium bars that were used in the chimes. Stacking them to together I realised that the four were in graduating sizes and when put together would make a great pendant for a statement necklace….Here’s a quick tutorial on how to use bars from wind chimes into a necklace…A little something for the musically inclined
Materials:
– bars of a wind chime or any aluminium pipes/bars with holes in them.
– a piece of wire (22g-24g)
– A leather cord or any thick cord
– Cord ends , hook/ claps, jump rings
– Pliers and wire cutter
– glue
Procedure:
Note: If you are using aluminium bars from the hardware store, make sure that you have holes drilled in them (all at the same level) to pass wire easily.
1) Stack the bars together the way you want them, making sure that their holes align with each other.
2) Glue them bar to bar (applying very little glue only in the center) The glue should not be visible from both the front as well as the back
3) Let it dry completely. (Depending on the glue it takes any where from 30 mins to 3 hours)
4) Braid three strips of leather or use a ready made cord as I did here. It is not necessary to use leather, any strong cord will do. Lay it flat next to the top end of the bars.
5) Cut a 4″ piece of wire. I choose a contrasting blue colour wire. You could use contrast or tone on tone.
6) pass the wire through the holes and bend it up to the cord.Holding one end firmly in place, wrap the excess around the wire tightly. Repeat the same on the other side.
7) With pliers push the coils up so that they are neat and tidy. The end of the wire should be pushed into the cord, so that it does not poke the wearer.
8) Cut the cord to desired length and add the cord ends.Gluing the ends of the cord before inserting the cord ends helps keep it in place.
9) Attach by pressing the last coil on the spring firmly. Add Jump rings and hooks or clasps.
10) Your Wind chime necklace is done. Wear it with a little smile on your lips.
I hope you found this interesting…
Cheers
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