“Vertical stripes will make you look thinner, horizontal will make you look broader. But checks will make you look fat” or so goes a popular fashion myth. Convention states that checks are casual, childish and unsuitable for elegant attire. But I beg to differ. I have a cylindrical body type and a broad build, but I wear a lot of checks. They break the monotony in my otherwise solid wardrobe of clothes. While stripes (in a fitted garment) can play an optical illusion on the viewer eyes, making them see the wearable as intriguing, checks can create playful effects too. But if you are someone who is skeptical about wear checked clothing, Checkered fabric necklaces as a safe bet. They add colour and flair to your look. They can help transform your solid (boring) clothes into a whimsical attire.
In post, I am going to show you some checkered fabric jewellery starting from achromatic to tetradic colour scheme to suit different tastes.
Checkered pompoms
This is an asymmetrical beaded necklace with a silk cord and a fabric pendant. To brighten the black, white and gray fabric, I have added pompoms in fuchsia pink, green and yellow. I love how this necklace is a great over the shirt piece. You can wear it on a collared white shirt with the beads tucked under your colour. This way, just a bit of colour will pop on your shirt, making your outfit a white shirt and black skirt/trousers a fashionable one. This necklace is available for sale.
Th eye of the peacock
While I did not sign up for Art elements October challenge reveal based on “eyes”, I made a piece. The eye of the peacock is a common motif in traditional textiles of Tamil Nadu. Referred to as Mayil Kann (eye of the peacock) is a motif used on border of dhotis. It is a diamond with a dot in the center. The diamond is made of a dotted line as well. You can see the border in the Topaz and emerald necklace in the colours of Navaratri as jewellery post. The border is traditionally made on a maroon or dark green base with yellow or gold thread. However, in this necklace I have interpreted the motif as an embroidered mirror focal. The peacocks woven on the fabric base adds to the story.
Motifs like the “eye” and components such as cowries shells and mirror are used to repel the evil eye. They are said to turn away negative energies and bring about a sense of well being to the wearer. You can learn more about cowrie shells here and the usage of mirrors and bird motifs in jewellery here. The necklace has multicoloured beads of agate and glass at the request of a client. But the piece is available for sale as has not completed the transaction.
The Emerald Hymn
The emerald hymn necklace is a bead and cord necklace in emerald green with a multicolour check fabric pendant. The charms are little mandalas; hence the word hymn in the title of this piece. The various colours such as green, yellow, pink, purple and blue make it easy to be worn with several colours such as white, off-white, yellow, black, olive, green and pink. This versatile necklace is available for sale. Beaded earrings or those with the mandala charms can be made on request.
Those are the the three Checkered fabric necklaces that I want to talk about today. Stay tuned for posts on more fabric necklaces pieces that I made recently. Until then, tell me if you like checks and wear them as clothes, accessories or jewellery.
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