Chunky Fabric Chain! *With Tute!*

[FunnyFace]

It's been quite a long while since I posted! Boy did I take my own sweet time with this. It was started months ago, but you know me, shiny things distract me.
Anyway I've wanted a chunky chain necklace for sometime, but never found one I had to have. I don't like the plastic or metal ones I see around cause I can't stand the idea of dancing at clubs with something heavy around my neck. More than that, I wanna see the ton of scrap fabrics I have put to good use. So this is what I ended up with. They're all hand-stitched and stuffed with hobby fill for that extra chunkiness. So really, it's like a plush necklace.









I can't wait to make more plush jewelry. I got half a metre of a disco gold fabric that would be great for snake bracelets and more necklaces. Perfect for Christmas parties!
Thanks for looking, and happy holidays!

[zkatom]

That is sooo cool!   I love it!! 

[Hollycost]

Awesome. Ive never seen anything like this.

[Uniqueworn]

wow! that is so cute and creative and awesome AND inspirational! way to start a trend, for real.

[threehang]

I LOVE THIS. I'm hitting This Rocks! I was looking for a project to help destash my scraps! I'm thinking this will inspire me in countless ways :]

[veggie head 4 life]

this is sweet! would you mind a brief how to? i have some bright yellow velour that begs to become a necklace like this.

btw...this rocks!

[threehang]

and i'm going to have to second the it's-totally-cool-if-you-say-no-request for a how-to!

[Rascalrose]

No doubt ... this rocks.  Driving my eyes crazy trying to find a seam and figure out how you connected the links! 

[roxybadoxy]

freaking genius!!! that is really amazing what you did. i like it lots!

[FunnyFace]

Thanks for the lovely comments, you've all made my day!

As for a how-to, i'd be more than happy to clue you in. It's a simple but somewhat laborious process. I just cut the rough shape of the chain through two layers of the same fabric, and used a blanket stitch to sew both the inner 'hole' edges and outer edges together. I sew the edges of the inner 'hole' first before moving on to the outer edge. Leave an opening in the outer edge for stuffing (I find it easier to stuff as I stitch). This is chain link A.



Then I cut another chain through two layers of another fabric and did the same thing. But this time, you cut through  the middle of the chain only on the bottom. This is how I am able to connect the links, every alternate link was cut through the middle, like a metal chain link is. This is Chain link B.



After that it's just a matter of connecting chain link B to A and securing the link by stitching the open ends of B through A. To conceal the not so pretty way the B-link is connected, I stitched down the top right corner of link A in place. That's why you can't see from the pictures how the links are connected, the stitches are covered and you can see them on the back.




Finally I made a loop by stitching a length of ribbon from one end of the chain to the other.

Does that make sense to you?

At first I tried to sew the fabric chain pattern right sides together and then turning it inside out before stuffing, the usual plush method. But because they are rather small and tubular (mine are 1.5" by 1") , it made the turning inside out a real bitch (I nearly stabbed my hand with a seam ripper), stuffing wouldn't have been made easier either. Unless you were making an over the top piece with massive chains I'm sure you could machine stitch and turn it inside out easily.

There's probably easier, less time-consuming ways to do this, like knitting the chain links if you know how to knit. If you figure anything out by all means do share! I hope this helps