Kicking it with the curb chain trend proved to be a "Famille" à faire!
With punk's sartorial vitriol back in vogue and curb chains a staple season accessory I decided to combine the two and DIY the Pyramid Bow Necklace by Bijoux De Famille.
You will need
Difficulty
Pretty Easy
My gut instincts tell me I'd be wrong in listing this in the "Super Easy" category but I really can't think of anything too challenging in this one. There is one step that some people may find fiddly but, trust me, this one's nowhere near as hard as it looks.
Time
Mine took an hour and a quarter.
Total Cost
The cost varies a lot. I paid about £18 in the name of convenience but if you were to get the same fabric and cuff as I did on Ebay (which came to £ 4.50), as well as the fabric paint (about £3 depending on where you go), diamantés (priced at £2 with postage and packing included) and a chain (apparently priced at £1, if you're prepared to wait a few weeks for the delivery - I wasn't!) you can wangle the full ingredient list for just over a tenner.
Even if you find yourself forking out £20 it's still less than a tenth of the cost of the original, which is priced at £252!
Chain DIY action
Cut a rectangle measuring about 6 x 15cm out of your newspaper print fabric.
If you do manage to find some red newspaper print fabric I'd like to first of all offer you my hearty congratulations and secondly ask where you got yours from. Failing that, simply paint yours red with a thin coat of fabric paint, like I did.
Meanwhile, with your cuff, remove all of your pyramid studs except a square area of nine, ideally near the middle.
Cut away the excess material on either side of the square so that there is enough for both sides to overlap when folded inwards but so much that it goes over the edge.
Taking a small length of wire, thread it through the top of your new cuff, bend it back on itself so that it covers the top and bend each end upwards when it's halfway across. You should have two wires in the middle. Secure them in place by twisting them together with your pliers. Thread your wire through the middle link on your chain, bend the end into a loop and secure it with a final twist.
If your fabric needs stiffening, use clear car lacquer like I did - a fixative which, despite the name and intended purpose, is a fail-safe fixer I can't recommend enough.
Slot your fabric through the cuff and, making sure you've got the same amount on each side, secure it in place across the top with your gemstone glue.
Glue your diamantés along the edge and work the look!
