Upcycling Expert - Annie Temmink

Annie Temmink

Annie completed her BA in sculpture and math from Davidson College in North Carolina, and received a Thomas J Watson Foundation Fellowship to travel independently for twelve months studying fashion and textiles.  From Indonesia to Japan, India to Uganda and Tanzania, she worked with village women, dove through sprawling second-hand markets and explored fashion in the world’s biggest cities and smallest towns.  The scope of her studies took her from preparing plants for organic dyes to exploring the factories that produce clothing for brand name stores.

Much of Annie’s inspiration comes from common or unwanted materials whose wide availability sparked her interest in recycling materials six years ago. Now she transforms repurposed clothing into sculpture for solo exhibitions and larger installations. Her work catches attention including that of trend forecasting companies in New York and private collectors on the east coast. Annie looks forward to blogging about her experiences and showing you how to create fabulous projects (clothing, jewelry and beyond) with materials from Goodwill.

Annie currently designs and makes clothing and accessories (and dances like-a-fool) in Charlottesville, Virginia. To learn more and to see Annie's projects visit: www.artemmink.com

How to Make a Leather Necklace

Posted by Jamie Klinger-Krebs on Sep 10, 2013 4:32:00 PM

leather necklaceThis season I’ve noticed more and more leather clothing and leather accents hitting store shelves. Particularly with artists like Rhianna showing off more edgy styles, leather accents are becoming more and more mainstream.  I find that leather can be a fun material to combine with your weekend wardrobe to give it a little annie in milwaukeeextra intrigue and a little extra sharpness. Even better, your local Goodwill store is a great source for inexpensive leather and suede in fun colors. You’ll find leather pants, skirts, dresses and more, which you might be lucky enough to wear as-is, but which can also be used for projects like the necklace I’ll show you in this post. Even if you are not sure you can pull off a look like this one, Halloween is coming up, and leather can be a fun addition to your costume this year!

What you’ll need:

-Thin leather from Goodwill and a small piece of thicker leather for structure

-Chain from jewelry found at Goodwill, optional

-Cotton/batting/stuffing material

-5 minute epoxy

-Felt rounds, bamboo cut into short cylinders, small dowel pieces or anything cylindrical and light weight that you can use for the base of the cones

coupling link-Fuel tubing (3/4in is my preference, found at a hardware store, and enough to go around your neck at a comfortable length) or your favorite cording

- Copper coupling link (hardware store)

If you are using leather clothing, first cut the seams so that you will have flat, larger pieces of leather to work with. Then start near one of the edges and cut out triangles whose base is the same circumference as the circular bases you are using (I used cast-off industrial felt rounds, but you can use whatever you’ve got available to you).  You will need 9 or 11 triangles for this piece.

triangles
 1. Sew   2. Stuff  3. Insert Base

After you cut out the triangles, fold them in half so the right sides are together. Stitch along the red dotted line and trim very close to this line after sewing. 

Turn the triangle right side out, stuff with batting or cotton balls, and insert your base. Use a little bit of glue to secure the leather to the felt base.

holesAfter making all of your triangles, cut out a diamond shape that will be the base of your necklace. Trace each cone onto the base and cut out holes that are slightly smaller than each cone.  

cones2Next use epoxy or leather glue to secure the cones to the base leather (pull cones through holes from the backside of the base so there is some leather overlapping to make the joint.

At this point, consider adding contrasting strips of leather, rhinestones, or anything else you might find to add contrast and interest to your necklace.

interfacingNext cut out a piece of stiff felt, heavy weight interfacing or stiff leather to use as a backing for the base of the necklace. It should be 1/8 -1/4in smaller than the base. Secure to the base with epoxy.

conesCut another piece of leather that will be the backing for your base, with a 2-2 1/2 in rectangular top. Stitch this to the base, just around the outside edge (so you are stiching the leather together, but not catching the thicker insert). Then stitch down the top rectangle to make a loop that you can slip over the fuel hose.

necklaceTo finish off the fuel hose you can epoxy one side of a coupling link to the end of the tubing (insert about ¼ in into the link).  Make sure you select the right size for a tight fit and then just insert the other side of the tubing to close. If you want a more secure connection, epoxy both sides to make a complete loop that you can slip over your head (not adjustable). 

Then you are done and ready to wear your new plush leather necklace. If you like, you can also cut small slits in the tubing and epoxy sections of chain into these slits, or use other decortive elements to contrast with your spikes. Experiment and see what you come up with. 

 

Topics: upcycle, Upcycling, Annie Temmink