Happy New Year!
New Year, fresh start and new resolutions…I’m happy to say that I’ve finally completed my Heatherwick Buttons necklace. For anyone who wants to give it a go, the pattern is now available on here. As promised though, the story behind the design…If you missed part 1 of this saga, then you can find it here, but if not, then here’s the ending!
When it came to designing this necklace, I thought I would try and express something of the ideas that had come to me when looking round the Heatherwick exhibition that inspired the idea. I have always found that I never have just the right piece of jewellery…depending on the neckline, I find that my existing collection (huge though it is) is either too short or too long or too plain or too fancy, so I end up making a new piece for virtually every outfit! I thought it would be rather good to make a necklace that I can change around to suit different outfits. The colouring of the buttons incorporates shades that I frequently wear and has a great range of colours as well. I chose delica beads to complement the buttons and created a design that would allow me to link different elements to create different lengths and styles of necklace. Inspired by Heatherwick’s approach to materials, I used the buttons to do exactly the job for which they are designed – fasten elements together. I used Herringbone stitch to give me the flexibility I was after and the right kind of weight and look, so it was perfectly suited to purpose.
Of course, all designs are a little experimental until made up in practise, but this one has worked out to give me a very flexible necklace or necklace and bracelet combination. By linking different components in different ways, I can create all sorts of different styles… The basic necklace can be worn as a choker with the button clasp as a focal point at the front. Alternatively the clasp can be worn at the back and other buttons used to create the focal points anywhere along the necklace. The buttons can be strung together to make chain to drape, or attached singly leaving the tubular sections to dangle as ropes.
If this is a pattern you fancy trying out, then you can play around with the size of buttons, the number of links and the number of buttons, not to mention the endless colour combinations! So here’s to a bit of inspiration to start 2013!
