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How-to: Aluminum Tiered Pendant Light Fixture

April 26, 2012 4 Comments

Metallics are so in this year. I had been looking to buy or make a hip, industrial light fixture for my place for awhile when I came across this tiered brass number at Urban Outfitters. Read on to check out how to make one for yourself for about $15.

Supplies

10 ft. aluminum flashing, 6 in. tall

tin snips

tape measure

a crayon

single hole punch

wire

nail clippers

Directions

Cut your aluminum flashing into 4′, 3′, 2′ and 1′ lengths using the tin snips. I snipped a guide line at the top and bottom of my flashing as shown to help cut straight.

Set aside the 1 foot piece. Mark each end of each piece of aluminum. I made 5 marks, 1 inch apart with crayon. Punch holes at each marker using a paper punch (yep, a paper punch on metal!). I was only able to punch about half way through the metal. Then, I used a nail clipper to bend back the metal and flattened it the rest of the way with my thumb. Check it out:

Next, cut four short lengths of wire. Thread the wire like twist ties through every two adjacent holes to create a loop with your aluminum flashing piece.

Punch three evenly-spaced holes along the top of each loop using the hole punch/nail clipper technique above.

Thread a long piece of wire through each of these new holes and hang them as shown. The hardest part is is getting them to hang level. I’m going to put three i-hooks in the ceiling around a built-in light fixture in my apartment to install this in my house. I can’t wait!

 

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: aluminum flashing, diy, home decor, light fixture, tin snips, urban outfitters

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Jennifer Davey

    April 30, 2013 at 7:23 pm

    Hi Heidi,
    A Crop-a-dile makes quick work of punching through tin, chip board and other thick items. you will get a nice clean hole and can save your nail clippers for your fingers. :)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      April 30, 2013 at 10:30 pm

      Yeah- I made that before I learned about the cropadile! Thanks, lady :)

      Reply
  2. will

    November 4, 2013 at 8:24 pm

    Aluminum flashing is an awesome material for a lot of different projects. As a long-term fan of the stuff, I have some additional advice to offer about it:

    a. Like any other thin-gauge sheet metal, Aluminum flashing has EXTREMELY sharp and slightly-serrated edges when cut with anything but a wide-mouthed, industrial-grade, bench-or-floor-mounted shear. BE CAREFUL! Chain mail and a falconer’s gauntlet wouldn’t really be overkill here.

    b. If you want to cut nice straight lines in your flashing, just use a steel ruler as a straight edge and score the aluminum with any ol’ razor knife – after a few firm passes with a dull razor, flashing snaps quickly and easily. A fresh razor blade will work as well, of course, but dull is better because the Aluminum will make it an old one in approximately 5 seconds.

    c. A 1/16″ drill bit makes holes in Aluminum flashing like nobody’s business (and if you’re a crafter who’s not comfortable using a power drill, you might not want to be messing around with those aforementioned sharp edges anyhow.)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      November 4, 2013 at 8:34 pm

      Thank you! That project was my first ever using aluminum flashing- your tips will be really helpful for my next one :)

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you add a stitch in between two columns of stitches that leans to the left. Similar to an M1L, LLIs allow you to increase nearly invisibly.
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To learn more about lifted increases, including when to use them and how they differ from Make 1s, head to the 🔗 in my profle. 
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Have you ever used lifted increases? I used M1’s almost exclusively for a long time when I needed to inc between stitches, but when I designed the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern, I needed something that would allow me to increase a lot near my cast on, and M1’s resulted in edge curling. The more you know! 🌈 
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Yarn: @lionbrandyarn Wool Ease from my Stash / Neddles: @boyeyarncrafts - Just remembered these are the needles I learned to knit on at age 8. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #learntoknit #howtoknit #sweaterknitting #knitinspiration #knittersofinstagram #liftedincreases
Last week I got to hang out with my family & helpe Last week I got to hang out with my family & helped babysit my red-headed niece and nephew. So here’s some plane knitting, and a couple pictures (shared with permission) of my babysitting adventures.
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Lessons learned: 1️⃣ Trying to knit around 2 toddlers, 2 cats & 2 large dogs is pretty hard. 2️⃣ I learned during water color time that pink and black make “colorful black.” 🩷🖤 3️⃣ Toddlers do NOT care about your rainbow sorting of their toys. 4️⃣ Toddlers are very good at finding mischief in a very short amount of time, what a surprise. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #placesyoucanknit #knitters #knitinpublic #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration
Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are both so useful for garment knitting! But for me, weaving in ends can feel like a chore while the latter feels like I’ve successfully done magic. 🧙🏻‍♀️ Does anybody else run into this phenomenon? Are you the opposite? Any theories as to why they feel different? 
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In this video, I’m finishing my brand new Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 I’m working with @universal_yarn Uni Merino & the pattern is available at the 🔗 in my b1o. 
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#handsoccupied #intarsiaflowerpillow #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #knitting #colorwork #knitpillow #knittinginspiration #knittersofinstagram
I independently released a knitting pattern today, I independently released a knitting pattern today, my first in 5 years! The Intarsia Flower Pillow is a 16” (40cm) round pillow knit with an intentional combination of intarsia, stockinette, garter and seed stitch. This pillow has everything you need to level up your intarsia technique while also knitting something you can use. 
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This pillow allows you to practice knitting intarsia while simultaneously increasing and decreasing. The Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern was designed to be a little knit-nerdy for learning and a little cute, arming you with many of the skills you'd need to knit an intarsia sweater. 
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Intarsia Flower Pillow is available in the Hands Occupied Sh0p and on @hi.ravelry . You can read more about the pattern on the bl0g, the🔗 are where you’d think.
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YARN: @universal_yarn Uni Merino in Antiquity, Fjord and Conch / NEEDLES: US 2 (2.75 mm) / PATTERN: Intarsia Flower Pillow by Heidi Gustad
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