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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 & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and 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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How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
Peg boards and craft room organization go together Peg boards and craft room organization go together like peanut butter and jelly. So, as you can see, do latch hook tools and screwdriver organizers! 🪛 
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I think this trick translates to any tool with a thick handle, so leather working tools, punch needles, print making tools, etc. should work! What other tools am I, a needlecrafter, blanking on right now? 
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#craftorganization #handsoccupied #latchhook #latchhooking
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