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How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace

July 1, 2013 4 Comments

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Independence Day is Thursday, and if you’re on the lookout for a quick DIY accessory, this project is definitely it. It makes use of plexiglass, which is an awesome crafting material, particularly for easy jewelry projects.

Supplies

tthin acrylic sheet, a.k.a. plexiglass (like this)
X-acto knife
ruler
jewelry chain
2 jewelry pliers
small jump rings (I used 7mm)
hole punching tool (The crop-a-idle is my go-to.)
permanent marker
red, white & blue acrylic paint
paint brush
toothpick (optional)
jewelry clasp

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Directions

Begin by scoring your plexiglass with an x-acto knife, creating a 3.375 (3 and 3/8) by 1.75 inch rectangle. These measurements are approximately correct to keep the flag’s proportions accurate..

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Bend your plexiglass along the scoring lines, and it will snap cleanly apart where scored. Cool, right? :)

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Draw a dot in the top two corners of your acrylic rectangle, approximately the same distance in from each corner. Using a punching tool, punch a hole in each dot’s location.

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Paint a blue rectangle in the upper left of your acrylic rectangle. Then, paint your red stripes, being careful not to mix the two paint colors where they meet on the flag.

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

When that’s dry, paint your small “stars” using white paint and, if you’ve got it on hand, a tiny paint brush or toothpick. Let dry.

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Attach your jewelry closure to your necklace chain either with your jewelry pliers and a jump ring, or by opening a link in the chain, attaching the closure, and closing it.

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Close your closure, forming your necklace into a closed circle. Holding the necklace by its clasp, find the exact center of the chain. Break the chain at its center point so it looks like this:

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Attach your finished, dry flag pendant to the chain using two jewelry pliers and two jump rings. The best way to open a jump ring is pictured below, and to close it, you bend it back using exactly the opposite motion used to open it.

How to open a jump ring - HandsOccupied.com

That’s it! This pendant necklace is quite affordable to make, and the finished result is really fun – perfect for the Fourth!

How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace - HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: Fourth of July, How-to Tagged With: accessories, crafts, diy, flag, fourth of july, independence day, jewelry, patriotic, pendant

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. SaveOn

    July 1, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Hi Heidi!

    We absolutely love your blog, but we especially loved this post! These necklaces look so cute yet so simple to make! We love your idea so much that we featured it on our own blog: http://bit.ly/1lO5QAE

    Reply
    • Heidi

      July 1, 2014 at 10:04 am

      Why thanks! It looks like I’m in good company! :)

      Reply
  2. Cindy deRosier

    October 31, 2016 at 6:20 pm

    I’m the Editor of Fun Family Crafts and wanted to let you know that we have featured your flag necklace! You can see it here:

    http://funfamilycrafts.com/painted-acrylic-flag-necklace/

    If you have other kid-friendly craft tutorials, we’d love for you to submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can get one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a great project idea!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      November 3, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      Thanks for the feature!

      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), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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