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Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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How-to: Painted Acrylic Flag Necklace

July 1, 2013 6 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 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. 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

Trackbacks

  1. 17 Last-Minute Amazing Decorations to Make for the 4th of July | Crafttuts+ says:
    July 3, 2013 at 8:53 am

    […] Paint an Acrylic Flag Necklace […]

    Reply
  2. 12 Ways to Save On the Fourth of July | SaveOn Blog says:
    June 30, 2014 at 2:12 pm

    […] On the lookout for a quick DIY accessory? Create your own American flag necklace. […]

    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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Craft book author & pattern designer ❤️💛💙
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Please email for pattern support. 🧶

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
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
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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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
Pegboard storage is my favorite for craft supplies Pegboard storage is my favorite for craft supplies, so getting a few hung in my new studio has been a priority. Here’s my first attempt. 🔨 
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Details: This pegboard panel is for organizing my knitting needles, latch hook tools, sewing thread, etc. It doesn’t need to hold much weight, so I didn’t anchor this into a stud - just used basic drywall anchors. I’ve also got a set of two 2’x4’ panels for another spot in my studio, and those will need a stud/more than 3 drywall anchors. Wish me luck! 
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[description: video features a woman hanging a panel of pegboard using a square dowel and drill]
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