Scrabble Tile Phrase Necklace From Claireabellemakes

I love my new "Knit" Scrabble tile necklace from Claireabellemakes! Check out her other phrase necklaces and Scrabble accessories in her Etsy Shop- with phrases such as "Sew", "Make", "YOLO" and "Cake" they would make ideal gifts. Thanks Claire!

A return to necklace making...

I've spent today in the studio working on some new necklaces which will have fabric embellishment. I haven't made any necklaces for a while because I've been mainly focusing on the brooches, but I thought it would be good to include a couple that tie in with the new collection.

The basic necklace is made from a strip of knit that I make on my knitting machine and then stitch around ribbon strung wooden beads. These necklaces were my starting point in jewellery making, having organically developed from their origins as parts of huge conceptual knitted hanging pieces (I will make a post on those at a later date, all will be revealed!) and they are something I like to return to and continue to adapt in different ways. Here is the navy one taking shape!

Stitching the knit around ribbon strung wooden beads

The base necklace ready to go, alongside the brooch that I would like it to match

I've spent the evening cutting out hundreds of tiny circles of  scrap fabric!

I coat the fabric "sequins" in fabric stiffener to prevent fraying

I'll hand stitch the fabric pieces onto the necklace over the weekend and post a pic of the results!

My other train of thought

I'd like to share with you some previous work to give some background to my working process.

I love to have the freedom to develop ideas without the constraints of making a functional piece and it is mostly through working in this way that the ideas for my jewellery are formed and developed.

"Curiosity"

As you will know by now, my obsessions are knitting and felting and my main objective through my work is to explore the possibilities of these crafts and subvert wool as much as I can! For my last main big project "Curiosity" I was lucky enough to have a month long residency in the Benham Gallery at Cuckoo Farm Studios, which was essentially an exploration into the sculptural and textural possibilities of knit and felt. This subject is something I want to continue to return to in order to explore the infinite possibilities surrounding this subject and I hope that one day I will have the time and the organisational skills (!) to work the two strands of my work, being the conceptual pieces and jewellery, side by side. Ultimately, in everything I make I want to ensure that there is integrity in the thought processes behind the pieces.

I made this piece from two separate knitted tubes and Shibori felting experiments.


The bobbles run all the way through the middle of the piece! The pieces were hung from the ceiling using invisible thread, creating an ethereal presentation.





Many visitors to the exhibition said the pieces reminded them of sea creatures

Knit and crochet piece- I added my Crocheted strings by hooking them into the knitting machine needles when constructing the tube 

Once I get the Gallery section of my site up and running I can share more, but for now I hope this gives you some insight into how my work and my thoughts develop!