Jeans Jewelry Design

You've seen the stars wearing them, or maybe you've seen them on the catwalk in fashion shows - jewelry you can wear on your jeans. Some are extremely ornate pieces of chain and dangle jewelry items that cost a fortune if you try to buy them from the designers creating them. But, why do you need some other designer, when you could be that person and make your own? Now you can. 

Items Needed

• Beading Wire
• At least 36 inches of Jewelry Chain
• Two Large Lobster Claw Clasps
• 42 inches of Beading Wire
• Eight Crimping Beads
• Eight Jump Rings or Split Rings
• Two Large Sized Jump Rings or Split Rings
• Four Decorative Charms
• An Assortment of Metal, Glass, Wood and Acrylic Beads to Decorate

• Wire Cutters
• Jewelry Pliers
• Bead Crimping Tool

You need to have a surface where you can lay charms and beads where they will not roll away. If you do not have a beading table, you can use a towel to create this surface.

When it comes to the hanging chains, you can make as many or few as you would like. A good way to know what length is best for you is to put a pair of jeans on and drape the jewelry chain from one loop to the other, when you see the length you would like, mark it and cut the chain at that point. If you want more than one chain drape, you will want to make the others at least three inches shorter or longer than each other so they will drape at different levels and look better. The limit is only in how many pieces of chain you have or want to cut.

Once you have cut all the pieces of chain you want, hook them together with either a jump ring or a split ring through the final link in each end. If you are using a jump ring, gently open it just far enough to hook the chain pieces on to it. If using a split ring, use a split ring tool or your fingernail to open the ring enough to slide the chain to the ring. If you are using multiple chains, make sure to attach them to the jump ring from shortest to longest chain on each side. Before you close the jump rings, lay the pieces out to make sure there are no tangles in the chains and that they create a smooth draping jewelry display.

Now we are going to create dangles for each end of the jeans jewelry to give them even more personality. First lay out four lines of beds that are the lengths you would like your dangles to be on the beading surface or towel. It's always advised to lay the design out before stringing it to make sure you will like the final display and that they will lay well together.

Remember when these strands of beads and charms put together they will be laying on top of one another or side by side. If you want all your charms to show all the time, you need to make varying lengths. In addition, we recommend not using more than 2-3 dangles, as they will start getting caught up in the chains.

Generally, you want to keep these dangles 9 inches long or shorter (we would recommend a 6 inch and 8 inch dangle on each side). They will whip around when you are walking, so you don't want to make them too long, because they will become annoying over time.

Once you have your beads in order, it's time to string them.

1. Cut the wire to the desired length plus three inches (for an 8-inch dangle, cut 11 inches of wire).
2. Thread a crimping bead and a charm onto the wire.
3. Loop the beading wire through the hole in the charm and back up through the crimping bead.
4. Using your crimping tool, tighten the crimping bead.
5. Trim the excess wire.
6. Thread your bead design onto the rest of the wire. Stop 1-1/2 inches from the top.
7. Add a crimping bead, then a split ring.
8. Loop the wire through the split ring and back through the crimping bead.
9. Using your crimping tool, tighten the crimping bead.
10. Cut off any excess beading wire.
11. Make all the dangles this way.

Next, we need to put all the pieces together.

Lay all the items out the way they are going to look when being worn. That means the chains should be draped across your work surface and the dangles that are going to be at each end, sitting in place of where they would hang.

1. On one side, loop the split ring tops of all of your dangles and the chain together through one of the larger jump rings or split rings.
2. Repeat for the second side.
3. Make sure it is hanging right. Hold the piece up from the two larger jump or split rings. If it doesn't look right, reposition the pieces until the jewelry will drape the way you want it to.
4. Now attach the jump ring to the bottom loop on the lobster clasp.
5. Clip one clasp on each loop of your jeans and you're ready to go.