DIY PROJECT #3: The Multi-Purpose Accessory

I like the kind of accessory that I can make mindlessly while couch-potato-ing and watching my usual TV shows. That's exactly the kind of effort needed for this multi-purpose accessory:

It's a belt...

It's a necklace...

It's whatever you want it to be.

Pretty neat eh? And so easy. The key to the success of this project is the right materials and some helpful tips. 

Here's the low-down on materials needed:

• chain (enough to wrap twice around your waist - I used 1.5 yards)
• faux suede leather cord (I used white - great for the summer!)
• a "hook and eye" buckle 
• E6000 glue
• pliers
• two jump rings

I randomly found the great chain (which has a tinge of a silver finishing to it, and just the right shade of gold) in this hole-in-the-wall buttons and fabric store on Queen street. I wasn't even looking to make a belt. But by chance I stumbled upon some hook and eye buckles that seemed to be tossed aside in the store because they were so random and may have been the last of the stock. So I snatched them up for a buck each (heck yeah to my haggling skills). 

To ensure that this accessory is made smoothly and with ease, I hope you take some of my advice about the process in the steps below- sometimes I toss aside projects just 'cause it's time-consuming. You don't want that! I completed the project in 30 minutes while watching Master Chef. I LOVE Christine. What an amazing woman - kicking butt even when she's got such a disadvantage.

Step 1: Thread your suede cord through the chain following the steady motion of under-over, under-over. *Tip: The key to this being completed quickly is how you hold your chain while threading. You want to keep the chain TAUT so that you don't accidently thread the cord in through the wrong hole or through the wrong way. That just kills time because then you have to pull the chain out and it slows you down.

 
So use your index and middle fingers of your left hand like chopsticks to pull the chain upwards, and your ring finger and thumb to pinch and pull the chain downwards. This will give you great control. Use your right hand to thread. 

Step 2: Once you're done threading, glue the ends of the cord down and snip away the excess. 

Step 3: Take your pliers and open up two jump rings. Hook the jump rings through the loops on either end of your buckles. Close the rings around the ends of the chains and then use your pliers to close them up again. All done.

What?! Three steps? That's right.