Showing posts with label collar clips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collar clips. Show all posts

Tuesday 27 November 2012

DIY Sweater/Collar Clips Tutorial

I've never been so excited about a project than today's one! Want to learn how to make your very own customised collar/sweater clips? This is how you do it.

WHAT YOU NEED

There's quite a lot of materials you will need for this DIY, including:
note: moulds must be silicone to go in the oven. You can even use silicone ice-cube trays if you want! I got my moulds here. But search for "silicone mould" on ebay or somewhere similar if you're not from Australia! Maybe you could use these?
(Mine is kids modelling clay designed for ages "4 and up", haha. But it works!)


WHAT YOU DO

Step 1: Preheat your oven to approx. 150°C (300°C).

Step 2: Tear off a small amount of clay. Roll it into a little ball, and press it gently into the mould. Press it gently down and smooth out the edges. Then use a knife (I used a butter knife, haha) to scrape away the excess.

Step 3: Place it face-down on a baking tray, and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes.
(The larger your mould, the longer time it will need in the oven)

Step 4: Making sure it's dry enough, carefully lift the mould (if it's dry the mould should lift easily). If it's still a bit wet (ie has dark patches), then leave it in the oven for a bit longer, but you can take the mould out now if you want.

Step 5: Paint! Use acrylic paints. Heavy-bodied paints are better as they come out thicker and more vibrant.

Step 6: Once the pain is dry, use a paintbrush to apply a layer of Mod Podge. While it's drying, move on to the next step.

Step 7: Separate a small section of chain with your pliers. Attach these to your clips, one on each end (make sure your clips have little holes in them to attach chain to!)

Step 8: Use strong glue (mine is woodworking glue, but craft glue probably works fine as well) to attach the flat side of your clips to the back of each flower.
Let it dry overnight, and you can wear your clips in the morning!

These blue flower clips are still drying as I type this up. But here are some I made earlier... and they can be worn on your sweater or your collar!

And you can buy any kind of moulds to use for your clips, or you can mould the clay by hand! Here's some examples of other shapes I made while I was making these clips...

Hope you enjoyed this DIY, and if you happen to make your own collar clips, send me a photo - I'd love to see what you come up with! And if you have any tips or tricks (I just started making these, so I'm possibly doing something wrong somewhere), let me know about them!