DIY Ort Pendant

A few weeks ago I got a ton of thread clippings from Colour.Complements (Etsy shop here). One easy item you can make from your own thread clippings is an Ort Pendant. I’ve seen these in the past where the thread bits were encased in resin, but I was looking for an easier way to make these.

I figured out two easy ways to make them and I wanted to share them with you. One uses a small bottle. The other uses a round two-sided glass pendant.

Bottle Pendant

To make a bottle pendant you’ll need:

• thread pieces
• small bottle with cork
• eye pin

1. Open the pendant by removing the cork.
2. Add an eye screw to the cork if needed.

Empty bottle pendant with cork, copyright Napa Needlepoint[/caption]>

3. Fill with thread ends, but keep them inside the glass & do not overfill. The pendants are small, use your smallest scraps for this. I found it easiest to take a bit of end and to roll them up a bit so they were easier to hold. I stuffed them in as far as I could with my fingers and then used tweezers and an orangewood stick to stuff them down. A coffee stirrer would also work here.
4. Close pendant by adding the cork.
5. Add a chain to wear.

Round Pendant

To make a round pendant you’ll need:

• thread pieces
• two-sided glass round pendant that opens

1. Fill the bottle with thread ends, above. The round pendants don’t hold much and are small. I use tweezers to do this.
2. Close the pendant and attach chain.

Make The Round Pendant a Needleminder

The round pendant can quickly become a needle minder, just find a pair of magnets and glue one of them to the back. I use ES6000 glue for my magnets, but most superglues will work. Let dry overnight.

If you have a ring top and a bail or jump ring to put it on a chain, remove at least the bail. You can also remove the ring by cutting it off, but often this leaves a rough top, so I would leave it on.

Because the bottle is round, I would not recommend them as needleminders, the needles will tend to fall off.

Other Uses for the Pendants

• Add one to the end of a beaded or kumihio length as a scissors fob.
• Put one on the end of a hook-style bookmark
• Add an eye screw with ther pendant on it to the end of a plain wooden tapered stitck to make a unique laying tool.
• Put in your chatelaine as a decoration.

I have more projects planned for my bits & pieces so keep following the blog!