DIY TERRACOTTA JEWELLERY MAKING - MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Hello friends, Today am posting a terracotta jewellery set which I designed for my new kurta. I wanted to keep it very simple so just added a pendant and four beads.

In this post I will be sharing with you some of the tips and techniques for making terracota jewellery.

CHOOSING THE MATERIALS:

CLAY:

I use air dry terracota clay for my jewellery projects. Actually I dont know which is better; air dry clay or oven baked clay as I haven't used the oven baked clay before. But I feel air dry clay is easier as you dont need a kiln.

THREAD:

 In this project I have used 0.8mm black wax cotton thread.  They are available in different colours too.

TOOLS:

Simple materials present in and around the house are enough to create beautiful jewellery.  I use pen knife for making designs and cutting the clay to the shape of a template. For rolling the clay I use a ball point pen with round base. I use microtip pencils for making intricate details in the pendant and earring. For getting the circular shape, I use rounded open portion of a circular lid.

JEWELLERY FINDINGS:

You will need the following supplies for making a chain and earrings:

Fish hooks ( earrings)

Eye pins ( earrings and pendant)

Chord endings ( chain)

lobster clasp (chain)

jump rings (earrings and chain)

Cutter and plier

Lobster Clasp

Chord endings

 PAINTS:
Pearl and metallic paints are used for painting terracota jewellery. Since I dont have pearl paints I use acrylics and oil colours. To get the shine I apply two coats of varnish.

TECHNIQUES:

1) Store the clay in an air tight container. Take only a small amount of clay at a time as the clay gets dried soon. 

2) Knead the clay using water as this will avoid cracks.

3) After rolling the beads, put hole using a toothpick and immediately slide the beads through the thread and then keep it for drying. 

4) Cut the design of the pendant you want to make in a cardboard sheet and then using that as template cut in the clay. So that the pendant shape looks good and the template can be used for future use.

Template I used for this jewellery

5) For attaching the small beads in the pendant apply gum in the pieces of floral wire and then attach in the pendant. When it dries the beads wont come out of the pendant.

6) When designing for a dress , design the length of the chain according to the neck design. 

7) While choosing the thread make sure that the thread is not too thin as it should be able to withstand the weight of the jewellery. Also don't choose it too thick as beads wont go inside the thread and the knot will be visible with a thick thread.

  

HOW TO FINISH THE CHAIN?

 After adding the beads put a knot at the ends of the beads. 

Then fold the ends of the thread and place it inside a chord ending. Apply glue to the chord ending. Close the chord ending using a plier.

Attach jump rings and lobster clasp.

This is my kurta for which I have designed this set. I chose the colours purple, blue and yellow from the dress.  I have used the same pattern found on the dress for the pendant and earrings.

Hope this tutorial is helpful to you all.

See my other terracotta jewellery tutorial
DIY terracotta jewellery
Simple terracotta jewellery