How to Make a Colorful Fused Glass Dichroic Pendant

Dichroic glass features ripples of color.

Dichroic glass features a rainbow of iridescent coloring coupled with a rippled texture. When fused into pendants, dichroic glass creates colorful, glittering jewelry pieces.

Cutting and fusing dichroic glass isn't much different from fusing smooth glass. In fact, beginners may find making colorful dichroic pendants easier than working with many colors of smooth glass. Since the dichroic glass is already infused with dozens of shades of color, you don't need to mix and match pieces, just choose your favorite dichroic piece and start.

Things You'll Need

• Grid paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• Eye goggles
• Thick surgical gloves
• Smooth 3mm thick glass (any color)
• 3mm thick dichroic glass (any color)
• 3mm thick clear glass
• Diamond glasscutter
• Alcohol wipes
• Glass kiln

Instructions

1. Sketch a pendant shape onto grid paper with a pencil. Beginners should focus on simple shapes with rounded edges, no smaller than 1 inch tall. Ovals, circles, round-cornered rectangles and egg shapes work well.

2. Cut out the pendant shape and trace around it twice on the grid paper. Cut out the other two shapes.

3. Smooth a piece of double-sided tape onto one side of each paper pattern. Smooth one pattern onto the smoothest side of each of your glass types. The 3mm colored and clear glass should be smooth on both sides. The dichroic glass will only have one smooth side.

4. Put on eye goggles and thick surgical gloves. The glass may still be able to cut through the gloves, but heavy leather gloves will make your fingers clumsy.

5. Trace around all three patterns with a diamond glasscutter. Continue to score your lines with the cutter until the glass shapes pop free. Carefully remove the patterns from the back of each shape.

6. Rub each piece of glass, front and back, with alcohol wipes to remove fingerprints and dirt. Any dirt left on your glass pieces will show up in the finished pendant, possibly ruining the look.

7. Place the smooth colored glass flat on your work surface and stack the dichroic glass on top of that. Top the dichroic glass with clear glass. You can maximize the dichroic colors if the base glass is a metallic or darker shade of the dichroic color scheme.

8. Heat your glass kiln to 1520 degrees Fahrenheit. Slide the stacked glass into the kiln and fire for about 10 minutes. The pieces should be fully fused with smooth edges and a rounded top. Allow the piece to cool overnight.

References

• Art Glass 2: Create Quick Dichroic Glass Pendants
• Art Glass 2 Glassworks: How to Fuse Glass
• Masters Glass Art: Fused Glass Tutorials