How to Make a Brooch Into a Necklace

Brooches and pins are jewelry items that are not worn as often today as they were in years gone by. You can find attractive and interesting vintage brooches at estate sales and thrift stores, or maybe you have one that was passed on to you by a family member. You can make these brooches into necklaces and give them a new life in your wardrobe. You may already have all the supplies you need for this project, or you can visit a craft store and easily find them.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brooch
• Necklace chain
• Jewelry pliers
• Sandpaper
• Glue on bail
• Jewelry glue

1. Use the jewelry pliers to gently remove the pin backing from the brooch. The pin backing will be either glued or soldered on. Loosen it by gently moving the backing back and forth while gripping it near where it is attached with the pliers. Once loosened, it should easily pull free.

2. Sand the back of the brooch with medium grit sandpaper to smooth out any rough spots left from the pin back. Make sure to remove all the rough spots so that the brooch won't irritate your skin.

3. Glue the necklace bail onto the top center of the back of the brooch. Allow the glue to dry for two hours, then slide the chain through the bail to complete your necklace.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to remove the pin back, you can purchase a brooch converter online or from bead stores that will allow you to wear your brooch as a necklace but preserve it in its original form.
• Verify that your brooch is not valuable before you begin to alter it permanently.

References

• Information on vintage jewelry and brooches.