Month two outcome -
Cotton Rope Necklace:
Hopefully some of you will know by now, that April was the month where I familiarised myself once more with working with cotton. Time playing and testing. led me to making an adjustable cotton rope necklace in a brilliant sunshine yellow palette.
Month two was a celebration of cotton because this is the material that marks the second wedding anniversary. So each month for the rest of the year, I will be selecting the next material in line. Each marks the next sentimental anniversary gift.
My plan this year is to mark months 1-10 in celebration of my ten years in business.
During April I recommended some brilliant makers who create pieces made in cotton, see more here. I interviewed Superfrilly jeweller Sally Collins, see more here. Finally, I made a NEW cotton rope necklace and this is what I wanted to talk about further in this blog post.
Designing with rope
A material revisited …
Cotton is a material I have used before in my practice. I feel thankful that my #ProjectWabiSabi has guided me in gently, with the first two months working with familiar materials. I played a lot with cottons and various other textile mediums first at University studying silversmithing and jewellery. It’s strange, even now when viewing my collection as a whole people often asked if indeed it was textiles, that I studied many moons ago.
I’ve always been intrigued something softer in nature and to touch. The delicacy and impermanence has always drawn me in. In terms of Saloukee and actually making jewellery from it, my White // Wood collection uses a beautiful 100{bf9a968572e7ebb68f246158f0b8da6c4ea2bd1e341039728af7ec2198186826} British made cotton rope. I then later revisited using the medium more recently when I designed my necklace making kits in my Self Care range, see more here.
It’s strange, sometimes when you undertake a project, you leave feeling like there were things left unsaid. Somehow I felt like this with the gorgeous British rope, I sourced in my necklace kits. So I picked them up again for this project in the hope by the end somehow I would finish what I’d started.
Work in progress…
The starting point was a case of relooking at a lovely set of samples that I created some time ago. These macquettes were made using simple knotting techniques in natural cotton rope.
With Spring almost upon us and with me always being urged to use more colour, I opted for a much brighter colour to begin my developments in. I wanted to keep the knotting simple but to create some statement, so I selected a thicker rope than I’ve previously used.
I was also excited to combine the rope with the most exciting new material I’ve found. A very clever rubber which allowed me to seal the ends of the rope to avoid fraying. It also enabled me to contain sections where needed and also to add and additional colour to the piece.
Cotton outcome
The outcome…
A bold sunshine yellow cotton rope necklace which is (a highlight for me) completely adjustable! The reason I made the decision to add this feature is because we are all so different and I thought this was a lovely way to make this necklace work with different bodies, as well as different outfits.
There’s no messing with a fiddly fastening, instead a central piece of rubber allows both end ropes to be pulled to lengthen or shorten the necklace. Therefore the necklace drop can be adjusted to wherever the mood or outfit takes you!
From a bright bib necklace sitting just below your collarbone (approximate drop length 25cm). Then all the way to a beautifully elegant elongated drop necklace (approximate drop length 40cm), adding a splash of colour to any outfit.
We’d love to know what you think, so do leave a reply and let us know your thoughts.
