The Intricacies Of Beginner’s Jewellery Making – 3 Things I Learned

Hello Everyone!

Today I’m going to be talking about the intricacies of making jewellery, especially for us beginners and hobbyists. Now, I am not an expert here, like my plant growing journey, I’ve literally just begun. It’s both an easy craft and a hard one, because it takes a lot of dexterity and hand-eye coordination, and It’s much faster to make something than it is when you crochet, knit or sew. Of course, I’m not saying I’m going to put down the needles and hooks any time soon, but in case I do eventually get the Feather’s Craft Shop open (which is a pipeline dream, for the moment), I can offer more than just crochet and knitted pieces.

As I’m sure you are all aware, I love my hobbies and craft skills. In fact, over the years, I’ve tried quite a number of them and fell in love with each and every one that I simply cannot choose one I love most (no that’s a lie, crochet will always and forever be my number one hobby skill, but after that, it’s anyone’s game).  And one of these hobbies is jewellery making. If it’s not through making friendship bracelets and knitted jewellery, then it’s through beading and wire work. Of course, there are many other ways you can make jewellery, like with macramé, or with actual metal work, but the kind of jewellery making we’ll be talking about today will be the beginner kind, in terms of beading and wire work.

How Did I Get Into Jewellery Making?

Well, I started getting into it unconsciously, when I was in school. Back then, friendship bracelets were all the rage and making them yourself was a show of dedication and loyalty to your friends. I’m not sure if the kids do them nowadays, but I always loved the meaning behind friendship bracelets and handed the ones I’d made to all my friends. It was my way of saying “thanks for being a good friend”. For the most part, I wouldn’t get any back, because a lot of them didn’t know how to make them or even had the patience to make them. So, I never really expected any back. I just literally just wanted to make some and give them out.

Nevertheless, because I was already crocheting at the time, and wanted to experiment with more crafts and needlework, I ended up getting into friendship bracelets and grew more and more interested in creating patterns with the different coloured embroidery floss I had at home (my mom was cross stitching at the time, and we had plenty of embroidery floss to choose from). Needless to say, I was already unconsciously making jewellery for free, but as time went on, that passion weakened, thanks to a plethora of different career paths I was trying to go down (and am still exploring, although not quite as intensely as I was before). However, while it was weak, it never died. The ideas I had, at the back of my mind never really went away, but it did take on a new form.

My First Steps Into Beading And Wire Work

This happened a couple of years ago, when my cousin invited me over to hang out at her place, while she was still planning things for her wedding (she and her husband have been married now for just under 2 years now, congratulations Ate – a Filipino endearment, iykyk). One of the things she wanted to do was make friendship bracelets for her bridal party, and we all got to make one for ourselves at her place. However, these weren’t any ordinary friendship bracelets, meaning the embroidery floss kind. These ones were made with beads, and that was when I took my first steps into beading.

Granted, for a while now, I was looking at other beading videos, to see if I could try and make something other than knitted items, for Feather’s Craft Shop (again, whenever it launches), and when she invited us over, I thought it was the perfect way to see if I could make something other than a simple bracelet. In the end, I made a pair of earrings, which unfortunately, I no longer have and I wasn't able to take a good picture of them before I did, I lost them while I was wearing them, but when I first made them, it kickstarted my passion for jewellery making again.

My First Attempts

For the most part, my first attempts have either been earrings or small keychains or phone charms. I’ve never really delved into larger projects, like bracelets or necklaces, because I want to save that for my wire work projects, which I will eventually start. I’ve not had the time to sit down and experiment with it. However, that’s not to say, I’m stopping my attempts entirely. I will still continue to make earrings and phone trinkets, and I’m also looking into attaching those trinkets to some of my other knitted works.

Apologies for the low quality photos - these trinkets are prototypes and not the final product.

In fact, I’m planning to make something for my Patreon baddies that will thank them for their support. It’s a combination of the knot style patterns I’ve experimented with before, and the trinkets I’ve recently made. So, if you’d like to know what that project is, subscribe to my Patreon account! Just know that the tier that includes this little project isn’t up yet, and I haven’t made any since I’ve made the prototype, but once I do have enough to go around, I will add a new tier to my profile, which will include this project as one of your rewards (So subscribe!).

Will I Sell The Work I’ve Made?

I hope so, eventually, I’d like to sell my craft. In fact, I’ve tried many times before, to set up a Craft Shop here, on Feather’s Charm, but because I was working full time, during those failed attempts, I never really had the chance to promote the shop, or better yet, sell anything. I didn’t really have the time to, and I never really spread the word, but with this renewed vigour and lease of life, for the time being, I’m hoping I’ll get enough requests to open the shop, to finally open it.

For now, it’s still a far-flung dream. However, that’s not to say I won’t continue to try. If you guys like what you see here, on this blog post, get in touch with me, and let me know you’re interested in buying my crafts, I’ll see what I can do. Now, be warned, if you find my prices very cheap, or too expensive, just know that it’s because I’m still figuring out what the best price range is for my products. It’s not easy, making these kinds of things by hand. A lot of time, effort, planning and pinched fingers go into it, so please be patient with me. Also, market research is not my strong suit, but I will eventually get there. It just takes time, so please, be patient.

Well, that’s it from me today. I’m going to go and film another video for you guys, guess what topic it’s going to be? I’ll give you a hint, it involves yarn! In the meantime, please don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, share and follow me, here on Feather’s Charm, on my YouTube channel, on my other social media channels, and on Patreon. Your support really helps me make more content like this, for you guys.

And as always, be kind, be creative, and be unique.

I’ll see you later!

Feather, out!