Rustic Copper Washer Necklace Variations (Tutorial)
by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved
Question: If you start out with a mismatched pair of rustic copper washers, how many different necklace looks can you create?
Answer: The sky’s the limit!
In this tutorial, we’ll make our rustic copper washers and then explore ways to use them in necklace designs.
Make Your Rustic Copper Washers
My larger washer is 5/8″ size, and the smaller is 1/2″ size – purchased from Harbor Freight.
In the photo above the washers on the left are nice and shiny right out of the package.
On the right, the washers have an interesting patina created simply with boiled eggs.
For the Patina:
Follow my easy tutorial, Oxidize Sterling Silver and Copper with Boiled Eggs – but . . . for this project, my washers developed the color I wanted in about 15 to 20 minutes.
So keep a close eye on your washers as they oxidize.
After your patina process, when your washers are thoroughly dry, you can preserve your patina color using a clear, matte-finish spray lacquer – three light coats of lacquer on every surface of the metal, drying each coat thoroughly before applying the next coat.
Turn Your Washers into a Pendant
I stacked the smaller washer on top of the larger one, and put them on a fairly large jump ring.
(If you’re not sure how to open a jump ring, see my quick tutorial, How to Open and Close a Jump Ring.)
Your jump ring will also need to accommodate whatever chain or cord you choose to use for your necklace.
Rustic Copper Washer Necklace Ideas
Now it’s time to go wild with your jewelry supplies and come up with creative ways to turn your lovely, colorful pendant into a necklace!
First, you might simply want to hang it on a rustic chain:
Here I’ve used a large aurora borealis crystal bead as a dangle, layered over the washers:
Here I’ve hung the pendant on a brass neckwire I wrapped with red chenille fabric (see my easy Fabric Wrapped Choker Necklace tutorial):
Here the pendant is strung on a triple strand of choker-length chain:
Here it’s on a comfortable, rustic leather cord, from my Leather Choker for Pendants tutorial; this look is especially great on both guys and gals:
And here the rustic copper pendant is on a dark suede cord. A second jump ring attaches a faux seaglass bead to the bottom of the smaller copper washer: