Things To Do With Scrap Suede

 Do you remember the vest I made for Spring Showcase in my "'S' is for......" post?

Well, I am happy to say I had a significant bit of suede left over to make this necklace--plus, hopefully a couple more small projects.

(The suede piece was from Mood in NYC, and very near and dear to my heart.... especially knowing I can't just pop over to buy more!)

Here's what you'll need:

suede

a ruler

a chain (length is your preference)

toggles (if you want a shorter necklace)

ribbon clamps

rotary cutter (or scissors)

hard surface you can cut on (if using the rotary cutter)

pliers

First, measure your ribbon clamp to see how wide your suede piece should be.

Then, divide that measurement by 3, or 4, or however many fringe hairs (for lack of a better word) you want....

Trace the width and the fringe cutting lines on the back of the suede (later you will see, I made mine a little too wide).

 Use your rotary cutter and your straight edge to cut the fringe on the hard surface.

Be careful not to cut all the way to the top so it's all still one piece.

And this is what you'll get.....

Notice I had to cut a fringe hair off of mine to make it fit properly.

Then I chose to add a few more layers of suede.

Bear down on the ribbon clamp to make the teeth puncture the suede.

Lastly, measure out how long you would like your chain to be and cut off the rest.

Find the center of the length of the chain and use pliers to open a loop to insert the ribbon clamp hook onto the loop.

Or, you can take the extra step to remove a loop from the end of the necklace chain, then hook it through the loop at the center of your necklace and the ribbon clamp hook to ensure that it hangs straight.

 If you chose to have a short chain, attach your toggles at your chain ends to allow open and closure of the necklace.
If you chose to have a long chain, use the pliers to attach the two chain ends together, and you can just slip the necklace over your head.

Now you're ready to wear!