Make a Hatpin from a Bottle Cap

Hatpins are decorative pins that help women secure hats so they do not fly away when the wind blows. Hats had fallen out of favor until the recent engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The lovely Kate appears to have brought large hats back to the masses. No need to wait for the Kentucky Derby to get out your old hat... or to brandish that wonderful find from the estate sale.

Hats are making a come back and that means a renewed need for hatpins! We made this simple hatpin using wire and beer bottle cap. We used 16-gauge nickle silver wire because nickel silver is quite strong and is unlikely to bend with use over time. (Of course, some folks are allergic to nickel. Don't use nickel silver if you are allergic to nickel. Stainless steel is a good substitute.) You can also use brass, copper, sterling silver, gold-fill or even gold for this project, but those are all softer metals that are not as great to use as a stick pin or hat pin.

Materials
Bottle cap
16-gauge wire
Clutch finding
JB Weld

Before: bottle cap and wire

Tools
Wire cutter
Vise
Ball pein hammer
Drill & size 55 drill bit

Step 1
Measure a 5-inch piece of 16-gauge nickel silver wire. Cut the wire using a wire cutter.

Step 2
Secure the wire in a vise so that only 1/4-inch of the wire shows. Hit the top of the wire with a hammer to flatten that end of the wire and create a "head" for the pin. Remove the wire from the vise. Sand away tool marks, if any.

Step 3
Sharpen the other end of the wire to a point using a file. Be sure the point is

Feed the wire through the bottle cap

centered and that the point has a gradual slope that will easily pass through fabric.

Step 4
Mark the bottle cap with an automatic center punch and prepare to drill two holes in the bottle cap. Check to be sure the two holes are aligned and the wire will pass through the two holes. Drill the holes using a size 55 drill bit.

 Step 5

After: Hat pin by GeltDesigns.com

Feed the wire through the two holes in the bottle cap. The 16-gauge wire will just barely fit through the holes drilled with a size 55 bit. Use pliers to pull the wire through the bottle cap until the head of the pin sits fluch against the bottle cap.

 Step 6
Add a drop of JB Weld where the bottle cap hits the wire for added security (if desired).

Step 7
Slip clutch finding on the pointed end of the wire to secure the pin.

Related Tutorials
Make Earrings from Beer Bottle Caps
Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps

Further Reading
"1000 Jewelry Inspirations (mini): Beads, Baubles, Dangles, and Chains (1000 Series)"; Sandra Salamony; 2011.

Day 117 Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle cap, wire
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make Earrings from Beer Bottle Caps

Before: Beer bottle caps

While we had our bottle cap collection out we decided to make earrings. Again, we decided to use the bottle caps "as is" without any type of embellishment... but we played around with a bunch of different designs using salvaged papers for decoupage and odd pieces and parts to combine with resin to fill the inside of the bottle cap. For today, we decided we wanted simple, but we sketched our more elaborate designs for another day.

Gather tools

Materials
Beer bottle caps
20-gauge round brass wire


Tools
Automatic center punch
Drill and size 41 drill (.096) bit
Half-round file
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutter
Needle files or wire rounder
Steel bench block
Rawhide mallet

Step 1
Select two matching bottle caps.

Mark bottle cap with center punch

Step 2
Mark the bottle cap with a marker where you plan to drill a hole. Use the automatic center punch to create an indentation where you marked the bottle cap. The indentation will prevent the drill bit from slipping when you drill the hole.

Drill bottle cap

Step 3
Use a drill and a size 41 drill bit to drill a hole in the bottle cap.

Step 4
Make a loop at the end of the 20-gauge wire. Slip the bottle cap onto the loop and then wrap the wire three times to secure the wire and prevent the bottle cap from slipping off the loop.

Step 5
Shape the 20-gauge wire into a earring finding above the wire wrapped loop.

After: Bottle cap earrings by GeltDesigns.com

Step 6
File the end of the ear wire smooth using a wire round or a cup bur and a flex shaft (or other rotary tool).

Step 7
Repeat to create matching earring.

Related Tutorials
Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps

How to Select a Cup Burr 

Further Reading
 "Junk Jewelry: 25 Extraordinary Designs to Create from Ordinary Objects"; Jane Eldershaw; 2008.
"Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry"; Stephanie Lee; 2008.
"Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects: Creative Projects, Simple Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books)"; Marthe Le Van; 2007.
"Jewelry and Accessories from Everyday Objects: 19 Unique Projects Inspired by Found Objects and Ready-Made Materials"; Tair Parnes; 2007.
Junk to Jewelry: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Found Objects in Jewelry You Can Actually Wear; Brenda Schweder; 2007.

 New & Noteworthy
"Jewellery from Recycled Materials (Jewellery Handbooks)"; Jaimie MacDonald; 2011.

Day 113. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle caps
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps

Before: Beer bottle caps

Bottle caps are a great material for jewelry making. In this simple project, we collected some interesting beer bottle caps. The bottle caps we decided to use were made by Lion Brewery have a nice design on the bottle cap itself and puzzles printed inside the cap.

We used the bottle caps "as is" without any further decoration. We simply drilled the bottle caps, made links and findings and constructed the bracelet... but you can change the look entirely by decorating the back of the bottle cap with decoupage or by using the bottle cap as a bezel and filling the bottle caps with resin, polymer clay or the item of your choice.

Materials
Beer bottle caps
16-gauge round brass wire


Tools

Gather tools

Automatic center punch
Drill and size 41 drill (.096) bit

Half-round file
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutter
Needle files or wire rounder
Steel bench block
Rawhide mallet

Step 1
Select the bottle caps and determine the order used for the bracelet.

Step 2

Mark bottle cap with center punch

Mark the bottle caps where you want to drill. Use an automatic center punch to indent the marked spot before drilling so the drill bit does not slip and the bottle cap does not go flying.


Step 3

Drill beer bottle cap

Drill each bottle cap. We used five bottle caps to create a bracelet about 8-1/2 inches long.


Step 4
Use round nose pliers, bail forming pliers or a mandrel to make large "S" shaped linked from the 16-gauge brass wire. We made four links to piece together the five bottle caps. 

File the ends of the wire until smooth using the needle file, wire rounder or a cup bur and flex shaft. Place the links on the steel bench block and hammer with the rawhide mallet to harden the links so they retain shape. 

Step 5

Make clasp and attach to bottle cap bracelet

Make the "S" clasp. File the ends smooth. Hit the clasp with the mallet to harden the metal.

Assemble the bottle cap bracelet

Step 6
Assemble the bracelet parts.


Related Tutorials
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps

After: Bottle cap bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
How to Select a Cup Burr

Further Reading
"500 Bracelets: An Inspiring Collection of Extraordinary Designs (500 Series)"; Lark, 2005.


Day 111. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle caps
New Jewelry a Day.