Duffle coat button jewellery

Three reasons why you may have too many duffle coat buttons and be looking for something to do with them:

1 - That failed alchemical experiment in which you discovered the way to transmute base metal into duffle coat buttons

2 - Have been left large amount of duffle coat buttons in a will

3 - You own a duffle coat button factory

Whatever the reason, here's a way to make some duffle coat button jewellery from a 1950s Girl Annual. I think Luna Lovegood would like these a lot.

To make a choker you will need 8 or 9 wooden duffle coat buttons, twice as many 3/8 inch brass screw eyes and a No 001 bead clasp. Rub the buttons down with fine sandpaper. Pierce the end of the button and screw in two eyes. Colour with a coat of poster paint, and then varnish or enamel. Tie the screw eyes together neatly but firmly with matching thread and fasten on clasp.

Variations: 1 - Have all beads identical in colouring. 2 - Shade from light to dark and back again in one colour. 3 - Keep to two alternating colours. 4 - Paint each one a different colour. 5 - Stipple with gold or silver paint afterwards.

For ear-rings, cut one button in two and tie the screw eyes with cotton on to the tiny rings of screw-on ear-rings.

Luna Lovegood's radish earrings

I was watching the Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince dvd extras over the weekend, and got rather excited about the jewellery that Evanna Lynch had hand-made for her character Luna Lovegood: a beautiful bracelet and a pair of beaded radish earrings.

Luna wears the bracelet to Slughorn's party in the Half-blood Prince - it's a large metal spiral bracelet with a pretty beaded hare patronus bounding along inside the spiral. One of those blink-and-you'll-miss it details - it's only briefly shown on the dvd extras as well.

The radish earrings are from the Order of the Phoenix; apparently the costume designer had made a pair, but Evanna's were even better, so they ended up using those instead. I found a pattern for very similar earrings at www.the-leaky-cauldron.org if you fancy making a pair. You'll need seed beads, wire, and the bravery to wear them in public.