DIY Body Chain

Today I will be teaching you how to make a body chain. Of course yours will not turn out exactly like mine but I hope it inspires someone to use their old, junk and broken jewelry to make something new. It's a bit risque but it will be perfect for summer and can be paired with bodysuits, can be worn to beach events or even pool parties (not in the pool though lol) with bikinis or even jazz up simple outfits like plain white tees and jeans. If you are interested in learning more then stay tuned !

There will be a full video at the end of the pictorial that you can watch to see it in action!

These are what I used (as well as the links for things I bought online). If I can't find the exact thing then I will link something similar.

• A bunch of random junk scraps from an ebay seller
• Rhinestones 1
• Teardrop rhinestones
• Horse eye rhinestones
• Boho Bracelet . - I actually got this from ebay for like 1.99, but I also had to wait about 2 weeks to get it. There is also a choker version to this but I used the bracelet because I never wore it and it was going to be thrown away eventually.
• Base Choker - I cant find anything similar to the one I used
• Jewelry Pliers
• Jump Rings
• e6000 Glue or GOOP
• Slightly thick Plastic (optional - but literally a 6 by 6 inch square of tablecloth plastic)
• Any old broken jewelry that you do not use. Pop every usuable piece off. This includes chains, pendants, clasps etc
• Rhinestone Trim / Chain
• Bails ( circle things I attached to the back of the pieces to turn them into pendants) Not the exact things - I cant find anymore but these are similar and are actually better so I don't have to use a jumpring

So I love high neck chokers, I have a longish neck and a double chin(sometimes, alright ...most of the time) and high chokers hide it .

I start off by using this bracelet I got from ebay and a really cheap choker I had gotten from a mall some years back. Now this is all about making this piece of jewelry your own. Use whatever you have. I connected the choker to the ends of the bracelet by opening a link on each side and attaching it to a link on the bracelet.

Then I got random pieces from the trash lot and just started adding them by attaching to the centre of the main piece and the ends.

Initially the piece will start to look like a necklace but as it gradually gets longer we have to make it into a point or a V as it goes down the centre of the body.

If you are awesome and have a metal sheet and something to cut it with then of course you can use that , but normal people like me have .. plastic. I mean, I tried felt before and it itched me so that's a no no.

So I put a square of plastic behind the half moon piece and outlined it about 1/8 outwards from the top and 1/4-3/8" outwards at the bottom. Then I cut out the shape.

Also ensure your dog oversees the cutting process , just to make sure you do it correctly of course.

So I put some glue onto the back of the piece and stuck the plastic shape onto it and flipped it back to the right side and let it dry.

Then I put glue on the visible pieces of plastic around the shape and prepared to add my bling.

I used my rhinestone gems, chain, rhinestone trim and decorated the outside of the piece where I just put the glue. You may have to trim off any excess plastic if you have any left back after adding your bling.

These little circle things are the best things in life. I believe they are called bails and they pretty much can be stuck to the back of most things to make them into pendants.

So I had this chunk of bling and I glued a bail to the back of it and VOILA a pendant !! Now I can hang it onto something.

I also added one to the back of a teardrop rhinestone gem.

For the bigger piece, I attached a jump ring and a chain to it and hung it from the centre of the necklace.

At this time I tried on the necklace to see if I liked it. The chain part I added before was a bit too long so I made it shorter so it hung at a good spot on my torso.

I then got a long piece of chain about 1.5 times the circumference of my waist and attached one end to the centre of the pendant , wrapped it around my waist with a bit of hang time and then attached the other end to the centre as well.

I then took off the necklace and put a clasp at the center part of the waist chain at the back, so I wouldn't have to put the necklace over my neck while putting it on to wear it.

I got another bail and stuck it to the bottom of the bigger pendant, between the starting point of the waist chain (let that dry). Then I added a short piece of chain and the teardrop pendant that I created earlier on.

I found an earring I had that was hideous and was in my junk pile and I popped off these spikes that were on it . I then attached them to the waist chain along with some tiny teardrop pendants ( I got these a lonnnggg while back from Etsy and I couldn't find the seller anymore).

I went back to the top by the bracelet and I added a piece of plastic the same length of the bracelet (minus the extension part), to the back of the bracelet. Doing this allows me to make the choker part a bit higher. I glued it on so I let that dry, while drying I decided to add some round rhinestones onto the actual bracelet so I plopped some glue onto each segment of the bracelet and then added the gems.

Then I added some glue to both ends of the plastic and added a chain of balls, actual chain and rhinestone trim.

I got some 14 gauge wire and added these balls to them. These balls came from a broken chain I found in my cupboard but never threw away because... I'm a hoarder.

I measured the areas that I wanted to put the wire, added 1/2" to it and then put a loop on the end of the wire (so the balls won't fall off), added the balls and then attached it to the necklace.

I also added some chain to the centre of the half circle piece and then I was done !!!!!!!!!

This was a process.

This is how it looks!

I hope this inspires someone. Never throw away your old, broken and unused jewelry. Be a hoarder like me, hide them from your mum who likes to throw away everything and in 3 years I'm sure you will find some use for them!

Attached is the video tutorial of this instructable. You can see it in action at the beginning and the end of the video.