Victorian Inspired Hair Jewelry

Yes, that's hair.

During the Victorian Era, family members would often create jewelry from their loved ones hair after they died. Many of the artisans creating these mourning jewelry pieces would sculpt the hair into landscapes or elaborately weave and braid the hair.

I've always admired these special pieces of jewelry and wanted to create my own version. I don't have locks from any dead family members, so I opted to celebrate the recent adoption of my daughter and mix some of her hair with mine.

-hair clippings (the longer the better, but at least an inch longer than your watch face should work) I have clippings from my husband, daughter, and various shades of my own hair. For this project, I'm using mostly my daughter's hair with one strand of my own.

-old watch (Pull an old one from a drawer or pick up an old one at a thrift store, open it up, and gut it.)

-thin sheet metal or tagboard (cardboard)

-scissors

-boxcutter

-E-6000 glue

-masking or washi tape

-etching cream

-vinyl sticker or other masking agent

Put the back of your watch onto your metal and, with your boxcutter or scissors, cut a square around it that's roughly 1/4" larger on each side.

Put a small blob of E6000 or other non-water based glue onto a piece of foil. DO NOT use water-based glues like Elmers. The glue will soak into the hair making it stiff and unworkable.

Pull out a small section of hair and drag the ends through the glue, making sure to get glue on all the hairs.

Use the middle section of the metal you cut out in the last step to smooth the glued ends flat.

Cut the glued ends straight.

Set the piece aside to dry.

Repeat until you have two rows the width of the hole you cut in the metal.

Tape pieces of hair along one side of your metal loom. Leave a bit of space between each piece to make it easier to distinguish each section when you weave hair the other direction.

This is your warp.

Tape a section of hair perpendicular to the hairs in the warp.

Use a safety pin or other tool to pull up every other section of hair in the warp and lay the new section underneath.

Add a new piece and lift up the opposite sections this time.

Tape the ends as you go.

Repeat until the hole in the loom is fully covered.

Apply some E6000 to the edge of your metal spreader piece.

Spread the glue on the back of your weaving, making sure to coat it well.

Once dry, remove the loom, and apply glue to ends on both sides.

Lay the back of the watch onto the front of your weaving and apply glue around the edges.

Allow to dry.

Cut the circle out through the middle of the glue, so some glue is left on the circle.

Put the circle inside the front of the watch face.

Cut a stencil from a sticky backed material. I cut a design using sticker vinyl on my Silhouette Cameo, but a label or other sticker material should also work.

Apply glass etching cream according to instructions.