I was cleaning out cupboards last weekend and came across this box of black plastic cogs. They must be from my old sewing machine. The machine was given to my mother in the early 1960s, and I used it when I first moved out of home. It has long since gone, but for some reason this little box has managed to move from house to house with me for nearly twenty years.

I was going to just throw it away, but there was something attractive and textural about them. They’re quite solid, made from high quality plastic, and made in Italy , so it felt a shame to just throw them out. I figured they could be used to make a bold piece of jewellery.

There were two types, some with just one hole, and some with four holes, so I sorted them into two piles, to see what I had to work with.





I figured I could connect them with jump rings through the holes, and hunted down some bits and pieces from an old necklace, to use to connect the pieces that only had one hole, and use to fasten it at the neck.



Then it was just a case of hooking the jump rings and larger metal rings through the discs.











Then I chose some black plastic beads and used them with some eye pins to space the discs.





45minutes to hook it all together and I had a new necklace to give impact to any outfit!





It really stands out with a bright tee shirt- I’ll be wearing this to work quite a bit I think, it instantly dresses up a casual outfit. Wearing bits of sewing machine around my neck? Yep, that’s just how I roll!