An expansion on a delightful idea!
A while back, a friend came to our house today and was intrigued by my collection of Earth-Faire-ian jewelry. And she saw the Frozen Colors bracelet and suggested that it would make a marvelous item to hold keys.
What a great idea! To knit a key fob!
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We just happened to have (ahem) some great clasps for this purpose. The clasp you see in the photo to the upper right here is a teardrop swivel clip of approximately 33x20mm with an auto-close (that means that you just push it to open it and it closes automatically) and a D-ring loop for attaching, in silver plate.
We also have the same clasps in the same size in a gold plate version.
And then on further hunting we found what are called purse clips -- these are approximately 60x26mm large and also have the auto-close feature, with a 9x12mm (inner diameter) attached D-ring swivel loop. We have a silver toned one (silver plating), an antiqued brass, and an antiqued copper clasp in this size. Quite nice indeed.
Another option is the narrower swivel clips, without the auto-close feature. They open with a little lever and this time they are 18 x 39mm. We were able to get them not only in silver and gold plated but also in a rich dark antique copper look. (See photo below.)
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Once we substituted one of these clasps for the regular hook-and-eye clasp of the bracelet, it became a great piece to attach to a ring of keys.
I adjusted the design slightly so that the piece swirls somewhat, the way our Fire Polish Crystal Swirl bracelets do. And so the pattern for this is rewritten so that you will end up with a key fob extraordinaire! A swirling three to four to five inches of glorious beads to enhance your key rings (and make finding them a breeze)!
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BTW, I had to look up the phrase "key fob" to make sure that is what this is --- and this I copy from Wikipedia: "A key fob is a generally decorative and at times useful item many people often carry with their keys, on a ring or a chain, for ease of tactile identification, to provide a better grip, or to make a personal statement. Key fobs are often called "key rings" or "key chains" in colloquial usage."
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This kit will include the pattern, thread, your choice of clasp, plus a full container of the Bead Stew mix in either a mix of warm colors or a mix of cool colors or (specially for the antique copper clasp) an earth-tone mix.
If you would prefer wire to knit with instead of thread -- not as much fun to make but it will certainly last through much wear and tear -- email me for availability and we'll work something out.
Every mix will contain a larger-than-usual amount of large beads -- larger daggers, the special hand-blown glass pieces, fire polish crystals and other rather special ones as well as some of the usual smaller beads. It will make a key fob between three and six inches long (your choice.
The photo here shows the original multi-hued mix of cool colors that we had called Frozen Colors.
Each and every bead mix will be unique unto itself and quite striking indeed.
Make your choice from the drop-down menu above -- there are lots of choices but we hope it makes sense seeing them in a list. (Notice that the Purse Clips are just a bit more expensive as are the gold-plated clasps.)
Use your imagination a bit, and you will see what fun these can be -- for yourself or as quick and beautiful gifts. If you have another idea for a color mix of beads to go with the clasp you choose, by all means tell me as you check out via the Comments section. If we can do it, we will.
Make sure the drop-down menu is set to what you would like.
We have a great time putting these kits together and think you'll have a marvelous time with them as well. Everything you will need is included except the knitting needles (I used size 0/2mm).
A real smile-maker.
