Bag jewelry is back! 2000s-style key rings and bag chains with charms and gri-gri are the new trendy accessories to adopt this year. Customize your favorite handbags with our bag jewelry tutorial. Be inspired by this pretty gold-plated stainless steel chain and our adorable butterfly, heart and parrot charms. Not inspired by these charms? Check out our catalog for hundreds of gilded stainless steel pendant designs.
In this tutorial, I'm proposing two different fastening systems: on the one hand, a keyring snap hook and, on the other, a round snap hook also used to make jewelry. You can mix them as in the tutorial, or choose one of the two options. In this case, add an extra key-ring carabiner or round carabiner in place of the one you're removing. You need a fastening system on both sides of the chain.
Before you buy, check that your bag is compatible with this attachment system. You'll need something to attach the chain to both sides of the bag. The thickness of the bag's ring must be 5 mm or less. The best way to measure your bag's rings is with a caliper! It's a very useful tool, both for jewelry-making and for DIY.
Also note that the stainless steel chain is strong, but it's very difficult to open the links to separate it. In any case, you won't succeed with the classic method of opening the links with two flat or round pliers. To open a link, place a sturdy pair of cutting pliers over the link junction. You don't cut the link, but use the pliers' blades to spread the opening. Then continue to spread the link with round-nose pliers, placing them over the opening with the thicker part of the pliers tip.
This creation can be adapted in many ways to suit the design of your bag, so feel free to experiment!
Start by adjusting the chain length. In our example, it's 34 cm. This chain is very strong. You won't be able to open the links with the classic method of rotating the two ends of the link with two pliers.
To open the links on this stainless steel chain, place the blades of the cutting pliers at the link opening and press to separate the two ends of the link.
To open it even further, use a pair of round pliers to place the link at the opening and press down. Like this, you'll be able to pull the link apart little by little, using the thicker and thicker part of the round pliers. After a while, the opening will be large enough to remove a link and separate the chain.
As explained in the introduction, there are two different attachments on our example. On one side of the chain, you can attach a key-ring carabiner using a 10 mm connecting ring. To open these rings, you can use the classic method rather than the one shown in steps 1 and 2.
On the other side, I put a round snap hook and added a key ring. The carabiner is also attached with a 10 mm open ring. The key ring is simply slid into the carabiner.
The charms are attached to the chain with the remaining 10 mm rings. To place them, I folded my chain in half to mark the middle. On the middle link, I added the pleated sequin. Next, the other charms are placed about 4 cm apart.
You have a question about this tutorial? Ask it to our team and the people who have already tested it. The Perles & Co community is here to help you!
Credits
Perles & Co, Internet & E-Commerce company [24/01/2025] Any reproduction, representation, adaptation, in any form whatsoever, even partial, is prohibited, except for reproduction for private use not intended for collective use, representation in the family circle (art. L 122-5 CPI) and online publishing on condition that the source is mentioned and a link is included to the corresponding page of our site www.perlesandco.com.
