Silk Thread Jewelry - Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Earrings and Bangles are the ones widely made out of thread strips, making a set of unique jewelry. For making thread earring jewelry, the craftsman firstly starts by preparing its hanging or jhumka part. For which he takes up a plastic cap of hemisphere shape with a diameter of roughly 15mm and usually white, bearing a small hole on its top. Once the right cap is selected, cotton thread strips are wounded around it until it is very well covered. Here the number of windings is not less than 14 times. At the endpoint of this winding, the thread strip is cut and glued together. Enough glue is applied to the internal areas of the plastic cap as well to make sure that the strands and the cap are attached thoroughly and are left to dry. After drying, a toothpick is passed through the top hole of the cap to hold the work for the next step, i.e., decoration. Holding the toothpick, coloured beads and stones are adhered to the threaded cap using glue. Then a stone chain, followed by a ball chain is pasted across the circumference of the plastic cap, to add beauty to the final product. A brass pin is passed through the top hole in a bottom-up direction, which is later topped up with a small stone and ball. A small chain with three links is inserted into this pin and locked. With this, the hanging part of the human gets ready.
Moving to the stud part, the craftsman takes up a canvas paper and glues a bright coloured stone over it. Once it dries, glue is applied around the stone to paste the ball chain circularly. This is done twice to make two layers, followed by a layer of ball chain. The number of layers can depend on the size of the stud required. Then using a toothpick, these attached chains are positioned in place and left to dry. After drying, the stud part is cut in a circular shape in the size that suits the jhumka. Now the stud is attached to the hanging part, and thus the earring is ready.
Next, to make a threaded bangle, firstly, a plastic bangle of the desired size is chosen. Then a coloured thread of approximately 1.5 feet in length is wound a number of times around the bangle. Once it properly covers the bangle, leaving no space in the view, the thread ends are cut and glued to hold them together. Next, the thread strip is secured rightly inside the bangle with a good amount of glue. Once this glue is dried, the bangle is decorated with differently coloured pearls, beads, and stones, making various floral patterns and designs. After the bangle making is done, the prepared bangles are brought together as per designs and colour combinations to make a set of bangles that suits a particular function or attire.
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Bangle Making:
