I’ve always thought skeleton keys were pretty cool, even back when I was a kid. While hunting at a frequented antique/junk stop of mine for old door knobs (for my recent Door Knob Project) I found some door knobs were part of a whole working set, complete with the opposite knob, door plate, locking mechanism, and of course…key holes. That got me wondering if there might be some old skeleton keys around the place too. So I asked the old man who owns the place.
By golly he did. He pulled out this box from under his desk, and dropped it in front of me with a clang. At first sight, it was looking like I wasn’t going to find much. But a little digging proved me wrong. I realized that, like vintage door knobs, skeleton keys come in many sizes, shapes and unique styles, as well. I did get a few keys on this day, to start, and I have a few different ideas of what creative things I can do with them.
One idea I put into action so far, was to make a simple necklace or 2 with them. This particular project here was for {O}, our ‘Resident Accessory Girl”. So these shown here in this post are a bit little-girlish in fashion, but I’ll give you some great ideas for grown women necklaces in a minute.
I gave {O} one of the keys and a steel wool pad, and let her try to clean it up this key, out on the deck. She’ll take a task on, anytime. She’s the kind that wants to be busy, at all times.
It started out looking like this. We didn’t find it necessary to get rid of all of the rust, as that’s what gives it an aged look, and a bit of charm. But certainly we wanted to smooth it down enough, to be sure it wouldn’t be leaving rust residue on any clothing. Also, that nasty gauze strip needed to be removed. Yuck! That thing had me wondering all kinds of hee-bee-gee-bee thoughts. Nothing fashionable about that scrap!
Once the key was clean, we looped it onto some very simple satin & sheer ribbon we had on hand, in bright fuchsia pink!
{O} did a nice job cleaning the key up, and we thought it looked pretty cute!! I let her know that, when she wore this piece or others like it, out & about, that she can expect the question, “What’s the key to?”, and that it would be a good idea for her to have some answers ready. The expression on her face flashed from realizing I was probably right, to thinking-mode, in quick succession. She can be so funny sometimes. So far, here’s some answers she came up with:
“Maybe to my heart!”
“To allll of my secrets.”
“That’s for me to know, and for you, to never know!” 😀
I gave her some different colored ribbons, cut to size and knotted, so that she can change out the ribbon on the key anytime, to co-ordinate with other outfits.
Then I showed her again, how simple it is to tie on the key, and I’ll show you right now too.
With the lose ends knotted, take the opposite end doubled, and put the loop through the key hole.
Then take the knotted end, and pull it through the inside of the loop that you just fed through the key.
Pull slowly….
….to make sure that it tightens nice & neatly at the top of the key.
Voila!! Slip the necklace over your head!
Here’s another technique, for a different look:
Feed the doubled ribbon through the top of the key, using the opposite end with the knot this time, and then put the opposite end’s plain loop through. Then slowly pull to tighten so that the end’s knot and tails tighten at the key top.
You then can also slide on one or more pretty beads, over the doubled ribbon, right down to the knot. To do this, you do need to use beads with a large enough hole. I kind of stuffed this one through!
For some more grown up looks, consider using multiple keys, and other types of ribbon in more earth tones or royal colors, or try leather or suede string. You can also add beads in a mix or match variety of beads made of ceramic, glass, carved wood, etc. If you are a more experienced jewelry maker, you could work with chains, links and clasps, along with other decorative elements, to really make a vintage-style necklace.
Skeleton keys can actually be incorporated into all kinds of fashion accessories. Since they do come in different sizes, think in terms of designing as bracelets, belts, zipper pulls, or hair accessories.
I know we plan to make more unique projects using skeleton keys, and I am sure to be sharing them right here, with you!
We hope you enjoyed this simple little creative idea, for your wardrobe accessory collection.
If you have an other answers for {O} about what the key might be to, or, if you have re-purpose ideas for skeleton keys yourself, please share them with us in the comment section. We hope to hear your great ideas!