August 3, 2013

By request: How to secure a brooch in place with an elastic band

Way back in the nippy snow covered days of last February, I posted an outfit featuring one of my favourite vintage Austrian fruit brooches and nestled amongst the comments was a question from Franny (from the awesome blog, The Curious Professor Z) regarding if I had a tried and true method for helping brooches stay attached to coats (or other garments). I did indeed, and I shared it with her, which lead to a follow up comment from my dear friend Joanna (of Dividing Vintage Moments), who asked if I could share images of said technique.

One very busy, topsy-turvy spring and first half of the summer later, I'm happy to finally do just that this sizzling August morning. Thank you very much for your questions, lovely ladies, I assure you that I had not forgotten about them.

This technique is dead simple, but it does lend itself even better to being explained via photos than merely in words, so I grabbed one of my favourite vintage brooches (which you may recall from this post) and my iPhone and took a few snaps detailing the key steps involved.

Before you start, you're going to need a brooch with a bar style clasp, a small (ideally fairly strong) elastic band (such as these ones from Goody), and whatever you're pining your brooch too. That's it, my dears. Now, let's get started...


 photo Howtosecureabroochwithanelasticband_image1_zps93b6b144.jpg

Here's a cute vintage brooch pinned in place without anything (beyond it's clasp) holding it in place. As you can see, all looks good, but lurking (quite literally) behind it, may be a clasp in need of some reinforcement.



This is the same brooch seen from behind with its clasp open. Like most brooches - be they costume or fine jewelry - this one has a standard bar clasp. Before jumping ahead to the next step, let's assume you've slide the bar on your brooch through your fabric (whatever you're wearing), but that it's still open (in other words, you haven't closed the clasp yet).



In order to help the brooch stay in place more securely, we're going to need a small (the kind used for micro braids are great here) elastic band. I usually use a clear one, but to ensure it helped show up better on camera (especially because I took these snaps with my cell phone), I used a grey one. Take the elastic band and slip it under the base of the bar clip as shown and then close the clasp on the brooch.



Next, securely wrap the elastic band around the bar of the clasp AFTER the clasp, save for one wrap which you do lastly on top of the clasp itself. This can take a little dexterity, but you should be able to get the elastic band around two to four times in total including the last loop, depending on the size of both it and the brooch you're working with.



When seen from the back (a view that is unlikely to ever be seen except during the process of putting the brooch on), this is what your bar clasp and elastic band should pretty much look like.



The elastic band rest under the brooch on the front on the garment, it is not visible from the underside of what you're wearing (unless your garment was very sheer, that is).



In this shot, I purposely tilted the brooch to show you what the elastic looks like when the brooch is secured in place. So long as you use a small, thin elastic and your brooch is not especially tiny, if you've done the elastic up tightly enough, you probably shouldn't be able see it that it's there at all (have you ever noticed that an elastic was on any of the brooches I've worn here?).



This is what the brooch, with the elastic in place, photographed or seen from head on looks like. Even with a grey elastic band used here, you can't see it and yet the brooch is so much more secure because the band is looped around in front and over the clasp on the bar (in order to remove it when taking the brooch off, simply unloop the elastic band, slide it off, and open the clasp like usual).


♥  ♥  



Now, this may go without saying, but sturdy and reliable as this method of helping to secure a brooch is, it's not entirely failsafe, because the elastic could always snap or slip off, thus rendering your brooch only as secure as the clasp itself (I usually like to keep an extra elastic band or two in my wallet at all times so that if this were to happen - it hasn't yet - while out and about, I could replace the band right way). If you have a brooch with an especially loose/wiggly/tricky clasp, I would suggest ensuring that your elastic band is wrapped very firmly in place before wearing it out and about.

I don't use an elastic every time I wear a brooch, but for many - especially those with loose clasps and/or which I'd be pretty heartbroken if I lost (or had fall and get damaged), I certainly do. I bought the wee little elastic bands that I use for this purpose several years ago at the dollar store, and you should be able to find some similar ones there, at a drug store, beauty supply store, big box chain, or pretty much anywhere a decent selection of hair accessories are sold (in addition to online).

If you've been worried about losing a much loved brooch, I hope that you'll give this dead simple approach a spin yourself. It takes mere seconds (and gets even quicker the more times you do it), costs almost nothing, and can be used with just about any bar clasp brooch of you choice – plus, and most importantly, it gives you a hefty dose of peace of mind that your beloved piece of jewelry is going to stay put from sun up to sun down.


45 comments:

  1. Jessica I am so glad you posted this! I have come very close to loosing some of my favorite brooches and started sticking up the ends with bluetack. I don't know if you have bluetack in Canada, but it's kind of like Playdoh :P I am going to do this with all of my brooches from now on, it looks much more sturdy (and less messy!) than what I've been doing ;)

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  2. I love brooches! they are a nice accessory and make outfits more interesting. :)

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  3. This sounds like something I could actually do! Im hopeless with repairs and all forms of DIY Thanks for posting
    urban hounds

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  4. great idea! have to try this with the brooches i have from my granny.
    and thank you for your kind comment on my blog, big hug too :-)

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  5. Thank you for sharing this! One of my grandma's brooches has a loose clasp and I tend to spend my day checking to make sure it isn't going to fall off when I wear it, so I am definitely going to have to give this a try.

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  6. well aren't you clever! There's a lot of brooches I only wear for special occasions in fear that I might lose them. Thank you so much for this simple how to!

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  7. What a great idea! I'm petrified of some of my oldest and dearest brooches disappearing due to a faulty clasp... I'll certainly be giving this a go!

    www.mancunianvintage.com

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  8. That is brilliant. I'll have to get ahold of some of those rubber bands and keep them with my pins.

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  9. I'm really glad you post this cause I lost three gorgeous vintage brooches in a last few weeks :/
    Great idea, can't wait to try it :)

    Have a nice weekend, kisses :*

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  10. That is a great idea! I never even thought to do that, but I have worried about some brooches. I'll have to try it sometime!

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  11. :O!!!! What a brilliant idea!!! Those clasps are so flimsy sometimes, this is so awesome! Thank you for sharing this :D

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  12. Thank you for this! I have a couple of brooches I'd be devastated to lose, and this is just the help I need. Plus, a post filled with an adorable poodle?!! LOVE IT! ;)
    ~xoxo!!!

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  13. Brilliant! I just know this will come in handy in the future!

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  14. This is a wonderful idea! Thanks dear Jessica, for sharing so much wisdom vintage with all of us. I'm sure I will use this tip on many occasions.

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  15. This is a great suggestion! I just inherited some of my grandmother's broaches and I was nervous about wearing them out (what if I lost them?!) but I think this would make me feel much more secure. And what an adorable little poodle broach you have! I dig his little red collar/bow.

    Hellcat Vintage

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  16. What a fantastic idea!

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  17. Very good idea!
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  18. Ahh, now I see! So clever! I like how this technique ads a bit of stability. Thank you!

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    1. My pleasure, sweet Joanna! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this post up! It had been in the back of my mind the whole time, and I swore I wasn't going to let another month slip by without doing it. My cute little poodle brooch enjoyed being the model here and I enjoyed finally getting the opportunity to share this super easy tip. :)

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. You are just too thoughtful:)

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  19. That's clever. I never thought to do that. Great idea.

    Best Wishes,
    Amanda

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  20. this is a great idea! i have a beautiful little diamond brooch that was my great grandmothers and i've never worn it out of fear of losing it, but using a little elastic band to help keep it safe would make me feel a lot better about it!

    little henry lee

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  21. Simple trick, thanks for sharing your idea. It would be a pity to lose such a beautiful broach!

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  22. That is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing :)

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  23. I do this too, but a little different. I use elastic meant for clothes and I use it on the back side, that is - stick the pin into your blouse, put the elastic on (stick into it two times), and then stick it back into your blouse. This way it sits perfectly and saves your blouse from pin holes. :)

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    1. Fantastic (clever!) technique, dear Sanne, thank you very much for sharing!

      ♥ Jessica

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  24. What a great tip! I will definitely try this right away.
    Thanks so much for posting!

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    1. You're very welcome, dear gal. I'm really happy to know you find it useful. I keep a few of these wee elastics in the same couple of spots where I store my brooches so that they're always ready to go hand-in-hand when I get dressed. It speeds the process up all the more! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  25. Glad you showed this. I don't have many brooches and tend to not buy some that I love due to the fact that they have loose clasps and I'm scared to lose them.
    -Jamie
    ChatterBlossom

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  26. Very clever Jessica!
    I have a few brooches that I have wanted to wear on fall or winter coats but fear that I will lose them. This solves my problem!

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  27. I adore that little pooch brooch! You're inspiring me to start wearing more pins and brooches. They're so fun.

    Jules of Canines & Couture
    www.caninesandcouture.com

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  28. I'm finally catching up with my blogs and I have to say ... HURRAH! HUZZAH! And a big, huge thank you! :) I just inherited a bunch of gorgeous pins from my Mom and I can't wait to wear them while teaching this semester. Big hugs from NYC! And thanks for the shout out! :)

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  29. I don't normally have issues with brooches, but if I ever do, I'll make sure to use this as my guide!

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  30. Thanks so much for sharing this! What a brilliant idea. I have brooch that always falls off when I'm wearing it. Luckily I haven't lost or broken it yet. I will definitely try your idea.

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    1. You're very welcome! My pleasure! I'm delighted to know that this idea helped you and hope that implementing it will keep all of your brooches firmly in place. I use it frequently myself and have never lost or had one fall off and break since putting it into practise.

      Many thanks for your comment - have a stellar weekend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  31. Thank you so much. I was desperate for this information. Will try in tomorrow.

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    1. You're super welcome, Virginia. I'm so happy to know that this post will be of help to you. I continue to use this technique frequently myself and am happy to say that I haven't lost or had a brooch fall off and get damaged in many years now thanks to it.

      Wishing you a terrific autumn!
      ♥ Jessica

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  32. Thank you for this brilliant tip! I have lost brooch pins before even when I slipped a safety pin behind, so I will do this from now on.

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    1. You're very welcome, Elizabeth. Thank you for your lovely comment. I truly hope that this handy little "hack" keeps you from losing any more brooches. I've not had a single one fall off since I started using it myself.

      Have a wonderful autumn,
      ♥ Jessica

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  33. Great tutorial, but not all brooches have the bar you can slip the band under. What do you do when the brooch doesn't have a bar and only the locking mechanism?

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    1. Thank you very much for your comment and question. Do you mean when a brooch has a tie tack style clutch instead of a bar like the ones in this image? https://img1.etsystatic.com/023/0/7509308/il_fullxfull.481057885_mrpo.jpg

      Honestly, I don't own many of that style and the tiny number that I do are all quite secure. If one became loose though, I think I'd order some replacement clutches online (no such stores in my town that might sell them) and see if a new clutch that hadn't been gradually loosened over time would do the trick.

      If that's not the type of brooch back you mean, please feel free to share the link to an image of the style you mean and I'll take another stab at answer your question. :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  34. Thank you for this tip..this problem has been driving me crazy for years.

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    1. You're sincerely welcome. I'm really happy that I could be of assistance to you with this issue. I employee this same trick with nearly every vintage brooch I wear and can happily say that I haven't lost or had one fall off on me in years now thanks to it.

      Thank you for your comment. Have a great start of autumn!
      ♥ Jessica

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