Soutache - Donatella Ciotti Paperback

Discover Soutache, the art of creating modern and unique jewellery from looped braids.

Donatella Ciotti shows you how to create stunning, expensive-looking costume jewellery, from earrings and bracelets to brooches for hats, with full-colour, detailed photography to guide you through each process. There is even a gallery of images at the end of the book to inspire you to create your own, bespoke soutache masterpieces.

Learn about the history of jewellery crafting and the ever-growing trend for affordable yet stylish costume jewellery, before trying your hand at your own soutache pieces. Begin with the basic techniques of finishing and sewing the cords and inserting pearls and cabochons or cameos, discover the secrets behind coiling your soutache braids to make buttons, then begin to make bracelets, rings, headbands and much more.

Your soutache creations will be eye-catching and entirely unique to you!

112 pages

500 illustrations 

Size: 204mm x 260mm

Table of Contents

Creating with soutache 6

Historical notes 8

MATERIALS: SOUTACHE CORD 10

OTHER MATERIALS 12

ACCESSORIES 14

BEADS AND CRYSTALS 16

PREPARING THE CORDS 18

TYING OFF KNOTS 18

SEWING THE CORDS 19

MAKING A BASIC ELEMENT 20

WORKING WITH A CABOCHON 24

SEWING A BEZEL TO THE CORDS 26

SETTING A CABOCHON WITH BEADS 27

STRIPS WITH BEADS 28

LEAF TECHNIQUE 28

ADDING PEARLS TO A LEAF SHAPE 29

LOZENGE SHAPE LEAF WITH BEADS 29

WAVE TECHNIQUE WITH PEARLS 30

WAVE TECHNIQUE WITH SMALL PEARLS AND BEADS 31

ZIGZAG TECHNIQUE 32

COIL TECHNIQUE 34

COIL WITH A PEARL 35

DOUBLE COLOUR COILS 35

SPIRAL BUTTONS 36

COIL WRAPPING ON RINGS 38

SEWING RHINESTONE CHAINS TO THE CORDS 40

SEWING BEADS AROUND a CABOCHON 42

SEWING CORD TO A BEADED CABOCHON 45

GLUING TECHNIQUE 46

BRACELETS 48

WAVE BRACELETS 50

ZIGZAG BRACELET 52

MULTICOLOUR BRACELET 54

TWO-COLOUR PLAITED BRACELET 56

RINGS 58

PINK RING WITH CABOCHON 60

LIME GREEN AND LILAC RING 62

PINK AND TURQUOISE RING 66

HEADBANDS 68

GREEN HEADBAND 70

DAYTIME HEADBAND 72

ELEGANT EVENING HEADBAND 73

CREATIONS IN RUBBER 74

BRACELET AND EARRINGS 76

EARRINGS 80

LARGE HOOP EARRINGS WITH A DROP 82

EARRINGS WITH A STONE CABOCHON 84

EARRINGS WITH LEAVES 86

HAIR COMBS AND HAIR CLIPS 88

WHITE HAIR COMB 90

TURQUOISE AND AQUAMARINE HAIR COMB 92

LAMP SHADE 94

BROOCHES FOR HATS 98

HAT BROOCH 100

GALLERY OF INSPIRATION 104