[Originally posted in early 2010, Style School]
A few years ago, I made my mom a Silverspoon Windchime like this for Christmas :) She hung it above the deck at our family cabin and it chimes a sweet gentle sound when the wind blows :)
Made with recycled supplies, these chimes are an inexpensive way to decorate your garden or patio and they'd make a beautiful and impressive handmade gift for a loved one this Christmas :)
You will need: 1 or 2 silverforks, 5 silverspoons, glassbeads, fishing line, pliers, a file, scrapwood, drill & tiny drillbit
Step 1: Using your pliers, bend the four tines in all four directions like a '+' sign. Start with the outside tine near the base, bending it down then twisting it slightly sideways... do the same with the other outside tine, folding it in the other direction. Then take the 2 middle tines and fold one in each direction (see above image).
Note: Sometimes the tines can break during this step. If this happens, discard the broken fork and use your second fork to try again. If it doesn't break, you have an extra/unused fork.
Step 2: Now we'll reform the tip of each tine into a loop. Doing one tine at a time, I start by folding a 90degree angle upwards.
Step 3: Then take the tip with your pliers and round it towards the forks' center. Next place the folded tine between the pliers (see above)...
and gently squeeze till the loop is formed. Do all four with the loops facing upwards.
Step 4: Using a power drill with a tiny drillbit, drill a hole in the handle of each spoon and the fork. I find it's sometimes easier to drill it upsidedown because the decoration on the front is bumpy. Important: Use a block of wood underneath your spoon so that you can drill through and protect your table surface.
Step 5: Since your windchime will have 5 hanging pieces and your fork only has 4 tines, drill one extra hole above the tines/loops.
Step 6: File the surfaces of the drilled holes a bit so that sharp edges don't cut the fishing line while it's hanging.
Step 7: My friend taught me a knot that kicks butt! There's two ways to do it, my preferred version is Style 2 (below)... practice doing both ways and choose which one you're most comfortable with.
Style 1 Knot - Cut an arms-length of fishing line. Feed it through the hole and tie a knot, with about 5 inches excess line on the short end. Twist the 2 lines about seven times, then take the short end and feed it through a hole in the twist near the base of the handle. Pull the short tail and the line will gather tightly like a noose. Trim the short end with about 1 inch left (too short=unravels). See Step 11 for Style 2 Knot.
Note: If you just tie lots of normal knots (even LOTS), it will undo itself overtime.
Step 8: Attach an arms-length line to each of your 5 spoons using Style 1 or Style 2 knots.
Step 9: Lace a few beads onto each line and set aside.
Step 10: I put a few extra beads on the spoon that goes in the middle as an accent.
Note: I call the middle spoon The Clanger. For a more interesting clanger, choose a fancy spoon or unique butter/decorative knife-- extra personality :)
Idea: Let your children help with the beads! I made a tiny windchime with each of my twin nieces using mini cutlery. Olivia and Kennedy added the beads, counting out loud and comparing the colors and naming the shapes of each bead (one was called a "wormy" bead and the bent fork was a 'spider'). It was fun to get them involved, and they were really proud to help make something fancy :)
Step 11: Once you've strung your beads on, you're ready to tie each string/spoon onto the fork. Decide how long you'd like the strings/spoons to fall and tie your first string on (using a Style 1 or 2 knot). Then jump across and tie on the next spoon so that a balance is being formed. Then a spoon on each remaining tine. Lastly, your clanger is tied onto the center through the hole... I like to put the clanger a little higher or lower than the rest of the spoons so that it's stands out a bit.
Style 2 Knot is the knot technique I prefer for tying the noose knot (you can use it for all the knots in this project). How: Tie one knot with a 5inch tail. Now create a loop (like you're tying a knot) and wrap the tail around the mainline upwards/towards the fork, approximately 7 times. Pull the short end of the line upwards and your noose knot will be set. Once the noose knot is tight, trim the short tail with about 1 inch remaining.
Tip: The easiest way to assemble your windchime is to hang the fork from something above you so that you can work on the project hanging infront of you. I used the patio umbrella.
Step 12: To finish your windchime, tie an armslength of line to the top of your fork and feed a few of your favorite beads onto the string. Secure the last/top bead in place by lacing the string through the bead again (from the bottom up) so that it doesn't fall off. Your windchime will bring pretty music in the breeze :)
This is the original windchime I gave my Mom at Christmas and it's patinad nicely & held up really well. This chime has a decorative knife clanger in the middle but on other chimes, I've used a tiny metal teapot (salt shaker), a small ladle or a pretty cut-out pie server.
Hope you enjoy making this special chime :) xo, Leigh-Ann
