Jewelry Bust Necklace Display Re-cover

     I use many different displays in my jewelry shows, and when I started out, I made the mistake of using all black mannequins and displays. As you can see here it drains the color and detail out of the stone and makes it difficult to see the details of the wire work.  I could not afford to buy all new displays, so I re-covered them with a lighter material. I have found that white can be as harmful as black in draining the color and showing off your beautiful designs properly, so I have gone to using a muslin that has a bit of a linen look to it. It looks richer and was certainly less expensive than many materials. It will also help you in taking better photographs of your jewelry designs.

     To do this project is fairly easy and takes only a couple hours to do. This project is for a jewelry bust that is flat one with a stand back, so to I made sure to create a back to keep it clean and to allow the stand to still be used.

     Supplies
    1.Muslin
    2.Felt
    3. Hot glue and gun
    4. Spray adhesive(optional)
    5. Pencil and paper to make pattern
    6. Scissors

   Directions
    1. Lay  the bust face down flat onto the paper and trace the outside twice to make two patterns.     

   
     2. Add 1" to one pattern, this will be for the muslin front. Add cutting lines on the corners approximately 1/4" from the original edge. You can also add slash lines to the other outer curves if you like, but I found it easier to just fold overlaps around those. These help when shaping the corners.

     3.  Cut out the muslin and the slash lines.     

     4. Subtract 1/4" from the second pattern for the felt back. Mark the opening for the stand on the pattern. 

     5. Cut out the felt including the opening for the back stand

   
     6. Lay muslin face down on work space and place bust face down on top of the fabric. Hot glue fabric onto the back being careful to keep the muslin taught so any wrinkles and bubbles on the front are minor. I begin with gluing the top and bottom to help achieve a smooth look. Do not worry about how messy the back is yet.  When you finish gluing, remove a little of the excess where needed, such as earring holes. Just make sure you do not trim to much or the felt will not cover the edges properly.

     
     7. Now if you are using spray adhesive spray the felt. Careful slide the felt over the stand through the opening and press the fabric down smoothing from the center out to cover all the raw edges (it can be tricky, and sticky). If you would rather use the hot glue that is fine. Glue around the stand opening first being careful to not let the glue leak out over the edges and then glue the felt over the raw edges continuing to be careful. Lastly using a push pin open up the earring holes if you have them.

     8. You are done! Now your jewelry bust is re-covered and ready to show off your beautiful jewelry deigns. 

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