I am so happy to be posting again on Or so she says…Here I am in case you forgot. My name is Roberta and I claim to be one of many BFF’s of Mariel’s childhood friends. Since she has lived all over the U.S., I am sure there are many of you out there. I am the NY BFF. I LOVE wind chimes, they are so beautiful, and with the warm spring weather arriving it just makes me in the mood to hear their awesome tinkle tinkle. I was at an antique shop and saw silverware wind chimes. I fell instantly in love! Silverware makes a beautiful sound when it’s in the wind brushing against each other. Unlike some other wind chimes that are very loud and annoying and could get you in trouble with the neighbors. Like the traditional ones you are probably thinking of that are silver, hollow, long, and tubular. Those are killer on the ears! Wood chimes are nice on the ears also. My front porch would be loaded with wind chimes if we lived in the country.
After I bought my antique silverware wind chime, a thought occurred to me! “Hey I can make these myself!” And so I have! They are great as gifts and cost next to nothing! Mine hang beautifully in my kitchen. I gave my sister one and hers hangs on her back patio, which she mentions she loves the sound they make, it is such a unique sound. So today I am going to teach you how to make your very own silverware wind chime.
The best place to purchase silverware is a thrift store! They have loads and loads of it! Remember the more decorative, older and rustier the better.
DIY Silverware Wind Chimes
Materials Needed: Five forks, one spoon, needle nose pliers, regular pliers, and fishing line.
Drill a hole in the end of the handle of each piece of silverware.
Choose one fork to be the centerpiece fork, the fork from which all the other forks will dangle. Drill a hole into the smooth part of the fork above the prongs.
Take the centerpiece fork and bend one of the outermost prongs back using the regular pliers.
Bend the other outermost prong in the opposite direction.
Then bend the same prongs again so they are pointing out to the sides.
With the pliers bend each of the innermost prongs in opposite directions.
Make sure the prongs are all perpendicular to the fork handle and each other.
With needle nose pliers, curl the end of each prong one rotation only and set aside.
Start curling the prongs of the next fork using the needle nose pliers.
You can curl the prongs completely up, partway up, or in opposite directions. Experiment and see what you like best. Don’t make the curls too tight, though. I have found that looser curls make a better sounding wind chime.
Repeat with the remaining forks.
Cut four 10-inch pieces of fishing line (you can also use thin ribbon)and tie them onto the curled ends of each prong of the centerpiece fork with really good knots. Also tie one last piece of 10 inch fishing line through the hole between the two center prongs.
About four inches down from the tip of the fork prongs, tie on your first fork onto the fishing line. Make sure the curly prongs of the forks are even with each other by dangling your wind chime above the table and letting the fork prongs line up by resting on the table.
Finish off by tying the spoon to the middle of one of the centerpiece fork prongs and checking to make sure it lines up with the forks. Thread a length of fishing line through the hole in the handle of the centerpiece fork and tie it up outside where you’ll be able to enjoy it.
Another cute, easier wind chime I have done is curling the prongs on 1 fork and hanging 4 spoons from it. The spoons are close together but it still sounds and looks pretty. You can get very creative with it by attaching colorful beads. Beware of knives they don’t work very well, they are very hard to pierce the handle, we have ruined quite a few drill bits trying. There are several pretty and creative silverware wind chimes ideas on the internet, here’s a couple favorites…
Have fun!
-Roberta
Supplies for making silverware wind chimes:
Stanley 84-096 5-Inch Needle Nose PlierStanley 84-096 5-Inch Needle Nose Plier
WORKPRO 7-piece Pliers Set (8
IRWIN VISE-GRIP North American Lineman’s Pliers, 9-1/2
Beadsmith Illusion Monofilament Bead Cord .010 In 6 lb 164ft
BLACK+DECKER LDX120C 20V MAX Lithium Ion Drill / Driver
More DIY posts you’ll love:
Very Funky. Might have to give this a go 🙂
Very Funky. Might have to give this a go 🙂
This is so much fun! I’ll need to keep my eyes out for cool silverware at the (subpar) thrift store. Oh how I long for DI here *L*
That is so fun!
I LOVE this!
That is just cool. Very creative and downright thrifty!
These are so cool. I’m totally wanting one…pick me!
YOU are awesome! I love the addition of the beads too…
Great job, once again!
I love this and love you, my NY BFF!
When I read the title, I thought they would be totally hoaky…but they are kinda cute…I dig it.
Very cute! I really like the ones with beads.
Very cool!! You make it sound so easy!! My mother would love these, can you say Mother’s Day present???
i love this!, I think I my try this in the near future!
I’ll need to go find silverware to give this a try. What a unique gift yet so creative and cute!
So fun and original!
love this creative idea!
Guess where I’m going today? To the local Goodwill (no DI by us) and pick up some forks. 🙂
Love this idea!!!
This would make a great Mother’s Day gift for my mom. She LOVES wind chimes and antique-type stuff.
Julina
What a fun project. I am going to give it a try!
Please pick me to be the winner! We just bought a fun old house from the 60s that would go perfectly with the a wind chime on the back porch. Yay!
Super cool idea, an d they look somewhat easy to make! 😀
I have to admit, I was a little sceptical at first, but after seein the end result I am throughly impressed! Those are beautiful! I’d love to be entered into the giveaway!
Melissa
[email protected]
I love these. We love wind chimes at our house and one of these would be a great addition.
This is such a good idea! What kind of drill & drill bit did you use?
Great idea… Might have to use some of my “old” silverware to do this. Then I can get that new set I’ve been eyeing for some time!
What a great idea!!! I have some mis matched silverware that was my grandmothers, this would be a great project with my girls and a really perfect teacher gift!
These are so different! Enter me please!
This looks like a really fun project. Thanks for the how-to.
Hi Roberta- its your neighbor. What a fun project, I’ll have to come see your wind chimes.
Very cool!
I like that you use vintage looking silverware. Are they really old, or did you do something to make them look that way?
So, so cute!
Since I’m not the least bit crafty, consider this my entry into your giveaway.
I hope I win!!
I absolutely love these chimes, especially the one you did with a butter dish in addition to the silverware. Your photos and directions are very well done, too. I am not particularly adept at craft type activities, but you explain it so well that I’m sure even I could be successful. Thank you so much for sharing this great idea.
Very fun! I have wanted one of these for a long time!
You can oxidize REAL silver. But we just used regular stainless steel silverware, and to get the antique look we put them in our wood burning fire pit! This really does the trick in making them look old! The heat makes the steel so hot it creates a rainbow of colors on the stainless steel. Use caution when doing this!
Love windchimes!!! These are soooo fun looking!
Shannon HAymore
That is so cool! Please count me in. Thanks.
Such a cute idea! Thanks Roberta!
Wow. This is something I could actually make!
I love windchimes and live out in the country, so they won’t annoy my neighbors, no matter how loudly they chime!
Awesome tutorial Roberta. Thanks for sharing.
I ve never seen anything like that. Great idea. Congrats.:-)
I absolutely adore your wind chime! I love eclectic, whimsical crafts! It’s so sweet of you to give one away!
Very cool!! I will have to share this with my sister!!
I’m pretty sure my little apartment would be the coolest in Nashville with one of these wind chimes!
Cute! Good way to repurpose those items, too.
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The picture that led me to these instructions had a wind chime with a bobeche that the forks are hanging from. I was wondering where you source those from?
I’m not sure… I’m sorry. I removed any pictures from this post where the links back weren’t valid anymore or the source wasn’t known.
I have been making these since 1988. I still enjoy making them today, but silverware is getting harder to find. Cost a fortune to purchase used silverware. Beautiful work Roberta.