Presenting the 'Little Dorrit' bracelet

(Contains spoilers for Little Dorrit)

A long time ago, I hinted that I was working on a Dickens-related craft project. I actually finished it a while back -- I'm just not a very good photographer, and it almost took me more work to get a photo that (sort of) satisfied me then it did to make the project itself. But at long last, here it is: the Little Dorrit charm bracelet!

 

Below is a list of the charms, from left to right. I'm afraid I neglected to keep all the links to where I originally got them. But I've provided links where I could.

• A lock and key, to represent the Marshalsea.
• A thimble for Amy.
• A hand holding a timepiece, to represent Arthur's father's watch. I meant just to use a very small watch face, but you would not believe how difficult it is to find one, so I finally went with this.
• A top hat for Arthur.
• A shoe for the scene where Arthur touches Amy's shoe. If you thought a miniature watch was hard to find, you should have seen me trying to find a Victorian lady's shoe charm. (It didn't help that apparently someone told Claire Foy that Victorian women didn't show their feet, because she never shows hers. I looked at a ton of footage, and afterwards I knew no more about what her shoes looked like than I had before I started.) I finally got some help from Cathy Jakicic, editor of BeadStyle magazine and a Facebook friend, who steered me over here (although they no longer seem to have the exact one I chose). Many thanks to her!
• A button, in honor of Amy making off with Arthur's. I'm not quite happy with this button; it's a little too large. But it tends to sit all right when I wear the bracelet. If I ever find a smaller pewter or silver button, I may change it, but for now it's okay.
• A flower, representing both the flowers that Pet gave Arthur and the flowers that Amy later brought to him, which were emphasized more in the book than in the movie. There was a note in my edition of the book pointing out that flowers play a pretty big role in Arthur's love life (even Flora's name means "flower"!), so it seemed like a good idea to have one.
• A marriage license with rings. In the book we see Daniel Doyce taking Amy to get the license, and it seemed like a nice way to sum up the happy ending.

Among the charms, I interspersed purple Swarovski crystals (I chose purple because, well, you know), with metal filigree bead caps to give them a bit of a soft, lacy look. I wanted to add a Venetian bead in honor of Amy's time in Venice, but there wasn't much room left. But I may add one someday anyway. I have a few pretty blue and gold ones left from another project.

Comments

[Nibs]

That is so awesome, Gina! I had totally forgotten that you hinted this project, and I really love it. I've seen similar ones on Etsy before but never totally Dickens! Bad thing is that now I want one...

[Nibs]

One more question - the charms on the site you linked look all silver, but your charms were gold, right?

[Christy]

That is so splendid! I think I want one too. Which book would I choose, though? This one is just so marvelous I think I would probably choose "Little Dorrit" too.

[Gina]

Thanks, both of you! No, I used silver charms and a silver link bracelet, which I got at Artbeads.com if I remember correctly. It might just be the light making them look gold.

I was actually inspired by a "Victorian novelists" charm bracelet at Etsy.com, but they don't have it up anymore. I've been thinking about other Dickens books that might adapt themselves to a charm bracelet, but I haven't been able to come up with any yet. Maybe "Little Dorrit" just happens to have more things that can be used as symbols than the other books do!

[Nibs]

Copperfield! I'm going to make one!

[Gina]

Awesome! I can't wait to see it. Please let me know if you want any tips!

[Christy]

Nicholas Nickleby: A flask, for Newman Noggs; a cane, for the schoolmaster; a little Shakespeare book, for Nicholas; a rope, for Ralph Nickleby; a thimble, for Kate; a spoon, for Mrs. Squeers; a big, arrow-pierced heart for Fanny Squeers; a smiley face, for the Cheerybles; a paintbrush, for Miss LaCreevy; a pineapple, for Mr. Mantolini; a pistol, for Sir Mulberry Hawk; a little house, for Smike...

[Marian]

What a beautiful bracelet!!! I love the top hat and shoe especially; I used to be into beading jewelry, but I didn't know one could find all those different kinds of charms! The purple crystals are such a nice touch, and the perfect color. :)

[Nibs]

Hey, I have a tip for anyone interested in making one of these (and even if you want to add extra charms to yours, Gina!). You could try searching "steampunk jewelry" or "steampunk charms" on Etsy.com. They have tons of watch faces, keys, locks, and all other kinds of Victorian/vintage charms! :)

[Gina]

Ah, good thinking! That never even occurred to me! :-)

"Steampunk" is one of those words of which I can never quite figure out the definition, no matter how much I read about it. (I even wrote an LJ about it once: http://litlover12.livejournal.com/9114.html ) But I've at least gotten pretty familiar with the look of it by now.

[Nibs]

Haha, "steampunk". I can try to give you my definition, if you like. Steampunk is the fashion/design movement that mixes stereotypical "Victorian" elements (especially corsets and top hats!) with futuristic gadgets and inventions with lots of gears. Their inspiration comes from 19thC sci-fi novels like "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

I found the links to the bracelets you were looking at - I fell in love with the exact same ones a few months ago! :
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13923685

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=9326432

[Christy]

Wow, Nibs. That bracelet is brilliant.

[Gina]

Oh look, someone at Etsy made a "Christmas Carol" one! Very nice!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35946924&ref=sr_gallery_13&&ga_search_query=Charles+Dickens&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

[Christy]

Splendid. Not quite so splendid as some of the other ones, though.

[Selenia]

Beautiful! This has inspired me to make a Christmas Carol bracelet. Or maybe a Great Expectations bracelet??

[Gina]

Wonderful idea! If you do, please send pics!