These are pictures of the presents I gave my friend for Valentine's Day. We like to go all out when giving each other presents for almost any occasion, and this year was the first time we wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day. I decided I wanted to make her a necklace, since I almost always give her homemade gifts. I wasn't sure of how to make it at first, but then I remembered how she loves creative things having to do with zippers. She even has zipper earrings. So, I cut the zipper out of an old pair of pants I had and used it to make the necklace. After seeing how easy and quick it was to make, I decided to turn my other pair of pants into a matching anklet. I put my own creative touches on each one, using a sewing kit, scissors, Sharpies, and some other basic materials. There are tons of variations that can be made on this idea in order to make it your own.

Step 1: The Zippers

Necklace:

First, find an old pair of pants, backpack, purse, really anything with any kind of zipper. Cut the zipper out, leaving nothing on it but the thin, a little less than an inch long fabric on each side of it. You can cut it to any size you want as long as you leave the base of the zipper. You can do this by pulling the zipper down and using scissors to cut off the excess zipper at the top. Make sure the zipper still works and that it hasn't come off its chain.

Anklet:

The same as the necklace, but it's a good idea to make it smaller, although it depends on what you want it to look like.

Important: The smaller you make the zipper, the harder it will be to complete the rest of the steps.

Step 2: Color

Necklace:

Now you can take any kind of marker (preferably one that won't rub off easily) and color the fabric however you want.

Anklet:

Same.

Step 3: Making the Heart

Necklace:

Here's the tricky part. Unzip the zipper however much you want (somewhere around halfway, you can change it whenever you want so don't worry about it) and grab the two ends of the fabric. Making sure the zipper parts of them are pointed up, pull the ends down to the base of the zipper. To make them meet at the bottom, twist the ends a little outwards so that their bits of fabric overlap. If you see the fabric covering the bottom of the zipper, you're doing it right. Try looking at the picture for help.

Anklet:

Try to do the same, although it will be difficult if you made the zipper smaller.

Step 4: Closing and Stitching

Necklace:

For this part you may use glue if you like, but sewing is preferred. Where the fabric overlaps, you can sew it shut using an identical color to blend it in, or to make a pattern, write a name, anything you want really. For the necklace, I used black thread so it wouldn't be visible.

Anklet:

Same as the necklace. For this one, I had a smaller red heart so I used black thread to make stitches and a scar in it. This kept it closed very well and was the favorite aspect for many people.

Step 5: Make It Tattered

Necklace:

Although this part is optional, I recommend doing something like this to remove the excess fabric. For the black heart, I flipped it over and roughly cut the upper half of the back out. I cut it close to the outside of it, but I left a lot of it in the middle. Make SURE you leave all the fabric in the middle alone, or you'll be really frustrated by the end of this project

Anklet:

For the anklet I left a lot more fabric on, especially on the sides. If you sewed something into it like I did, then be very careful not to cut the thread as you remove the fabric.

Step 6: The Necklace Chain

Necklace:

Now that you've finished your charm, you need something to put it on. Flip the heart over and cut two very small holes in the middle of the fabric, towards the top. For the necklace, I took the chain from a cheap old necklace I never wore and put it through the holes. Clip the ends behind your neck and then you're done!

Anklet:

Things are a little more complicated for the anklet. Unless you have an anklet chain you're willing to spare, you'll have to make one yourself, like I did. Of course, if it's the other way around these instructions can easily make a necklace chain too.

Step 7: The Anklet Chain

Anklet:

Since an anklet has to be stretchy in order to get around your foot and stay on your ankle, I used a rubber band. Test it on your ankle first, to make sure it's not too big or too small. What I did next was take a white spool of yarn and wrap it around the rubber band until I couldn't see it anymore. I wanted to make the colors black and red to match the heart, but coloring the yarn normally frayed it so I had to use more of a dabbing motion to do it. It didn't take very long; I simply dabbed most of the yarn black, then did the same with red over it to cover the white spots. Next, I had to make sure the yarn wouldn't come loose and undo itself. So, I took the leftover part of the zipper and cut it in half. I colored one red and the other black, and glued them closed on each side of the band, where the loose ends of the yarn were. You can see the red one in the picture. Then, I colored a piece of the yarn black and looped it through the holes on the back of the heart and tied it onto the anklet. Make sure you tie it so that it faces out; I didn't think of that the first time and had to cut it and do it again.