Simple Brooch Pin backs.

Here are examples of pin fittings of the kind which I make most often for my work. There are many dozens of pin back styles you can make, but these are the less elaborate ones which I find simple in their making and appearance, as well as reliable mechanisms.

The hinge is a length of tube which has the same internal diameter as the thickness gauge of the wire eg. the wire is 0.9mm and the internal diameter of the tube is 0.9mm. The tube is soldered onto a piece of sheet (the plinth) to give a little height. A groove was filed into the edge of the plinth with a 3-sided, then round needle file to create a slight depression for the tube to sit in snugly.

The hook catch is formed from a piece of wire which has been soldered into a hole (could be partially drilled if the other side of the brooch is critical) in the brooch back. The hook has had the curve planished to strengthen and ‘set’ the shape. The pin is given tension, by the other end which is

 bent down against the brooch back, forcing the pin upwards against the hook. The point of the pin is filed, emery-papered and polished to a bullet point, which parts the fabric fibres instead of piercing and damaging or causing a hole.

 A longer, heavier piece here on the left is using the same style pin as above but with a double pin which has tension  created through the kinks in the pin stems. The kinks force the pins upwards against the catch.

Another version of the above double pin, but the tension in the pins is created by the fact that the pins are forcing outwards against the curled hooks of the catch.

Another double pin but with a fancy curled hook. Notice that the tube hinge is not on any ‘plinth’, this is because the brooch is very lightweight and can be worn on lighter fabrics that do not need a ‘rise’ to lift the pins above thick fabric.

For a brooch made entirely by reclaiming metal from existing, unwanted items, a pin made from a paperclip was appropriate. The tension for this pin is created by the loop-around at the ‘hinge’ end, which forces the pin-stem upwards. The pin is not fixed but was threaded through holes in the back during its creation and hangs the brooch like a bead would hang from a kilt-pin.

This is a rough sample of a pin back which would be suitable for brooches made of non-solderable materials, such as plastics or wood or fabrics… It is sheet that is sawn out in the shape that I’ve sketched out. The long tab rolls up to become the hook. The other end has ‘ears’ which have holes drilled of the same gauge as the wire which then passes through the folded-up ‘ears’ and through the coiled end of the pin-wire . The holes drilled into the brooch are ready for riveting onto the brooch, or in the case of plastic, wires may have been glued into holes in the plastic, then a rubber washer then the pin fitting, slotted over and the wire heads riveted off. Or there may be several holes for stitching onto material. The back-plate could have a textured surface or a pierced-out design.

Remember that pin fittings need to be attached above the halfway point of the brooch, that is, 2/3rds of the way up the brooch. A common mistake for those early on in their jewellery-making adventures, is to attach the pin in the centre of the brooch, which would then cause the brooch to flop when worn.

Good luck!