Thread: My bell/mirror set (Ancient Reflections)

Thought I'd start a thread showing what's involved with one of these sets and post pictures, etc., as things progress to the final ready to wear stage.

I got one knowing full well ahead of time all the jump rings would need replacing with split rings, that the mirrors can pop/fall out, the metal can be a little dirty, and of course a base would have to be made to mount it on.

It arrived last night. Out of the box, my fingers did get dirty holding it to look over, two mirrors came off right away, and a small medallion came off its jump ring somewhere on the belt. If I hadn't been prepared for all that I wouldve been upset. Instead, I hot glued the mirrors back on, washed my hands and got vinyl gloves our for future handling, and put the small medallion to the side to find where it goes later.

It's pretty, "old school"/vintage orientale (aka AmCab) feel to it, but I would not recommend this as a first costume. Primarily because of the amount of work it'll need before it can be worn.

I'll try to post pictures of it out of the box tonight and will continue with pics as I start construction. Maybe it'll help others see what needs to be done and give ideas based on what I did/will do...g.:

As for the jump rings vs. split rings: If you have HEAVY jump rings and not the flimsy stuff you describe, you should be fine. Split rings can be a pain in the tush, and even CostLess uses jump rings, but they are thick enough to prevent accidents. Congratulations on the new beauty! Post pix ;-)

I can't wait to see it.

Thanks for the thread! I look forward to your tutorial : )

Which vendor did you get them from?

Mine came from Ebay and was not bad right out of the box. A few medallions have fallen off, but it came with extra and so far I haven't lost any mirrors.

But, the gold finish is starting to wear off :(

I bought from Dahlal because right now they're offering a 25% discount off any one item, but there are stickers on the bags that the individual costume pieces came in that say Mid East Manufacturing. So it's the same set sold by MEM on their website.

Get a polishing cloth (old tee shirt should do) and buff that puppy up! This will get rid of the most egregious dirt and also give it a little more shine.

As I have said on other threads, I like the split rings. BUt I am lazy and choose only to replace as needed.

Enjoy your new set!

{{{HUGS}}}

I'm ashamed to admit that I bought one of these sets from a fellow Bhuzzer over 12 months ago.It's still waiting to be mounted on a bra and belt base so I look forward to your ongoing progress and pics.

Here are some pics of the set out of the box & bags, as well as the bra I'm using. I've started reinforcing the cups on the bra & should post pics of it this week. I'll also post pics of the fabric I'm using to cover; gold crepe back satin.

belly drape & bra cover (I'm pointing to a medallion that fell off & I just reattached)


back of the belt - side of the belt (I plan to relocate that dangling medallion on the side to the front)


front of belt & strapless Walmart bra

This is a great thread, I have one of these sets and have performed in it but it's not mounted on a base as yet, so am interested to see how this goes.

Always drooled over these! Love the mirrored sets, and the weight they have! How did you choose your bra base? Are you adding straps or just going to use the chain?

Originally Posted by Zsuzsanna

Always drooled over these! Love the mirrored sets, and the weight they have! How did you choose your bra base? Are you adding straps or just going to use the chain?

The base was picked based on cup shape and stiffness of the cups. This one is foam, as most are nowadays, but it's a little firmer than others I looked at. The chain straps will be removed from the cover and reinforced, covered grosgrain ribbon will be attached to the bra as straps. I'll have pictures as things go along. ..g.:

Aren't there two of the dangling medallions, one per side?

Mine came with one, on the right side. As is, the right side can be adjusted some, but the left side is 'open' with longer chains to allow for much more adjusting than the right.

Okie dokie, here are the cups. Far left is front of the left one & the other two are the back/inside of the right one (as evidenced by my "R" marking ..l;,).

I stitched one layer of extra heavy interfacing to the front/outside of the cups and on the inside did a double layer plus added boning in a "T" shape. They aren't rock hard, but they are pretty stiff.



I have heavy canvas, but may forego it & instead sew a layer of felt inside the cups, then cover the entire cup with the jersey knit, before moving on.

The set is beautiful and thank you for posting how you are reinforcing the bra! Very helpful!

Okay, had some life stuff going on so I got behind on this, but I'm working on it again. I'll add pictures to this post later this evening, but I wanted to go ahead & get this up now since I started replacing rings last night.

I got 300 10mm gold tone split rings off ebay & they arrived this week. Initially I thought 300 would surely be enough ..l;, Silly me. The drape alone used 49, so now I think maybe I'll need another couple hundred. I'll try to get a rough count this evening (which I should've done to begin with). I am replacing every jump ring. It's time consuming, but at least I won't have to worry about shedding mirrors and/or bells while performing.

I started & finished the drape last night while watching TV & with the new split rings, which are thinner, it seems to look more delicate now (to me anyway), than it did with the thicker/heavier jump rings it came with. Which I like ..g.:

What is the difference between jump and split rings?

Originally Posted by Karnak

What is the difference between jump and split rings?

Regular jump rings with a twist. Think the jump rings your pendent hangs from. If it isn't soldered shut, or very tight, the pendent would fall off. Split jump rings look like little tiny key rings, because the metal goes around twice. For coin costumes, I prefer split rings so that the weight of the coins don't pull the jump ring apart.

{{{HUGS}}}

Exactly. A jump ring is a metal circle where the ends touch but aren't soldered shut. So they can pull apart, sometimes easily under the weight of whatever they're holding.

By my count, the number of split rings for each piece if replacing all jump rings: drape 49, top 111, back of 40" belt 132, front of 40" belt 137. Total is 429 split rings. I'd say 435 to be safe. Possibly more if you make accessories with extra parts/parts you don't need and remove.

Currently rethinking my fabric choice. I want gold, however the gold I picked seems too warm for my skin tone. I'll have to check again in sunlight tomorrow. Also I can see the top and drape is much brighter and shinier than the belt. I've got my thinking cap on and am looking into whether possibly cleaning the belt would brighten it or just damage it.

(applauding!)
GO! GO! GO!

Originally Posted by TexasRuya

Okay, had some life stuff going on so I got behind on this, but I'm working on it again. I'll add pictures to this post later this evening, but I wanted to go ahead & get this up now since I started replacing rings last night.

I got 300 10mm gold tone split rings off ebay & they arrived this week. Initially I thought 300 would surely be enough ..l;, Silly me. The drape alone used 49, so now I think maybe I'll need another couple hundred. I'll try to get a rough count this evening (which I should've done to begin with). I am replacing every jump ring. It's time consuming, but at least I won't have to worry about shedding mirrors and/or bells while performing.

I started & finished the drape last night while watching TV & with the new split rings, which are thinner, it seems to look more delicate now (to me anyway), than it did with the thicker/heavier jump rings it came with. Which I like ..g.:

Would you mind sharing your ebay source? I bought some locally but they don't seem to be right.....are you bending them to put them on and if so how are you getting them to retain the split ring shape again? Mine didn't bend back well at all....

When I use split rings, I open then the same way I open a key ring. No need to bend. I have found that a good nail file to open them helps. Some one else said they had found a good pair of pliers which work well.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

When I use split rings, I open then the same way I open a key ring. No need to bend. I have found that a good nail file to open them helps. Some one else said they had found a good pair of pliers which work well.

{{{HUGS}}}

NAIL FILE!!!!! Brilliant...i was using my fingernails and did some painful damage ..cr.: to them. My pliers are too large at the tip to get a good hold without bending.

lol Ozma

What tahira said - the ones I have are thin and I can easily open one edge with a fingernail (I've nubs tho, doing this repeatedly may damage long nails - use a file or one side of pliers) just enough to get it onto the set & then again to get a bell or mirror on it. No bending required. I used two pair of pliers and it seems to go faster than trying to get the right angle and torque on the bigger/thicker jump rings with one pair.

I bought from acharm4all with no problems.

any updates ..g.:
I've been thinking about getting one of these...

Currently on hold due to a quick & imprompu move. All my sewing supplies are in a storage unit with the rest of my household until mid-May. I'll pick up posting then though. ..g.:

Okay awesome I'll check back then!

Originally Posted by TexasRuya

Okay, had some life stuff going on so I got behind on this, but I'm working on it again. I'll add pictures to this post later this evening, but I wanted to go ahead & get this up now since I started replacing rings last night.

I got 300 10mm gold tone split rings off ebay & they arrived this week. Initially I thought 300 would surely be enough ..l;, Silly me. The drape alone used 49, so now I think maybe I'll need another couple hundred. I'll try to get a rough count this evening (which I should've done to begin with). I am replacing every jump ring. It's time consuming, but at least I won't have to worry about shedding mirrors and/or bells while performing.

I started & finished the drape last night while watching TV & with the new split rings, which are thinner, it seems to look more delicate now (to me anyway), than it did with the thicker/heavier jump rings it came with. Which I like ..g.:

would you recommend 10mm for size? is that about the size of the jump rings that came on it?
On ebay there are all different sizes....8mm, 6mm, 5mm....

Texas Ruya,
I saw one of these selling in the past, said that the set was held onto the base with heavy-duty snaps. I thought this was a brilliant idea, so that one could have multiple color bases if they choose, and it would be easy to snap off one and onto another.
Just figured i'd share! Ithought it was a great idea and plan to use snaps on mine when I get one =)

Originally Posted by amethyst_skyy

Okay awesome I'll check back then!



would you recommend 10mm for size? is that about the size of the jump rings that came on it?
On ebay there are all different sizes....8mm, 6mm, 5mm....

I'm going to try 8mm because I found them at a bead store and not having to deal with an online order is a plus : ) I just saw the 9mm in the online store...I might exchange them....we will see.

I also found SPLIT RING PLIERS!!!!!! I hope this makes my life easier. BEADINPATH: The Bead Smith Split Ring Pliers sold per each
I like this store and the ladies there were super helpful and wonderful to interact with.