Necklace is too long, but only sometimes. Any widgets to help?

December 20, 2021 9:56 AM

I have necklaces that are pendants on chains. Sometimes I need the pendants to hang shorter/sit higher, depending on the neckline of my blouse, but the chain is just one length with no option to clasp it tighter. Does anything like a necklace "cincher" exist, something I could use to gather the chain tighter temporarily? I don't want to replace or permanently shorten the chain. I just want something that's like a hair tie to pull it back a little.
posted by cadge to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

Try looking for double lobster clasp connectors. They have two clasps linked together and you can use it to shorten the chain by linking together two links.
posted by XtineHutch at 10:12 AM on December 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

I tie a small knot or two in the chain, at the back beside the clasp.

If the chain links are large enough, you can also put a safety pin through the chain at the shorter point, and clasp to the pin. A safety pin can work to extend the chain too depending where you place it.

The safety pin will tend to fall to the front of the chain so I usually pin it to my inner collar with another safety pin.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:15 AM on December 20, 2021

It absolutely exists. I can't link right now; others surely will. It's like a small safety pin, sometimes decorated, for example with 3 little pearls facing outward, for use with a too-long string of pearls.
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:04 AM on December 20, 2021

Seconding double lobster clasps - you can also get them as infinity clasps

Depending on how large the loops are in your chains, you could also use an S-hook (these are some examples, but I've seen them with skinnier points as well.

Or if you want to go fancy, there are these clasps (I've never actually seen them used, so I don't know how well they work).
posted by Mchelly at 11:17 AM on December 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have a necklace that has a little slider like this that works really well to adjust the length. This is just a random Etsy seller, but the basic idea is a slider lined with silicon- you thread both sides of the chain through it and the silicon grips the chain and lets you adjust the necklace to whatever length you need. The trick would be finding one that will accommodate the chain of your necklace without being too tight or loose.
posted by MadamM at 1:21 PM on December 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

If the links in the chain are big enough, and if it's a hook-and-look type clasp, I just put the hook through a link instead of the loop and let the extra bit hang down in the back.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:04 PM on December 20, 2021

You could use an appropriately sized O-ring, which would be the cheaper option for something like MadamM's suggestion.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:12 AM on December 21, 2021

If you’re like me a lot of these attachments sound a bit too fiddly. In that case perhaps a second, shorter necklace in a similar style to the first, swap between them as required or even wear in addition - multiple necklaces or what a less sympathetic commentator described as a ‘neck mess’ is apparently in.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:42 AM on December 21, 2021

Tie a "cord" around the extra inches in back. Narrow ribbon, metallic embroidery thread, organza ribbon, beaded wire, wacky yarn, so many possibilities. Hit JoAnns or your local needlework shop.
posted by evenolderthanshelooks at 2:21 PM on December 21, 2021