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Key Takeaways
- Chain Plus Basics: A chain and tools most people already own at home are enough to convert a pin.
- Backing Sets the Method: Each pin back type needs a slightly different conversion, so identify yours first.
- Rescue Old Favorites: Vintage and retired pins get a second life around the neck instead of sitting in a drawer.
You've got a pin you love and a jacket you don't wear anymore. Happens to everyone. The good news: you can turn a lapel pin into a necklace in about ten minutes, usually with tools already in a kitchen drawer, and without damaging the pin.
Which ten minutes depends entirely on the backing. A safety-pin back needs one small part and no tools at all. A metal butterfly clutch needs glue and some patience. A rubber clutch sits somewhere in between. This guide covers all four backing types, the mistakes that wreck pins, and what to ask for if you're ordering pins that will live on a chain instead of a lapel.
The quick answer
To turn a lapel pin into a necklace, leave the pin's own backing on and give that backing a loop for the chain. Safety-pin backs take a brooch-to-pendant converter. Rubber clutches get a small hole punched near the top edge and a jump ring. Metal clutches get a jump ring glued to the clutch. Thread an 18-inch chain through the loop and you're done.
What you need
Most of this is already in the house if you've done any jewelry repair. If not, every item is cheap at a craft store or online.
- The pin, with its original backing still attached
- A premade necklace chain, 18 inches to start
- 3 to 4 jump rings, 5 to 7 mm, wide enough to pass over your chain
- Two pairs of jewelry pliers (one works, two is far less fiddly)
- A pushpin or a 1 mm hand drill, for rubber clutches only
- A brooch-to-pendant converter, for safety-pin backs only
- Gel super glue or two-part epoxy, for metal clutches only
- A closed pendant bail (optional, it lets the pin hang straighter)
Buy the chain premade. The jump ring has to fit over it, and a chunky curb chain will not pass through a 5 mm ring. If you want something heavier, use a chain with an open clasp end so the ring threads on from the end, or switch to a leather or satin cord.
Which pins turn into a necklace best
Not every pin wants to be a pendant. Three things decide how it hangs.
The backing. Safety-pin backs are the easiest conversion by a mile. Rubber clutches are a close second. Metal butterfly clutches are the fiddliest because there is nothing to punch a hole through. Magnetic backs work with a magnetic bail. Skip double-post pins and magnet-bar pins entirely; they're hard to balance and the result tips. If you're not sure what you have, our guide to the 10 types of lapel pin backings has photos of each.
The size. Pins between 1 and 1.5 inches hang best. Below an inch, the clutch shows behind the design and the pin sits a little crooked on the chain. Above 2 inches, the pendant swings and flips every time you lean forward.
The finish. A necklace rubs against skin, zips and collars all day, which a lapel never does. Hard enamel is polished flat and is the most scratch-resistant finish, so it survives this best. Soft enamel works too, but the recessed colour collects lint and skin oil, so plan on wiping it. Match the plating to your chain. Gold on gold, silver on silver, black nickel on a dark chain. Mixed metals look like an accident unless you do it on purpose.
Choose the necklace length first
Decide this before you buy parts, because it changes which pins are safe to use.
Choker, 14 to 16 inches. The pin sits against the throat. Small, light pins only, with no sharp corners. Chokers also sit on bare skin for hours, so anyone with a nickel sensitivity should check what the pin is plated in. Safety-pin backs tip forward on a choker, which they don't do on a longer chain.
Standard, 18 inches. The sweet spot for enamel pins. The pendant lands at the collarbone, where the chain and the pin's own weight pull it flat instead of letting it lean. If you only make one, make this one.
Long, 24 to 30 inches. Suits bigger pins, since the extra length gives them room to hang. Expect more swing.
How to turn a lapel pin into a necklace, step by step
Find your backing type below. Every method here keeps the backing on the pin, so the pin itself is never drilled, cut or glued.
Safety-pin back: no tools
This is the three-minute version.
- Buy a brooch-to-pendant converter. They come in vertical and horizontal styles; match the direction the pin runs across the back of your piece.
- Open the pin and slide the pin wire into the converter's tube until a short length pokes out the far end.
- Drop that protruding tip into the converter's catch and lock it, exactly as you'd close the pin normally.
- Thread your chain through the converter's bail.
What goes wrong: the tube on cheap converters is narrow. A vintage brooch with a thick pin wire may not fit, so check the wire diameter against the listing before you buy.
Rubber clutch: a pushpin and two jump rings
Rubber clutches are the soft, grippy backs on most trading pins, Disney pins and anything sold at a convention. They're the friendliest to convert because you can punch straight through them, and the clutch itself becomes reusable pendant hardware.
- Push the clutch on firmly so the pin is held exactly where it'll sit when worn.
- Hold the pin upright, design facing you, and note which edge of the clutch is at 12 o'clock. That is where the hole goes. If you guess, the pin hangs sideways.
- Pull the clutch off. Push a pushpin through the rubber about 2 mm in from that edge, then twist it to open the hole up a little.
- Thread an open jump ring through the hole and close it with your pliers. This is the slow part. The rubber grips the ring and it can take a couple of minutes of wiggling.
- Put the clutch back on the pin. Attach a second jump ring (or a bail) to the first and thread the chain through.
Now the pin pulls off the clutch like it always did, so the same clutch and chain take any pin with a standard post. One necklace, a whole collection of pins. Rubber is also soft against the skin, which matters on a choker.
Metal butterfly clutch: swap it or glue it
The metal butterfly is the standard backing on most lapel pins, and the hardest to convert because there's nothing to punch through. You have two options.
The swap. Pull off the butterfly, push on a rubber clutch, and follow the rubber-clutch steps above. Rubber clutches cost pennies in a bag of 50, and this keeps the whole thing reversible.
The glue. If you want to keep the metal look:
- Close the clutch on the pin so the spring wings are set.
- Rough the flat top of the clutch with a nail file so the glue has something to bite.
- Lay a closed jump ring on that flat spot and fix it with gel super glue or two-part epoxy. Use the gel. Thin, runny super glue wicks into the butterfly spring and can lock it solid.
- Leave it a full 24 hours before hanging any weight on it.
- Join the glued ring to the chain or bail with a second jump ring.
If your clutch is the locking kind and won't come off, this guide to getting a locking pin back off covers it.
Magnetic back: three routes
Magnet-backed pins have a plain post on the pin and a steel plate or disc that holds from behind the fabric.
- Magnetic bail. A small pendant bail with a magnet in it. The pin's own magnet plate sits against it. Simplest, and fully reversible.
- Glue. The flat magnet plate takes a glued jump ring the same way a metal clutch does. Same gel-glue warning.
- Ribbon choker. Glue the magnet strip to the inside of a velvet or lace ribbon, wear the ribbon as a choker, and stick the pin through from the front. You can change pins daily. Velvet grips; satin lets the magnet slide, so avoid it.
Magnets struggle with bigger, heavier pins. If the pin tips forward or drops when you move, it's too much for the magnet and you're better off with a glued ring.
Mistakes that ruin the pin (or the necklace)
- Cutting off the post and gluing a bail to the back. Permanent, and the stub left behind is sharp. Every method above keeps the backing instead.
- Punching too close to the edge of a rubber clutch. Under 2 mm and it tears the first time the pin snags.
- Thin super glue on a clutch. It flows into the spring. Gel or epoxy only.
- Buying the chain after the jump rings. Measure the chain's link width first.
- A small pin on a choker. It sits crooked and shows the clutch. Go bigger or go longer.
- Soft enamel next to a zipper. The raised metal lines protect the colour from flat rubbing, not from an edge dragging across it. Hard enamel for daily wear.
Ordering pins that were made to be worn on a chain
If you're making more than one of these, for a team, a wedding party, a fundraiser or a fan club, order the pins that way from the start instead of converting a batch by hand. A few lines in the quote request save hours at the kitchen table.
- Finish: hard enamel. Polished flat, most scratch-resistant, and it reads like jewelry.
- Size: 1 to 1.25 inches. Big enough to hide the clutch, light enough to hang flat.
- Plating: pick what matches the chain you'll supply. Gold, silver, black nickel and antique finishes are all available; see the metal finishes page.
- Backing: rubber clutch. It's included at no charge and it's the easiest backing to convert. A deluxe locking clutch is an option if you want a metal back to glue to.
- No backing at all: we can make the pin with nothing on the back, like a single-sided coin, so it becomes a flat charm you set in a bezel or bail.
- A loop: mention in your quote that the pins are for necklaces. Design is free and the proof comes back within 4 hours, so you'll see what the design team suggests before you commit to anything.
Minimum order is 50 pieces, production runs 10 to 15 business days after you approve the proof, there are no setup fees, and shipping in the US is free. Check the pricing or start a free quote and tell us they're going on chains.
FAQ
Can you turn a pin into a necklace without damaging it?
Yes. The converter, rubber-clutch and magnetic-bail methods never touch the pin itself, only the backing, and all three reverse in seconds. The glue method is permanent for the clutch but still leaves the pin untouched; swap in a fresh clutch and the pin is back to normal.
What is a pin-to-pendant converter?
A small metal fitting with a tube, a catch and a bail. The pin's safety-pin wire slides into the tube and locks in the catch, and the chain runs through the bail. It's the same idea as a brooch converter, and it only works on safety-pin style backs, not on post-and-clutch pins.
What length chain should I use for a pin necklace?
Start at 18 inches. The pin sits at the collarbone and hangs flat. Go shorter only for small, rounded pins, and longer for anything over 1.5 inches.
Can I swap pins on the same necklace?
Yes, if you convert the clutch rather than the pin. A rubber clutch with a jump ring, or a magnetic bail, takes any pin with a standard post. Pull one off, push the next one on.
Why does my pin lean forward on the chain?
The weight of the design is in front of the chain's attachment point. Wearing it at the collarbone instead of the throat helps, a longer chain helps more, and a bail instead of a bare jump ring brings the hanging point closer to the pin's centre of gravity.
Can Custom Pins Now make a pin as a pendant?
Yes. Ask for hard enamel, a rubber clutch or no backing, and say in the quote that the pins are for necklaces. The free proof will show the design team's suggestion for how it hangs. Minimum order is 50.
