Hammer It Out

Making A Romero fold brooch

By Charles Lewton-Brain

Foldforming is a system of working sheet metal using simple tools. It lets you make complex shapes, textures, and surfaces rapidly. There are 10 main types of foldforming techniques, each of which offers dozens to hundreds of variations. Here, I will demonstrate one particular T-fold technique that was developed by and named after Dave Romero of Colorado. This Romero fold brooch features a leafy shape and a pearl accent.

 

1. To create a Romero fold brooch, we first need to shape the metal into a basic T-fold. The top surface of the fold is called the table, and it will be hammered into a flat surface with two folded edges. The underside surfaces of the table are called the table returns, and the two sides of the metal sheet that hang down from the table returns are called the legs.

 

2. Anneal a rectangular sheet of sterling silver. In this example, I am using an 8 cm long piece of 24-gauge sterling silver.

 

3. B...