Process 📝✨💻

Phase 1

Ideation & sketches ✏️

The initial process for designing the cosmic mandala jewelry was all about diving deep into creativity and exploring endless possibilities. It began with simply fishing out as many ideas as I could, inspired by the concept of mandalas and their cosmic symbolism.

As I sketched, the ideas began to take shape, each design bringing its own unique energy. I found myself drawn to the intricate patterns and harmonious geometries emerging on paper. With every stroke, I could see something truly captivating and intriguing starting to develop.

Here’s a glimpse of those early sketches, where the essence of the cosmic mandala jewelry began to unfold.

Digital Iterations 🖥️

This jewelry series draws inspiration from the cosmic dance of celestial bodies, transforming the spiritual symbolism of the sun, moon, stars, and planets into intricate and wearable art.

Each design represents the interconnectedness of the universe, embodying themes of balance, transformation, energy, and eternal cycles.

The pieces celebrate the grandeur of the cosmos while offering a personal connection to its infinite beauty.

after doing these digital iterations, I tried mocking them up digitally to understand scale

The Eureka Moment 💡

After completing the initial sketches and digital iterations, I felt something was missing from the cosmic concept. This led me to explore the Shri Yantra Mandala, a sacred geometric symbol that embodies the balance of divine feminine and masculine energies. Its nine interlocking triangles, centered around the Bindu, symbolize the creation of the universe, surrounded by lotus petals representing purity and cosmic cycles.

The Shri Yantra is a perfect fit for my jewelry concept, as its intricate geometry and profound symbolism bring depth and meaning to the designs. It transforms the jewelry into more than just wearable art—it becomes a personal talisman, embodying harmony, energy, and a connection to the cosmos.

Intial Experiment

Final Design

Looking at this design emerge, I couldn’t help but feel victorious 🏆✨—like I had unlocked a major milestone in my ideation journey! 🎉 The moment the concept clicked, I knew I had a look I could finally lock in 🔒. From here on, it’s all about diving into the fun part: experimenting with materials and production! 🧵🖌️✨

The excitement of seeing the cosmic mandala come to life has me absolutely buzzing with energy ⚡🌌—I can’t wait to take the next steps and watch it evolve even more! 🚀💎

Design & Fabrication 🛠️

Now that I had my design in place 🎉, it was time to test it out in real-world sizes! 📏✨ Before jumping straight to the actual materials, I decided to go the smart route and create paper prototypes 📝✂️—because why not double-check before committing, right? 😉

I printed 2-3 sizes that I thought would look amazing 🔍📐, and it was so exciting to see the designs come to life in a tangible way! 💃✨ It felt like the perfect step to make sure I was on the right track before diving into production. 🚀💎

"This step was absolutely crucial as it gave me so much clarity on how my design looked at the right scale 📏🎨. Seeing the prototypes in real size cleared up a lot of doubts I had, and it helped me move forward with confidence and excitement 🚀. It felt like a major win 🏆, setting the stage for the next phase of the project!"

With the scale sorted ✅, I moved to laser cutting my design. I started with pine wood boards, but they burned and didn’t cut cleanly 🔥✂️. While exploring options, I found scrap acrylic in the lab (including some from my open-source hardware week 🌟) and tested it out. To my surprise, it worked perfectly—clean, precise cuts! ✨👌

After learning the lab had plenty of scrap acrylic 🪵➡️🔵, I decided to repurpose it. This pivot not only gave me great results but also made my project more sustainable 🌍♻️ by reducing waste and reusing materials. Paired with felt, yarn, and threads, this approach brought an eco-friendly and creative edge to my design! 🌿🎨

I took a little break from laser cutting ✂️✨ and started thinking about how the product would be worn and what would hold it all together 🤔. The idea of weaving, which I explored during Open Source Hardware week, kept coming back to me 🧵🌟.

Excited to take it further, I decided to experiment with some weaves using the loom I had created during that week 🪡💡 with a golden yarn that I already had. It was the perfect opportunity to combine functionality with a handcrafted touch, adding another layer of creativity to the project! 🎨🌿

With a quick demo by my mentor Rico Kanthatham during Computational Couture

But unfortunately I was not able to go ahead with this as it would bounce off the 3D printer for being too thin

View Pdf Version of Presentation Here

Mentoring notes 📝

This week’s mentor review felt like a warm creative hug — my mentors were genuinely happy with the progress I’ve made so far (yay!). But of course, with great creativity comes great responsibility 😄 — I’ve been nudged to dive deeper into the storytelling aspect of my piece. How can I narrate this better? How I make it move based on the ref shared? Can it come alive with a bit more intention and maybe even a sprinkle of surprise?

some samples on movement that I looked through post this session

There was also a thoughtful check-in about how I’m combining digital and traditional fabrication. Am I truly integrating them, or just using both side-by-side? So now, I need to focus more on how these two techniques can actually support and enhance each other in a cohesive way.

Now, let’s talk size. Yes, it’s big. Yes, it’s bold. And yes, that’s exactly what I want. Think statement jewellery meets cosmic symbolism — unapologetically eye-catching and full of meaning. Trusting the process here, fully!

Next Steps? Keep going! No detours, no second guesses — just charging ahead toward completion with heart, soul, and a few laser beams 🔥

Phase 2

Now that I was all geared up and feeling the creative momentum, it was time to take the project forward with fresh energy and clear direction!

The first thing I did was break down my process — step by step — so I could tackle each part without feeling overwhelmed. My trusty Gantt chart came to the rescue here, acting like a roadmap and keeping me focused and sane 🙌

With the concept and design development now solid and in place, the next exciting chapter began: diving into material selection and testing. Time to get hands-on, experiment, and see how different materials respond to the vision — let the playful prototyping begin!

Material Magic ✨

With design decisions made, it was time to get material-ly serious! This phase was all about textures, tones, and testing — finding the right balance between bold and beautiful.

For the accents, I selected a mix of black acrylic and silver + gold reflective acrylic, both in 2mm thickness. The contrast was sharp, the reflections were dramatic — exactly the kind of pop I was going for!

To bring in the hand-embroidered details, I went with black felt. It had that perfect mix of softness and sturdiness — ideal for holding the delicate work I had in mind without losing structure.

For the embroidery, I chose:

1. Black Anchor thread for the moon motif 🌙

2. A thin, silk-like gold thread for the shimmering accents ✨

3. A thicker gold thread for the border of the centerpiece — giving it definition and a touch of grandeur

4. A thicker black and gold thread for weaving the neck chain — the finishing touch that would let this piece be worn proudly as a bold statement accessory.

Each material felt like a character joining the story — strong, reflective, textural, and symbolic.

Fabrication Steps

Digital Fabrication 💻

With my final design ready and digitally prepped, and test laser cuts in phase 1 itself!! it was time to bring the pieces to life — hello laser cutter!

I followed the laser cutting workflow I had learned earlier and began by exporting my design files from .ai to .dxf format, making sure everything was clean, precise, and ready to go.

This is what my file looked like for laser cutting

📄 Final Lasercut File

🔧 Laser Cutting Settings Used: - Cutting Speed: 15
- Min Power: 75
- Max Power: 75

These settings worked beautifully for my 2mm acrylic, giving me clean, sharp cuts with no burn marks.

The excitement to see the design come to life

Once the laser cut pieces were in my hands — smooth, shiny, and perfectly shaped — I transitioned to the next phase:

Traditional fabrication. This is where the handwork and soul of the piece would start coming alive!

Traditional Fabrication 🪡

Threading the Moon🌙

With my laser-cut moon stencil ready to go, it was time to jump into the embroidery phase! This moon would eventually sit on top of the embroidered base, so precision was everything.

I carefully placed the acrylic stencil over my black felt and used a white pencil to trace out the moon's shapes — this gave me clear guidelines for exactly where the thread needed to pop through once layered. Think of it like pre-mapping a constellation!

With the layout traced, I grabbed my black thread and began stitching. I used a mix of long and short straight stitches, adjusting the lengths depending on the shape and curve of each segment. The vibe? Black on black. Bold, minimal, and a little mysterious — I knew the gold accents would come later to elevate everything, so I stayed committed to the vision.

Once the black embroidery was fully complete, I went in with my gold threads — subtle highlights that instantly made the textures dance in the light ✨

Finally, the moment of truth — I placed the gold acrylic moon stencil on top, and wow. It clicked. The combination of reflective acrylic and tactile embroidery brought the whole piece to life. I was absolutely pumped! Seeing it come together like this gave me a fresh burst of momentum to move on to the next element of the piece. Onward! 🚀

Swirls & Stitching🌀

The border of the main centerpiece — and this is where things took a lovely, spontaneous turn!

Originally, I had planned a more structured pattern, but once I laid out all my laser-cut bits and embroidery elements, I felt a pull to go a little more organic. I let go of the symmetry and embraced something more fluid. Inspired by the swirling energy of The Starry Night by Van Gogh, I decided to draw free-flowing swirl patterns — like golden sun rays spiraling outward,glowing and radiant.

With my trusty white color pencil in hand, I began sketching the swirls directly onto the black felt, making sure to stay within the marked area where the border embroidery would sit. It felt intuitive and playful, and once I stepped back, I was genuinely happy with how the pattern was looking.

No overthinking — I locked the felt into the hoop and dived straight into embroidery mode!

To minimize waste, I cleverly used the same piece of felt where the crescent moon was embroidered, working around it strategically.

For the embroidery, I went in with a detailed running stitch, letting the rhythm of the swirls guide the thread. This part felt meditative — stitch by stitch, the border began to take shape, glowing with every twist of golden thread. ✨

I loved how it would glow

After god only knows how many days and hours⏰⏰ later I was done creating this beautiful piece

And without wasting any further time I went ahead and cut it out to as I would need to use

Crystallization💎✨

Crystal Chaos & Cosmic Comebacks ✨🧪

With hours of embroidery behind me, it was time to step into the next stage of fabrication — crystallization. I had totally aced this during the course, so I felt super confident going in… but oh, the universe had other plans for me!

Textile Scaffold Week | Crystallization

The piece I intended to crystallize was a T-shaped square (yes, sounds wild, but trust the design 😄). I traced two identical T-shapes on black felt

The materials I used

1. Casa De Amor Borax (1kg)
2. Black Thread (To suspend the fabric)
3. Black food colouring

I fastened my fabric with the thin black thread on all 4 sides to suspend the fabric in the container

And followed the same trusted formula I used during our Open Source Hardware module: a 1:1 ratio of Borax and hot water. Only this time, I added 4–5 drops of black food colouring into the solution for one piece — my goal was to create black crystals for that mysterious, glittery galaxy effect. The second piece stayed plain, just to test how it reacted without color.

I went with 200 ml water > heated the water > added borax > as it dissolved fully > poured it into the container > Added 4-5 drops of black food colouring and suspended the fabric in the borax soloution. I did two versions of this one with the food colouring and one without as you can see above

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⏰ Seven hours later, I pulled them out — and whoa, the results were stunning at first glance.

The one with no food colouring

The one with food colouring

The black-colored one had smaller, delicate crystals scattered across the felt — subtle and gorgeous.

The plain one formed larger, chunkier white crystals that looked raw and super organic.

While I loved the textures, I was still craving that deep black sparkle — something more translucent, more celestial. I let both pieces dry and went to bed happy… only to wake up to a mild heartbreak.

The black crystals had faded overnight — that rich galaxy hue turned into something a little muddy. I decided to set them aside and switch gears to work on my Shri Yantra embroidery as you can see in my process further down.

When I revisited the crystal pieces a few days later… yikes. The black one had faded even more and had taken on a strange greenish tint. Not cute. and the on with no food colouring had become chonkier infact both of them looked like the crystals had grown larger than what they were...That’s when I knew I had to pivot.

Enter: Mom’s brilliant idea 💡 She suggested we take the crystal rocks that had formed at the bottom of the plain solution container, crush them, and glue them onto the T-shaped acrylic. Then, we’d coat them with black nail polish to bring back that sparkling galaxy finish. GENIUS.

And guess what? It worked — beautifully. I used B-7000 Multipurpose Adhesive to stick the crystal granules on the acrylic

Once the T-shape was complete, I used the same process for the circle, which forms the bottom piece of the jewelry. This accidental experiment turned out to be the perfect detour — sometimes plan B is where the real magic lives.

Once the crystals were stuck, I went ahead with using a basic black nail paint and covering them with black

Shri Yantra Embroidery✨

After all the crystal drama, this part felt like a breath of fresh air!

Using the same process as my earlier embroidery, I began by tracing the Shri Yantra’s triangles onto the black felt, sized perfectly to fit the bottom layer of my piece.

For the stitching, I picked a silver thread to bring a subtle shine and contrast. I kept the stitches long and deliberate, following the clean geometry of the Yantra — letting the sacred pattern emerge with every line.

Surprisingly, this turned out to be the fastest and most effortless part of my entire project. No hiccups, no surprises — just pure flow. A quiet, meditative moment amidst all the wild experimentation.

Sometimes, simplicity really is magic ✨

Weaving🧵

Weaving the Final Connection✨

With most of the major parts of my project now complete, it was finally time to create the woven chain — the element that would bring everything together literally and help wear the piece.

I pulled out my portable hand loom (the one I proudly built during my Week 11 Assignment – OpenSourceHardware — still going strong!), and began weaving with my beautiful black and gold glitter thread. ✨ The contrast, the shimmer, the texture — it was perfect.

My Loom from Opensource Hardware week

I needed two woven straps — one for each side of the main piece — to form the neck chain.

Here is a quick view of how I weaved:

I created the two weaves, and stiched the same thread and fastened it by golden beads in a loop for the wearer to be able to adjust the piece long or short to their liking

Along with that, I used the same thread to create individual braided thread chains for the smaller modular pieces that could be worn separately. Multipurpose and magical!

The weaving process itself was incredibly therapeutic. There’s something so calming about watching threads interlock and slowly form a strong, functional piece. It gave me time to breathe, reflect, and appreciate how far this project had come. 🌟

Project Assembly 🛠️

Final Assembly: The Sparkle Saga 🌟🖤✨

With all the major components crafted and ready, it was finally time to bring the main centerpiece together — and wow, was this a satisfying phase!

I began by taking my embroidered felt border and carefully attaching it onto the main base. To give the piece some elevation, I added an acrylic disc at the center, then started layering the main Shri Yantra elements one by one. The final embroidered Shri Yantra sat right on top like a glowing cosmic jewel.

As I stepped back to admire it… I was stunned. It looked gorgeous — rich, detailed, powerful. And then came the final touch: I added the laser-cut galaxy star frame on top of the crystallized piece, and just like that — the story felt complete.

Or so I thought.

Because, of course… something still felt off.

There was this flat, plain black acrylic surface at the center that looked — well, too plain. Everything else had dimension, texture, or sparkle — and this bit just sat there, looking awkwardly quiet.

I knew I wanted some shimmer, but since everything was already assembled, I had to tread very carefully.

Cue the quick prototype test: I took one of my extra acrylic circles, brushed on some glue, and sprinkled black glitter across it — tapping it flat and letting it dry overnight.

Next morning? MAGIC. The shimmer was subtle but rich — exactly what the center needed. No turning back now.

I masked the rest of the piece meticulously using paper tape, protecting all the delicate details like a true design surgeon 😄 Then came the moment of truth: I slathered Elmer's Glue over the plain acrylic, sprinkled black glitter Jags Sparkle Powder Black generously, tapped it flat… and waited.

A glimps of the process

24 hours later, I woke up with a mix of excitement and panic — but once I peeled off the tape and saw it?

Breathtaking. It sparkled like a galaxy. I was in love with the piece all over again.

To embellish it further, I added: Tiny golden beads along the edges of all three pieces for extra dimension and detailing

and to match it to my digital design, I added small circular mirrors as a border around the glittered center ✨

And with that… it was DONE.

After weeks of experimentation, embroidery, crystallization chaos, glitter adventures, and bold design decisions — I could finally say:

My piece was complete

And BOY, was I thrilled to see how it all came together. 🌌💫

Connections 🔗

Making the Connections: Loops, Wires & Feviquick Fixes 🔗🛠️

Now that all the components were beautifully finished, it was time to create the connections that would bring everything together — quite literally!

I wanted something that felt strong, simple, and slightly industrial to contrast all the embroidery and sparkle. So, off I went to the local hardware store, where I found these thick metal wires that felt just right for the job. The idea was to create looped connectors to join each piece from the top and bottom — flexible enough to allow rearrangement, but secure enough to hold everything in place.

I sketched the concept out first (always helps to see it on paper!), and once I was confident, I got straight to it.

Using a wire clipper (thanks, Dad!), I cut the wires to size and twisted loops into them, leaving a bit of spacing in the middle for stability and movement.

I simply took the twirling tool and created a loop for the wire.

In total, I made seven connectors:

3 loops for the main crescent moon — two on the sides and one at the bottom

The remaining 4 loops were placed on the center and bottom pieces, allowing for an interchangeable, modular setup. This way, the wearer could mix and match or stack the elements in different combinations As seen in the sketch above

Once all the connectors were ready, I wasted no time — I grabbed my trusty Feviquick, secured the wire loops into place, and reinforced them with the woven thread straps from earlier. Everything felt strong, tight, and wearable.

This is how the hooks looked at the back, feviquick was very handy to stick them with a lot of sturdiness.

That said, I’ve already started dreaming of future improvements. For upcoming pieces, I’d love to experiment with a custom interlocking system — something more seamless, elegant, and integrated into the design language itself.

But for now? This solution worked beautifully. Functional, DIY, and full of character — just like the piece itself! 💪✨

Process Fabrication Files 📁

📄 Initial Designs

📁 Parametric Mandala

Tutorials 📚

Learn how to do a Running Stitch

Learn how to do a BackStitch

Learn how to Weave

Check out my Weaving Tutorial

To make your own loom : 🔗 Week 11 – Textile Academy Assignment

To learn how to make borax crystals 🔗 Week 10 – Textile Academy Assignment

How to lasercut 🔗 Week 02 – Laser Cutter Section