What if you want to make a DIY ceiling fan chain pull, but the object you want to use only has a loop at the top for hanging? Ball chains (those chains made with tiny metal balls that often hang from ceiling fans and lights, you know the stuff) are everywhere, and it’s easy to swap out the chain pulls if the item you want to use was made to attach to a ball chain connector. But what if it wasn’t? Here’s how to make your own DIY adapter so that you can use anything you want as a chain pull! (Okay, not ANYTHING. Please don’t use your pets as chain pulls. But you get the idea.)

I bought this assortment of skeleton keys, and I wanted to use some of the larger ones on the ends of the pull chains on my ceiling fans. I have kind of a gothic/steampunk/mermaid theme going on in my craft room, and I thought the skeleton keys would be a perfect addition, but the keys just have a loop at the top for hanging. So I looked online for ball chain adapters, and they do exist, but THEY COST WAY TOO MUCH IT’S NOT WORTH IT I ONLY NEED EIGHT (collapses dramatically while sobbing). So I started thinking about what I could use instead, and I came up with these 3 things that all worked perfectly (I tested all 3, so you can take your pick):

• A small stud earring.
• A regular straight pin, like you’d use for sewing.
• A sequin pin with a small metal bead threaded onto it.

Whichever one you choose, the little ball part should be about as big as the balls that make up the chain. You can see in the picture that the stud earring and sequin pin/bead were perfect for the larger chain, and the straight pin was just right for the smaller chain. Since all of these things come in different sizes, just choose something that matches your particular chain, and you’re good to go! (I should note that I’ve come across some really thin, flimsy sewing pins, so pick one that’s pretty sturdy.)

I cut the pins with a pair of needle-nosed pliers from a set of jewelry-making pliers, since the pins were much longer than I needed. Then I used the pliers to bend the wire part of the pins/earrings around the loops of my skeleton keys. Now, the stud/pinhead/bead pops right into the ball chain connector! Woohoo!

I think they look awesome! You can’t really see the pin head, bead, etc, because it’s up inside the connector. And they haven’t come off or loosened when I pull on them; they seem very sturdy.

Try this trick to use jewelry, pendants, ornaments, strung beads, or other found objects as DIY chain pulls. What do you want to hang from YOUR ceiling fan?