I had some extra jewelry wire left over and was just playing around with it, when I had an idea.
And that idea turned into a piece of jewelry that I wear almost constantly now.
The best part of it all?
It took about ten minutes to make.
9, 10" strands of silver/gold jewelry memory wire
Rulers are nice.
Rulers are nice.
A word about wire...
Personally, I prefer the look of the thicker wire, as shown in the picture above. But some people like the thinner braid- There's a few shots of it at the end. Whatever you prefer!
Take the wire and fold it in half, looping it through the safety pin. Pin the safety pin to your jeans or a blanket across your lap. Securing it that way will make braiding the wire a million times easier.
The loop I used in this picture is about as big around as my pinky. If you're using a safety pin, you'll have a much smaller loop, which is actually a lot easier to deal with, since it will act as a sort of clasp for the other end when you're done.
Here comes the braiding! Make sure that none of the wires within a section cross. Move slowly, pulling the strands upwards after each crossing to ensure an even braid. Keep braiding until you have enough braid to wrap around your finger of choice.
Finishing it off.
I found that it's easier and more comfortable to finish off this ring by making a hook and clasp out of your wire instead of physically knotting it off the way you do with most beaded rings. But before you go running off to find another tutorial, RELAX. It's actually a lot easier than it sounds.
When the braid is long enough to fit around your finger, take the section on the left and snip off three of the strands. To make it look neat, use your pliers to wrap them around the edge of the ring. (You can see the three I snipped in the picture).
Take the section of wire on the right and snip all six of the wires in half. You can see this in the picture- you still want them long enough so that they can wrap around the other two strands, but not so long that they'll be adding to the thickness of the ring. I'd say keep them about a centimeter long.
Take the remaining strands- the six from the middle group, the three from the left, and the short six from the right, and wrap them around each other. If there are any poky edges, use your pliers to smooth them out.
The ring should now be in somewhat of a circle shape.
Take the remaining straight end and bend it straight back and to the right. This should create a sideways U-shape, just like the hooks on a bra. Sorry for the lingerie comparison...I honestly don't know how else to describe it!! Trim off any excess and use your pliers and some good old muscle to seal the two together.
You might have to play around with it until it shapes to your finger the way you want it to.
There you go! Simple, classy, and quick!