Easy Ribbon Necklace

dragonfly-ribbon-necklace.jpgThis necklace is a breeze to make!

Supplies

Tools

Materials

  • 6 large beads with smallish holes (so they don’t shift around on the ribbon)
  • a pendant (I used a dragonfly)
  • two jump rings
  • two cord tips (the kind with two metal flaps)
  • a small spool of ribbon
  • a clasp

Instructions

dragonfly-set-up.jpg On your design board, arrange the beads the way you’ll want them to look on your necklace. Now start stringing your beads.

ribbon-spool.jpgThe spool of ribbon comes with an attached wire needle so you can string the beads pretty easily.

jump-ring-clamp.jpgOnce your necklace is as long as you want it to be, snip the ribbon at both ends and add a cord tip to each end.

jump-ring-clamp-down.jpgSquish the ribbon together to get it inside the cord tip, and then fold in one flap of the cord tip, then the other. Be sure it’s nice and snug, and cut off any excess ribbon you don’t need. Attach a jump ring to both cord tips and attach those jump rings to your clasp ends and you’re finished!

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14 Comments

  1. Avatar Michele

    Dita,
    Thanks! Glad you liked this. It was VERY simple to make. I got the dragonfly pendant at Michael’s Craft Store.

  2. Avatar Brenda

    Hi This is beautiful. I am new at jewelry makeing and I bought a lot of ribbon voile necklace cord with clasps on ebay and I can not figure out how or what to do with the bibblon cord. Hope you can help. thanks

  3. Avatar Michele

    Brenda,
    Welcome to the world of beading! You’ll have so much fun, I’m sure! Hmmm…I don’t work with ribbon a lot, and the project here was my first and only time using the ribbon for jewelry. Seems to me it’s pretty easy to use with larger beads with larger holes…the great thing is that the possibilities are endless! Try scoping out this website for some add’l ideas or check out some other beading websites that might give you some add’l info on using ribbon to make jewelry. It’s really gorgeous when used well, and it’s fun to experiment with your creativity. I wish you much success and keep me posted on how your journey is coming along.

    All the best and happy beading,
    Michele

  4. Avatar Kim

    How do you keep the beads from moving along the ribbon? I’m very new at this….
    Do you tie knots or use crimp beads?

  5. Avatar Michele

    Kim,
    Good question! I neither tied knots nor used crimp beads (as I recall). It was something about how the ribbon ‘smooshed’ (for lack of a better word!) through the eye of the bead…it was quite a secure fit without either. I think the ribbon was thicker, and when I pushed the bead through, the bead just stayed in place. But to be on the safe side, I’d suggest using a knot. I think it would work pretty well and seems a sure bet. Keep at it…and do have fun!

    Michele

  6. Avatar Caro

    This is a very beautiful piece of jewerly

    I used to make a few pieces here and there by recycling my old jewerly pieces.

    But i didnt know there was a whole big world of beading. So Im a beginner and now its soo confusing. I frequently find sites and other links about beading that really are very helpful to me to understand better. But still I just can’t shake the feeling of being really confused and now i have a mental block when it comes to thinking up a new idea for a piece.

    Ugh its just very very overwhelming.

  7. Avatar Michelle

    I love this! This is very similar to an idea I had for a project I wanted to make to share with my blog readers. Very pretty, and a great project for beginning beaders. Thanks! Peace. 🙂

  8. Avatar Diane

    I love this project!!!!! Thank you for sharing. Where did you get the ribbon, I looked at my local Michaels but didn’t see it there. Thank you in advance!

  9. Avatar Michele

    Hi Diane,
    If you couldn’t locate the ribbon at Michael’s, you might want to check WalMart…I found some spools of ribbon in their arts and crafts section. Have fun!

    Michele

  10. Avatar Heather

    Hello!
    I just love this! i’m very new to beading and jewelry making myself and i am anxious to learn. What is a cord tip? Any suggestions on tools i should stock up on! my bead, charm, and pendant collection is growing just fine! just need to know what tools, clasps, accessories i’ll need to pull them all together!@
    thank you!

  11. Avatar Michele

    Hi Heather!
    I’m glad you liked this project…it was quick, easy and the results were satisfying! Are you near a Michael’s or a bead shop of some sort? There’s sure to be a veritable plethora of tools you can use: needle nose pliers, wire cutters, chain nose pliers, crimping pliers and lots more. A good variety of tools will serve you well. A cord tip is a metal piece with either a spiral hook at the end or just a a small piece of metal that has a space where you can put your leather cord or fabric cord and close both sides — sorta like french doors. Both can hook to a jump ring and attach to a clasp. Hope this helps.
    Happy Beading!
    Michele

  12. Avatar Maria

    I love simple projects and this one is just beautiful.
    I think that using ribbon with beads is a great idea.
    Thanks!

  13. Avatar Olanike

    I am very new in beading and jewelry making and i find this Dragonfly Ribbon Necklace so overwhelming and beautiful.I never knew that this can be done.Many thanks for sharing this.

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