DIY Ribbon & Rings Necklace

I’m sure many of you have seen the Anni Albers DIY kit sold at Urban Outfitters that uses metal washers and ribbon to create a necklace. I liked the idea but I wanted to create something a little bit different so I came up with this design for a shorter, collar style necklace. It incorporates two shades of ribbon from the same tonal family (I chose neutral browns/taupes but being indecisive ended up buying three colours and only deciding at the last minute which two to use) and gold coloured rings in a pretty woven design. The necklace is incredibly quick and easy to make and the supplies can be bought cheaply from most craft stores or haberdashers.
   

What I used

- 1’’ Curtain rings

-  ¾’’ Wide ribbon

- Dress maker’s scissors

- Tape measure

- Needle and thread











1) I started by cutting a 40’’/100cm length of ribbon in each of my chosen colours. Obviously you can vary this length to create a longer or shorter necklace. Next, positioning the ribbon back to back I began weaving it through the rings. Overlapping one behind the other I wove up through the first ring, then down through the overlapped portion and up again through the second ring. This gives the first link.

2) I added a third ring and repeated the 

pattern. This photo from the side shows how the ribbon is woven in and out.

3) I continued weaving until I had attached 16 rings (like the ribbon length you could use more or less rings if you wanted a longer or shorter necklace). This is what it looked like from the front and back.

4) Even woven together the rings remain flexible so I simply curved them to give the shape of the finished necklace.

5) At this stage I could have simply tied a knot at the end of the rings but I wanted something that would look neater and reveal the contrasting coloured ribbon underneath. So I folded the loose end through 45 degrees, took it round the back of the ring, folded through 45 degrees again and passed it back through to the front. To make it extra secure I added a stitch with the needle and thread. The other end is folded in exactly the same way but the ribbon must not go down through the final ring. This is the only way to ensure both ends look the same.

6) Finally as a finishing touch I snipped the ends of the ribbon into a neat V shape and the necklace was done.     

Thanks for reading, I hope you like the necklace and that I’ve inspired you to have a go creating your own! If you have any suggestions for DIYs you'd like to see please leave them below, I'm always looking for new projects.