ECT TV Episode 52: Jump Ring Pendant
Hi and welcome to another episode of Emerging Creatively Tutorials TV (ECT TV)!Today I'll show you how to make a fun pendant with lots of jump rings!Watch the video here:Step-by-Step Photo Instructions:These are the same instructions that are in the video, but in step-by-step photos.
Tools and Materials:
- Jump Rings - I used many 7mm jump rings, but you can experiment with whatever size you have on hand.
- Wire - I used 14 gauge aluminum wire which was soft. I also used 16 gauge wire that was pretty hard (it didn't have a hardness listed since it was coated copper) and it was difficult to use. Probably any gauge from 18 to 14 would work great.*
- Chain
- Clasp
- 3 4mm beads of your choice (optional)
- 3 head pins (optional - but if you use beads, you'll need headpins)
- Wire cutters
- Round nose pliers
- Chain nose pliers
- Bent nose pliers
- Ring mandrel or other cylindrical object to form a circle around
*Instead of wire, you could use a closed circle finding and bypass that part. However, if your circle does not open at all, you'll have to open and close all of your jump rings around the circle individually.If you need a refresher on how to open and close jump rings, see the video. I show how to do that at the beginning.Step #1
Wrap your wire around your ring mandrel or other cylindrical object to form a circle. This is the base of your pendant, so decide on how large you would like it. I wrapped around my ring mandrel at size 14.Leave some overlapping wire on each side and then cut the wire.Step #2
Start sliding closed jump rings onto the circle. Continue until you get to the point where the wire is overlapping.Note: Before sliding your jump rings on to the circle, check to make sure that they're all closed properly. Sometimes jump rings come kind of open or crooked, etc., so you want to double check.Step #3
Cross the wires and close the circle. Make sure it's secure. Try to get the ends as close to the circle as possible.The main thing is that it's secure. It doesn't really matter how ugly it looks because we're covering it with jump rings anyway.(I added a photo without jump rings so you can see it better.)If it doesn't feel secure, you could alternatively use a smaller gauge wire (maybe 20 or 22 gauge) and wrap around the overlapped portion of the circle.Step #4
Now continue to add jump rings until the entire circle is filled with jump rings, but now you'll have to add each jump ring individually.Step #5
Cut your chain to the length you would like your necklace and separate into 2 chains. Choose a jump ring from the pendant, open it and add the last link of the chain in and close the jump ring.About an inch over from the first chain, choose another jump ring and open it and add the other chain.Step #6
Add a lobster clasp to the end of one chain.Step #7
Add a couple of jump rings to the end of the other chain.Step #8You may like the pendant as is without any bead dangles. If that's the case, you're done!If you want to add a few bead dangles, continue reading.Step #9
Slide a bead onto a headpin.Hold the headpin in round nose pliers just above the bead, leaving a little space.Step #10
Wrap the headpin around the round nose pliers and in between the bead and the pliers.Step #11
The loop will not be centered over the bead, so straighten it. I hold the loop in my chain nose pliers and straighten it while I wrap the end around one time.Step #12
Now, still holding the loop in chain nose pliers (switching hands) wrap the wire around for a total of 3 times (so 2 additional times.) Use bent nose pliers to help you wrap the wire or just use your hand if you prefer.Cut off any excess wire.Step #13
Use your chain nose pliers to make sure that the end isn't poking out.Repeat three times or for however many bead dangles you'd like to add to your pendant.Step #14
Find the middle of the pedant on the opposite side of where you placed the chain. Open a jump ring and add a bead dangle.Check to make sure it's the middle. You can simply open the jump ring, remove the bead dangle and move it to a different jump ring if you didn't get it in the middle the first time.Step #15
Add the other 2 bead dangles. I counted 5 jump rings on each side from the first bead dangle and added each of the other 2 bead dangles.And that's your completed pendant!I hope you enjoyed learning how to make this jewelry piece! I would love to see what you made! So take a photo and post it in any of the following ways:
- Click "reply" to leave a comment here. There's an option to upload a photo. (Even if you don't have a photo, I would love to hear what you think about this tutorial!)
- Post a photo on my Facebook page.
- Post a photo on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #ECTTV (I'm @KimberlieKohler on both of those sites.)
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