Sweet Ribbon Necklace How-To

I love to use ribbon instead of chain for a sweet touch with pendants and lockets. A simple 36" length of ribbon can be knotted to suit the wearer and is a quick and lovely way to show off (and sell!) one-of-a kind pendants or romantic lockets. For a more finished look without much trouble or expense, I always turn to fold over ends. The fold over ends on the ribbon give it a permanent finish and allow me to use a hook and chain to secure the necklace. I use fold over ends with a variety of ribbon widths, folding the ribbon to fit inside. For thinner ribbons, I like to do a knot (shown below) to make it a little more secure. A drop of glue will help the ribbon stay within the end forever.

If you sell your work, consider making up a few dozen ribbon necklaces in a variety of colors and ribbons. Display them on a stand near your pendants and charms and allow purchasers to pick out their ribbon necklace when they buy a pendant or charm. They can customize the look of your pendant to suit their tastes and you can even sell the ribbon necklaces separately for a quick add on.

Visit our new expanded ribbon selection and choose your own favorite color or style of ribbon to make this necklace all your own. Materials used in this project are available at Ornamentea and Panopolie or buy them all on line.

You'll need:
15 inches of striped ribbon, 3/16ths wide
2 antique brass fold over ribbon ends
1 antique brass heart locket, 20 cm
1 antique brass round bezel setting, 14 mm
1 vintage mother of pearl button to fit in bezel
1 antique brass square jump ring, 1/4 inch
3 antique brass round jump rings, 5 mm
3 antique brass head pins, 1 inch
3 inches of antique brass extender chain, 4 x 5 mm links
1 antique brass hook
3 black Czech glass beads, 4 mm

You'll also need:
glue (I like Beacon's 527)
chain nose pliers
round nose pliers
scissors
(get all your tools here!)

Need to know how to open a jump ring? Loop a head pin? Visit our Tutorials Page for all these and so much more...

1. Trim ribbon to length and make a tiny knot in each end. Place a small drop of glue inside one of the fold over ends and place the ribbon knot on top of the glue as shown. Using your chain nose pliers fold the flaps over one at a time to seal the end of the ribbon. Repeat with the other knotted end. Place a small dot of glue inside the bezel and position the button within the bezel. Set bezel aside to dry.
2. Using your chain nose pliers carefully open one of the 5 mm jump rings. Thread it through the loop on one of the fold over ends and then through the ring at one end of the extender chain. Carefully close the jump ring. Repeat to attach the hook to the other end of the ribbon. Set this aside.
3. Using the round nose pliers loop the 4 mm beads onto the head pins. Carefully open a 5 mm jump ring and feed the three looped beads onto the jump ring followed by the locket. Link this to the scroll at the bottom of the bezel and close securely.
4. Using the chain nose pliers gently open the square jump ring and feed it through the scroll at the top of the bezel. Close securely. Thread the chain end of the necklace through the square jump ring to finish the necklace.