The Red Bead
P.O. Box 3611
Napa, CA 94558

Cut a 12 inch length of stretch cord. This is more than your ring will require and in future rings you may want to use less. Until you are comfortable tying knots with a short piece of stretchy cord, however, this is a more comfortable length to work with.

String your beads referring to either the photo above, or below. You want to construct your ring so that the design rests on top of your finger, and the smoother round beads will lie between your fingers and underneath which is more comfortable for the wearer. In the photo above I used 12 sterling rounds, 8 sterling bright daisy spacers, and 3 Swarvoski rondelles for my size 6 1/2 ring.

Hold the beaded section around your finger and adjust the number of sterling round beads as needed. You want the completed ring to be approximately the size of your finger, needing to stretch only to get over your knuckle.

String a crimp tube on one end. Note: Both thicknesses of stretch cord will not fit through the crimp tube unless you stretch (thin out) the section of the cord that is already inside the crimp tube. Cord ends are put through crimp tube in opposing directions. See diagram below:

Once both cord ends are through grasp both ends of the cord pulling in opposite directons, allowing the crimp tube to snug between the round sterling beads on either side.

Arrange the cords so that they do not cross inside the crimp tube. Once that is done, flatten the crimp tube with chain nose pliers and trim excess stretch cord. Alternatively, you can use crimping pliers to do a traditional crimp. A nice finishing touch is to cover the crimp bead with a crimp cover.

Note: You may also add a tiny bit of Hypo-Cement glue to each side of the crimp tube if you desire.

The following ring can be done for Mother’s Day, incorporating children’s birthstone colors for the center design.

The rings can also be made substituting pewter beads for the sterling, and/or Czech rondelles for the Swarovski crystal. If you don't like the bright silver finish you can use antiqued daisy spacers. I prefer using sterling beads for the rounds ones since the hole in the plated ones I have tried were smaller and didn't work as well on the stretch cord.