DIY: Yarn and Duct Tape Necklace

As I roamed the yarn section of a craft store, I decided I wanted to make a necklace out of a fine yarn. I decided against a flat color in favor of a gray and white yarn; I thought the color shifts in the yarn would work well in jewelry.

The main problem I had in creating jewelry with yarn is what to do with the yarn ends, and my solution was using duct tape to keep the yarn ends from looking ragged. Since duct tape comes in an array of colors, I selected a black duct tape to match my yarn.

SUPPLIES

• Yarn (I used a superfine cotton/wool blend)
• Jump rings (eight 10mm and four 6mm)
• 20 gauge wire
• 2 beads
• Wire cutter
• Pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Duct Tape
• Scissors
• Ruler

DIRECTIONS

— 1 —

Cut 15 strands of yarn, each at about 25 inches in length.

— 2 —

Cut 5 strands of yarn, each at about 40 inches in length.

 — 3 —

Thread 5 strands of the 25 inch yarn through a closed 10mm jump ring; center jump ring on yarn.

— 4 —

Knot the yarn and try to get the knot close to the base of the jump ring.

 — 5 —

Thread a second closed 10mm jump ring at the bottom of the yarn.

— 6 —

Knot the yarn and try to get the knot close to the base of the jump ring.

— 7 —

Create a knot in the middle of the strand. Create two more knots, each centered between the jump ring and the middle knot.

— 8 —

Trim the yarn end to about 3/8 inch.

— 9 —

Repeat steps 3–8 for the other two sets of 25 inch yarn, as well as the set of 40 inch yarn.

— 10 —

With scissors, cut a piece of duct tape about ½ inch thick.

— 11 —

Adhere the ½ inch piece of duct tape the yarn, over the yarn ends and under the knot. Wrap the duct tape tautly around the yarn.

Note: If the end of the wrapped duct tape doesn't stay entirely down, you may want to use a little bit of superglue on it to help keep things secure.

— 12 —

Repeat steps 10 and 11 on each end for all ends of the yarn strands.

— 13 —

With the wirer cutters, cut a length of gauge wire. Using the round nose pliers, create a loop at one end of the wire. Slide bead onto the wire. Using the round nose pliers, create a loop at the other end of the wire.

— 14 —

Connect a 6mm jump ring to one of the bead loops.

 — 15 —

With that same 6mm jump ring, connect to the three 10mm jump rings of the yarn strands. Close 6mm jump ring.

— 16 —

Twist the three strands. 

— 17 —

With a second 6mm jump ring connect to the three 10mm jump rings of the yarn strands, as well as to the second bead’s loop. Close 6mm jump ring.

— 18 —

With a third open 6mm jump ring, connect to the top of one of the bead’s loop, as well as to the 40 inch yarn strand’s 10mm jump ring. Close 6mm jump ring. Repeat to connect the last bead’s loop to the last 10mm jump ring. Yarn and Duct Tape Necklace complete.