Saturday, October 4, 2014

Duct Tape Necklace - Easy DIY!

Duct tape jewelry!  Have you tried it?  I've seen lots of cute ideas and have wanted to give it a whirl.  Instead, I gave it a ruffle.





Want to make one?  Here comes the easy DIY.  You will need:

duct tape
pointy li'l scissors
skinny cord or string
enough beads to string a necklace
a pendant OR a big bead dangle
a pinch bail OR a big jump ring

Fold together a long-ish piece of duct tape.  You want to end up with a double-thickness piece between 6 and 12 inches long.



Poke holes along the center.  Use anything pointy.  Doesn't matter how many, but it works best to have an even number of holes.




Cut two teeny squares of duct tape and stick them to the back of the strip (bottom edge, in the center.)  This is to reinforce the spot where you'll hang the pendant.




To make the ruffle a prettier shape, cut a notch off the top edge, like so:



Thread skinny cord through the holes.  Squoosh it up in the center to form your ruffle.




Ain't that fun?

Now to finish the necklace!  Simply string beads onto the rest of the cord.




Make it long enough to slip over your head, and tie an overhand knot in back.



To add the pendant, poke a hole in the ruffle's bottom center, where you reinforced it.



This little thingy is a pinch bail.  Sorry, the one crucial closeup and it came out fuzzy!  But you can kinda see it...




If you don't have one, use a big jump ring.  Put the pinch bail or jump ring through the hole, then close it around the pendant.


Alternative way to hang the pendant: make a wire loop to join a big bead to the ruffle, like this:



Voila, you are done!



I'm now dying to make some using wood-grain pattern duct tape - wouldn't that look cool and go with all kinds of great beads?

Oh, remember how I said I wanted to give it a whirl?  Here's that version!




Have fun!

 

8 comments:

  1. How pretty! the black & white in jewelry items always looks pretty. yours ruffled duct tape is looking too cute..Thanks for sharing :)

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  2. Love these! When did duck tape get so pretty?

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  3. Now that the whirl and ruffle are done, You must take them out for a spin :) both are very pretty but Iam partial to the ruffle

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  4. Nice! Cute duct tape you have there!

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  5. When I read the title, my first thought was, "she did NOT make jewelry out of duct tape", but yes..you did and of course you did it with style! Love it!

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  6. I've found all kinds of cute duct tape at Staples, Wal-Mart and craft stores. How'd you make the swirl?

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