Dahlia Pendant and Ribbon Tutorial

Back in March, Monique of A Half Baked Notion designed a necklace using some fossilized coral that she had purchased from one of my destash sales.  I was intrigued by the hand dyed, tubular viscose ribbon she used in her necklace.  It came from a shop called Colour Complements on Etsy.  So I made an inquiry about the ribbon, with the shop owner, Lorraine.  Lorraine was kind enough to send me a sample of her hand-dyed ribbon to try out.

Isn't it beautiful?  I loved the luscious colors and I envisioned threading wire through the center of the tubular ribbon and then wire wrapping it.   Upon receiving the ribbon, I realized that I had the perfect match for it, in a ceramic flower pendant that I had received from Marla James of Marla's Mud.

Marla's pendant reminds me of the dahlias that are blooming in our front yard now.  So I've called today's tutorial the Dahlia Ribbon Pendant.

Here's what you will need:

• Approximately 6 inches of 20 gauge wire (length will vary depending on the size of the pendant you are using)
• 7 inches of  hand-dyed tubular viscose ribbon, plus 9 inches more, if you want to add a bow above your pendant
• A pendant of your choice that has a hole large enough to accommodate the ribbon.

Tools:

• Cutters
• Flat nose or chain nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Scissors

1.  Make sure that both ends of your wire are flush cut.  Sand them so they are as smooth as possible. The smoother the ends are, the less they will snag on the ribbon and the easier it will be for you to thread the wire into the ribbon tube. 

2.  Find the opening in the tubular ribbon.

3.  Carefully and gently thread the wire into the ribbon tube.  This is a little tedious, so go slowly and be patient.  Its only a short length of ribbon, so it won't take long, unless you try to force it.

3.  Scrunch the ribbon together, so it all fits on your wire, with bare wire on either end.

4.  Decide which end of the wired ribbon you want to face forward and then carefully thread your pendant onto the wired ribbon. 

5.  Gently curve the wire up around your pendant.  Make sure you leave enough room above the pendant so the pendant can move a bit.

6.  Make a wrapped loop above the pendant.

7.  If you would like to have a bow on your pendant, tie it over the wire  wraps.  You may want to add an small, inconspicuous touch of glue to the bow, so it does not come untied.

8.  Make another wrapped loop above this, to form the bail.  

9.  Create a necklace, or simply string your pendant on leather or chain.

After taking these pictures, I decided that I liked my pendant better without the bow and I removed it.  I don't have a photos of it without the bow, but I liked the simpler version better.

The tubular viscose ribbon adds a soft touch to the necklace.  It also adds an interesting texture and a pop of color.  I hope you will give it a try and post links to your creations here or on the AJE Facebook page.  You know how much we'd love to see what what you create!

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry