DIY: Simple Rope Necklace Tutorial

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It’s unreal how long I’ve had this DIY in the queue.

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I made these necklaces back in 2013, just before I went to L.A. for a girls’ weekend. Back when I made this, I had an idea for a giant rope necklace, but didn’t have any giant rope. Turns out you can find this type of stuff in the upholstery section, but making your own rope is hyper fun. And insanely easy.

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It adds a little bit of quirkiness, but it doesn’t look nearly as home made as it is. I love that.

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For the simplest of necklaces, here’s what we’ll need:

  • Cotton twine: any kind (I found mine at Home Depot)
  • scissors
  • tape
  • jump rings
  • chain (16+ inches)
  • pliers

Click the link to see the full tutorial.

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Cut your string into 16-24 strips at about 2 feet long. You’ll want to make sure they’re longer than your planned length because the twisting and knotting makes the rope shorter.

Tie a knot in one end, leaving about a 2-3 inch tail at the end.

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Tape the tail down securely.

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Divide the strings into equal groups and twist them both one direction. In the image above, the two groups are being twisted counter-clockwise.

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Once the two groups are tightly wound, twist the two groups together the opposite direction. In this case, the ropes are being twisted clockwise now.

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Tape your end closed.

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Add any beads or embellishments to your rope. In this case, I found decorative floral wire at my local craft store and wound it around a fat crayola marker 10 times. Cut off excess with pliers.

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Thread the rope through the coil and knot the taped end.
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To keep the raw ends of the coil from snagging on your clothes, tuck both ends inside the barrel. Do this by grabbing the ends with pliers and just pushing the coil inward and down just a bit.

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Add jump rings to the back sides of the knotted string. I loop the jump rings around 1-2 strings. Add your chain. A quick note about jump rings, make sure you twist them apart sideways instead of pulling them apart. You can twist them back closed, but you can’t push the rings closed (hope that makes sense).

Before closing up the chain, make sure the chain and rope can slip over your head easily. Otherwise, add closures. I’m too lazy for closures.

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Boom, Done! There you have it. Simple. Easy. Fun.

Play around with polymer beads, leather and more for a completely different look.

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