Introduction: Adjustable Size Love Ring
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About: I'm a 20-something chemistry graduate student and jewelry artist. I love to make things over buying them. My main media are metal and clay, although I dabble in a bit of everything. Most of my jewelry is fold-…
This adorable wire wrapped ring is really easy to make and it doesn't require a lot of materials. I've been wearing mine around for a while and I've gotten a ton of compliments on it.
To get started, you'll need:
A 6" piece of wire: The wire type doesn't matter. It can be copper, silver, gold or any random base metal that you pick up from a craft store. I recommend the gauge be a little thicker. The wire used in this tutorial is an 18g nickel. The ring in the main image is a 22g sterling silver. The one I wear around all of the time is 22g and I've never had issues with it, but I would not recommend going any thinner than that.
Round nose pliers: The round nose pliers can be replaced with a small dowel rod or a grilling skewer if you don't want to invest in a good pair of pliers, but it will be slightly harder to make the ring. If you do invest in pliers, I would not recommend any pair with quality below the one linked. Your pliers are your best friend in the wire wrapping world.
Flat or needle nose pliers: It's very hard to find a good replacement for these, so I highly recommend these. You can get great pairs of these in plier sets, some of which have lifetime warranties.
To get started, you'll need:
A 6" piece of wire: The wire type doesn't matter. It can be copper, silver, gold or any random base metal that you pick up from a craft store. I recommend the gauge be a little thicker. The wire used in this tutorial is an 18g nickel. The ring in the main image is a 22g sterling silver. The one I wear around all of the time is 22g and I've never had issues with it, but I would not recommend going any thinner than that.
Round nose pliers: The round nose pliers can be replaced with a small dowel rod or a grilling skewer if you don't want to invest in a good pair of pliers, but it will be slightly harder to make the ring. If you do invest in pliers, I would not recommend any pair with quality below the one linked. Your pliers are your best friend in the wire wrapping world.
Flat or needle nose pliers: It's very hard to find a good replacement for these, so I highly recommend these. You can get great pairs of these in plier sets, some of which have lifetime warranties.
Step 1: L
To make the L, start by curling the end of the wire under to make a loop with your round nose pliers. Use the top of the pliers to make a smaller loop. This will be the top of your cursive L.
About a quarter of a centimeter from the bottom of your first loop, make a second small loop with your round nose pliers as shown in picture 2. This will be the angle of the L. Bring the excess wire farther than a 90 degree angle so that you can make the bottom of the L curly and cursive-looking.
Take your round nose pliers and place them on the bottom of the L, as shown in picture 3. Gently bend the wire so that there is a nice curve in the bottom. It is helpful to use the lower, larger part of your pliers for this.
About a quarter of a centimeter from the bottom of your first loop, make a second small loop with your round nose pliers as shown in picture 2. This will be the angle of the L. Bring the excess wire farther than a 90 degree angle so that you can make the bottom of the L curly and cursive-looking.
Take your round nose pliers and place them on the bottom of the L, as shown in picture 3. Gently bend the wire so that there is a nice curve in the bottom. It is helpful to use the lower, larger part of your pliers for this.
Step 2: O
Right after the "L," add your "o." Toward the middle of your round nose pliers, make a large loop. The excess wire should come out parallel to the word.
Step 3: V
Coming out of the "o," make a sharp bend in the metal by grabbing the wire with your needle (or flat) nose pliers. The angle should be slightly greater than 90 degrees.
Aligning with the bottom of the "o," take your needle nose pliers and make another bend in the wire to bring the "v" back up. Picture 2 shows where your pliers should go and picture 3 shows what the "v" will look like when the bottom is complete.
Aligning with the top of the left side of the "v," make the top for the right side of the "v." Grab the wire with your needle nose pliers and bend the wire to an angle a bit less than 90 degrees.
Aligning with the bottom of the "o," take your needle nose pliers and make another bend in the wire to bring the "v" back up. Picture 2 shows where your pliers should go and picture 3 shows what the "v" will look like when the bottom is complete.
Aligning with the top of the left side of the "v," make the top for the right side of the "v." Grab the wire with your needle nose pliers and bend the wire to an angle a bit less than 90 degrees.
Step 4: E
To make the "e," use your needle nose pliers to make a bend to the right side of the "e" and use your round nose pliers to round the "e" out. This part is more of an art than a science. Play with the "e" until you like the look of it.
To get out of the "e," you can either bend with your needle nose or your round nose pliers until the excess wire is parallel to the direction on the ring again. I prefer using round nose because they give a softer angle, but if you want the hard angle, needle nose pliers are the way to go for this step.
To get out of the "e," you can either bend with your needle nose or your round nose pliers until the excess wire is parallel to the direction on the ring again. I prefer using round nose because they give a softer angle, but if you want the hard angle, needle nose pliers are the way to go for this step.
Step 5: Sizing the Band
To size the band, wrap the ring around whichever finger you want it to go on. When you've decided how large you want it, work back about half a centimeter from where the unbent wire and the L meet. Make a sharp bend with your needle nose pliers.
This step only has to be approximate, as the ring will be adjustable.
This step only has to be approximate, as the ring will be adjustable.
Step 6: Finishing the Ring
About a quarter of a centimeter away from the last bend you made, start the loop for the heart that will finish the ring off. Loop it around until it is parallel with the first side of the heart.
Make a sharp bend where the center of the heart should be so you can start going the other way.
Grab your round nose pliers and, using the very tip, make the smallest loop you can. This will ensure that the end of your ring won't snag on your clothes while you're wearing it.
Take your needle nose pliers and collapse the loop you just made so that the end of the wire is sitting flat against the rest of the ring.
Finish your ring by taking your round nose pliers and finishing the loop of the heart.
Now, put your ring on your finger and show the world some love!
Make a sharp bend where the center of the heart should be so you can start going the other way.
Grab your round nose pliers and, using the very tip, make the smallest loop you can. This will ensure that the end of your ring won't snag on your clothes while you're wearing it.
Take your needle nose pliers and collapse the loop you just made so that the end of the wire is sitting flat against the rest of the ring.
Finish your ring by taking your round nose pliers and finishing the loop of the heart.
Now, put your ring on your finger and show the world some love!