Jewelry Making Tip - Right Size Your Bead Weaved Ring by Using a Ring Stick

By Eri Attebery

If you have tried weaving a bead ring, you have probably already discovered that it can be a challenge to get the ring size correct.
As you probably already know, you can adjust the size of the ring band by adding beads or reducing beads on the band part of the ring you are weaving.

However, you must remember that even if all the beads look the same size to your eye, there are small variations in size that when taken all together will affect the size of the band.
In addition, each time you weave a different ring, how tight you weave the band part will have slight variations as well which will affect the band size.

If you finish the band and then discover that you didn't get the size right, it can be a little frustrating. What you can do to avoid this problem is use a tool called a Ring Stick.
The ring stick is, as the word says, a stick that is slender at the top and gets progressively wider as you go down the stick.
So when you put a ring on the stick it will go down the stick and stop where the size of the ring is the same size as the width of the stick.

The ring sizes are etched into the stick so you can see the size of the ring where the ring stops.
When you bead weave a ring, this is very important because you want to check the size of the ring band before you finish the band.
So what you do after you initially connect the band to the other side of the ring is place the ring on the ring stick to check the size.

If the size is OK, then go ahead and finish the band.
If the size it too large, then you can disconnect the band and reduce the number of patterns to decrease the size.
If the size is too small, then disconnect the band and add a pattern to increase the size.
As you can see, using the Ring Stick can be a real time saver.

Also, I recommend that you use a wooden Ring Stick instead of a metal one because the metal one can more easily scratch crystal beads.
Here is a short video tutorial showing you how to use a Ring Stick.
http://jewelrymakingprofessor.com/wp/?p=24

Eri Attebery operates http://www.JewelryMakingProfessor.com a site dedicated to offering products that teach how to make jewelry, and http://www.JewelryMakingInformation.com a site offering jewelry making tips, video tutorials, product reviews and resources for both jewelry making beginners and pros.
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