Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Split ring jewelry finding

The thread goes through the metal ring twice
 For security, I like to attach a split ring finding instead of a standard jump ring to my tatted jewelry. The "split ring" I'm referring to here is the coiled jewelry finding (not a tatted split ring).


I recently acquired some black split rings that I really like, but I discovered that I can't use my special split ring pliers to open them because the force of using the tool scratches the black coating on this particular finding. So, I unwound my shuttle to string them onto the thread. Not a big deal, since at that point the tatting is nearly done, anyway.
So, before starting to tat the ring that I want the finding on, I unwound the shuttle, and strung the metal split ring onto that thread. Then, wrapped the thread around my left hand, and put the end of the thread through the metal split ring again. After doing that, the thread was wound back onto the shuttle. When tatting resumed, the metal ring dangled from the tatted ring.

A previous post about this subject is found at: http://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/2008/04/adding-jump-ring.html
"Wondrous Window" pendant from "Up and Tat 'Em" book

10 comments:

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Very clever! I'm not sure I'd have thought of that... my light bulb can be pretty dim at times!

Love the pendant! I get compliments on mine all the time!

Suztats said...

Beautiful pendant!

Kathy Niklewicz said...

Excellent post! It was great to learn that there IS a gizmo 'opener' out there, which seemed to be the solution (I couldn't figure out how to open them easily); then a new challenge comes along with the black ones, and leave it to you to figure it out. Thanks so much for sharing this method, which can be used on all these jump rings!

Perfect tatting (as usual) on the beautiful pendant!

ancolie said...

love this little pendant! it is true that it looks like a small cathedral stained glass ... but I do not think I could do it(pity for me ...)
ancolie

TAT19540 said...

That is really cool! I can really use that technique. I too love the pendant. And I love my new tatted necklace and earrings-they arrived safe and sound.

Marilee Rockley said...

Thanks, everyone. I remember when I first found out from Celtic Dream Weaver how to get that little metal finding on in that way, how pleased I was to finally figure it out!

magic shuttle said...

Hi !

I am almost new to the world of tatting bloggers. I have been following your posts for a long time and I should say I love your designs !
I really liked this necklace of yours and I gave it a try :) I would be more than happy to hear your comments and suggestions about it.

Marilee Rockley said...

Magic shuttle, thank you for the compliments, but please do not publish the instructions for my pattern. It's okay to show the photo of the pendant you made from my pattern, but to publish the stitch counts is copyright violation :(

magic shuttle said...

I have removed the instructions from my post per your request. I had come up with those numbers just by guessing while looking at your work and my intention was to share what I have learned with others interested in the field.

I tried researching more over this issue and I found conflicting ideas about design/recipe copyrights. However, I understand that this may damage your business which has never been my intention.

Marilee Rockley said...

Magic shuttle, thank you so much for understanding :-)
BTW, magic shuttle, your tatting is beautiful! Obviously, you are very talented, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your lovely work. You'll be coming up with your own book of original patterns in a short while, I betcha!