Thursday 8 April 2010

tutorial: make a rainbow ring

Okay, I may be a teacher by profession, but writing up my first ever tutorial is proving a daunting task indeed. But I have enjoyed following other people's tutes so much that I think it's only fair that I have a go. I'm not even sure this is an original idea - it certainly seems too simple for it not to have been done before. But I haven't seen a tute for this one, so here goes...

rainbow ring

Materials:
a wooden ring - A suitable size for a child to hold. I found mine in a craft shop. It's about 5 inches in diameter; I think 3 inches would be better for a little hand, but my 21-month-old seems just fine with this larger one. Make sure it's very smooth - you may need to sand it with a very fine gauge sandpaper. You may also like to give it a polish with beeswax. I meant to, but ran out of time.
satin ribbon - Any width you like, though narrower ribbons will lay together more neatly on the ring. I cut mine into one metre lengths.
thread - in coordinating colours
needle
scissors

Step 1. Hem the first ribbon, about 1/4 inch, with a running stitch. Secure at the end but don't break your thread.














Step 2. Fold hemmed end over the wooden ring and backstitch close to the ring. (Please ignore how messy the orange, red and pink stitches are. This was my prototype and I was experimenting to find the strongest way to secure the ribbon onto the ring.)
Step 3. Repeat with each ribbon, ensuring all the seams are on the same side.
Step 4. Give your rainbow ring to the nearest child for hours of colorful fun!
(Phew! That wasn't so bad after all!)



2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the tutorial and the beautiful photos which inspired me to make my own. I made 5 of these to hang in the trees for my son's 4th birthday party. Due to lack of time and thin ribbons I tied the ribbons on to the rings and fixed each knot with a dab of glue to stop them slipping undone. The craft shops here in Australia don't seem to stock wooden rings, so I bought small unfinished curtain rings from the hardware store and removed the hooks. It all worked beautifully and now we have the 5 rainbows hanging in our playroom window.

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  2. Thank you for coming back to let me know you used the tutorial. You've made my day! :-)
    Your idea to tie and glue the ribbons sounds much more time-efficient and I'll definitely give it a try. I love the idea of using curtain rings, too...in fact, I've got a whole bag of rings I was about to offer on Freecycle...I think you've just inspired a whole bunch of birthday gifts for the many parties my little ones are invited to throughout the year!

    Wishing your little boy a very happy fourth birthday!

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