Make It Pink: Cocktail Ring!

October 12th, 2008 in sewing, fashion, restyle, jewelry making

Susan Beal, contributor

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Make a plush-flower ring with a sparkling rhinestone, leftover sweater bits, and a vintage flower fabric as a base.

Making a sleek little rhinestone ring (like these Sparkle Cocktail Rings from Bead Simple) is as fun as wearing them!

Make a plush-flower ring with a sparkling rhinestone, leftover sweater bits, and a vintage flower fabric as a base.

Photo: Susan Beal

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If you're looking for a bright and sparkly pink pick-me-up as the days get shorter and darker, how about this fun little cocktail ring? I've made two versions, one using layers of soft cashmere and floral fabric that was featured in Sweater Surgery, and one sleek little Sparkle Cocktail Ring from my own book, Bead Simple. Here's how to make both kinds!

For the layered fabric version, you'll need:

Sharp scissors
Scrap of tight-weave or lightly felted sweater, at least 3 to 4 inches square
Small amount of Poly-fil stuffing
Needle and thread
Floral fabric with a flower pattern
Interfacing
Iron
Sew-through button
Rhinestone (slightly smaller than the button)
Jewelry or craft glue
Industrial-strength glue like E-6000
Ring blank

1. Cut your sweater scrap into a rough circle shape and place a puff of Poly-fil on the wrong side. Gather the edges together, right side out, and use your needle and thread to sew the perimeter of the circle together, forming a 3-D sphere that's soft and pliable. Stitch through all layers of the edges a few times to keep them securely joined, and trim any bulky edges that stick out.

2. Meanwhile, take your floral fabric and press interfacing to its wrong side. Then, cut a flower shape out of it, slightly bigger than your puff.

3. Place your sew-through button on the top of the puff. Bring your needle up through the entire puff and up through one of the button's holes. Bring it back down through the opposite hole and through the puff, and pull it taut so your sphere becomes more of a donut shape.

4. Next, you'll add the flower shape to the bottom of the puff, on the other side from the button—stitch it on with your needle and thread, covering the raw edges completely. Continue bringing your needle and thread up through the button at the top of the stack and then back down through the fabric underlayer until the three sections are securely joined. Knot the thread behind the flower shape base.

5. Add your rhinestone to the top of the button with a dab of craft glue.

6. Glue the flower-shape base of your ring layers to the ring blank with industrial-strength glue, letting it dry securely.

For the super-easy Sparkle Cocktail Ring version, you'll need:

Rhinestone (I found mine at Berger Beads in Los Angeles)
Ring blank (I got mine at Metalliferous in New York)
Craft or jewelry glue

Place your rhinestone face down on a protected work surface and apply a generous dab of glue to the flat back of it. Press your ring blank right into the glue and let it dry completely. That's it!