The Best of… Washer Necklace Tutorial
The following is a post from The Small Object blog originally hosted over on Blogger that has since been deleted. This post was originally published in May 2005.
“Last time I was in NYC I went to see the Josef + Anni Albers exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and it was awesome. But the item I remember being most excited about was Anni Albers’ necklace made with washers and grosgrain ribbon. This was one time I was desperately hoping the museum store would come through for me. Nope. This necklace was not available. So for months I’ve been trying to see how she weaved the washers together. The problem is my memory of it was very different than the actual construction. Alas, I finally found a picture online and see it was not nearly as complicated as I thought it was.
Thankfully, I finally figured it out.
First off, Anni Albers’ beautiful necklace:
(I also saw it with red ribbon which was is my favorite.)
Personally, I love it, so perhaps you want to make one, too. Here’s a quick tutorial.
- 35 to 50 3/8″ washers (10 washers makes 4.5″ of necklace)
- Grosgrain ribbon 1/2″ wide (3/4 yard or so)
Step one: Thread ribbon up from behind washer #1. You should leave about 6″ inches of ribbon on the end.
Step Two: Thread ribbon up along the side of washer #2 and back down through the middle. The end should be threaded back through the middle of washer #1. (Still with me…)
Step Three: Pull ribbon tight so washer #2 lies flat against washer #1.
Step Four: Thread ribbon back up through washer #2 so it weaves underneath washer #1.
Step Five: Repeat process. Thread ribbon up alongside edge and back down through the middle of washer #3.
Step Six: Thread end of ribbon back through the middle of washer #2.
Step Seven: Pull ribbon tight to the right so you have all three washers laying flat. Repeat above steps.
Then you’re done!!”
9 comments January 2nd, 2008