by Rena Klingenberg.
Three brass folded wire rings by Rena Klingenberg.
These folded wire rings are so simple, cheap, and fun to make!
Two copper folded wire rings by Rena Klingenberg
You need only a few inches of wire and basic jewelry tools to make these.
Folded wire ring in brass by Rena Klingenberg
They are comfortable and easily adjustable to fit a variety of finger sizes.
Supplies for Folded Wire Rings:
- A piece of 18-gauge round wire – about 7″ to 10″ (17.78 cm to 25.4 cm) long. (I used copper and brass wires in my examples here.)
- A ruler.
- Wire cutter.
- Round nose pliers.
- Flat nose pliers.
- Chain nose pliers.
- Ring mandrel, dowel or PVC pipe section – or other item that’s about the same diameter as your ring-wearing finger.
- Nylon or rawhide hammer for hammering your ring on the mandrel.
Folded Wire Ring Tutorial
Why are these called “folded wire rings”?
Because you’ll start out by folding your piece of wire (in one of the ways I’ll show you below).
The folded wire creates a double-strand ring band (ring shank).
After forming the shank, you’ll have the fun of using your pliers and your creativity to shape your wire ends into an infinite variety of designs for the top of the ring!
Three Ways to Fold Your Wire:
There are probably a lot of other ways to fold your wire too!
Below are the three ways I’ve folded my wire to create the ring shanks shown in this tutorial.
I find that I end up with better ring designs when I DON’T fold the wire exactly in the center.
Having one wire end longer than the other allows for more interesting designs for the top of the ring!
Experiment with different lengths and see what you come up with.
Wire Fold Method 1 -
The Flat Fold:
The flat fold enables you to make a beautifully simple, compact double ring shank.
To make your flat fold, use the very tips of your round nose pliers to bend your piece of wire in a U-shape:
Then use your flat nose pliers to squash the U-shape as flat as possible (that’s why it’s called the flat fold!):
Wrap your flat-folded wire around your ring mandrel, and use your hammer to pound the shank into a nice ring shape.
Hammer starting at the folded end, then moving around to the wire on the back of your mandrel, and on around to where your wires meet up with the fold.
DON’T hammer your 2 long wire ends yet, or you won’t be able to curve and shape them easily.
Here I’ve wrapped the flat-folded wire spiral-style around the mandrel:
Then remove your wire from the mandrel. It should look something like this:
Now comes the fun part!
Use your pliers and your imagination to create artistic shapes with your two long wire ends.
Here I’ve used my round nose pliers to turn the longer wire end into a large, open spiral – and the shorter wire end into a little curl:
After you’ve finished designing both of your wire ends, put your ring back on the mandrel and give it a good hammering all over – including your fancy wire design.
Hammering the fancy wirework will ensure your design will curve naturally around the top surface of the wearer’s finger.
And just as important, the hammering will harden your wire design and make it sturdier:
Here’s a view of the back of my ring after hammering it all over; notice how the fancy wirework is curved just like the rest of the ring:
A Different Option for Your Flat-Folded Wire:
Instead of wrapping your flat-folded wire in a spiral around your ring mandrel, you can wrap it so that the two long wire ends straddle the fold:
I created this ring from a flat-folded wire that I wrapped around the mandrel straddle-style.
See the flat fold, right in the middle of the ring, and how the two wire ends straddle it:
Here’s a side view of the same ring:
And a back view of it; you can see what a nice double ring shank you get with flat-folded wire:
Wire Fold Method 2 -
The Round Fold:
The round fold gives you a lovely, airy, open-work double ring shank.
To make your round fold, use the fattest part of your round nose pliers to bend your piece of wire into a U-shape:
Then wrap your wire around your mandrel, and hammer just the shank portion of your wire (as described above under “Wire Fold Method 1 – The Flat Fold”).
This is a round-folded wire, after being wrapped straddle-style around the mandrel (with the two long wire ends straddling the round fold):
The ring below was made with a round-folded piece of wire – and it was wrapped around the mandrel spiral-style (NOT straddle-style).
See the wide round curve on the top spiral of this ring:
Here’s another view of this ring, showing how it looks when worn (if you have a pale-blue finger 
):
Wire Fold Method 3 -
The Square Fold:
The square fold gives an interestingly angular look to your ring.
If you shape your two long wire ends into curls and swirls as I’ve done, the square fold is a nice contrast to the curves.
The square fold is also nice for more masculine ring designs.
To make your square fold, use your flat-nose pliers to bend your wire into a square U-shape:
Then wrap your wire around your mandrel, and hammer just the shank portion of your wire (as described above under “Wire Fold Method 1 – The Flat Fold”).
This is a square-folded wire, after being wrapped straddle-style around the mandrel (with the two wire ends straddling the square fold):
This ring was made with a square fold:
Another view of the same ring; see how the angles of the square fold make a good contrast with the spirals:
This ring was also created with a square fold and wrapped straddle-style around the mandrel:
Another view of this ring. Here you can see the effect of having your two wire ends in different lengths:
Of course you can add extra elements to your folded wire rings – such as beads, oxidizing / patina effects, and all kinds of other jewelry techniques!
And if you’re interested in an even simpler wire ring design, be sure to see my super-easy Wire Wrap Rings Tutorial.
OMGosh, those are wonderful, Rena! I love the variety of shapes you made, and the rings look so chic and expensive. Beautiful post.
They all look beautiful!
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
Those are fantastic rings! Gorgeous work. thanks for posting!
Wow – they are absolutely beautiful and you make it look so simple!
these are super duper fantastic…I am doing a wire jewelry collection now and I would love to incorporate (and experiment a lot) these ideas in it
Wow these are so beautiful,love them all….Thanks for linking up with us at Creative Mondays….
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this! I always wondered how this was done. Not that I could do it even with the tutorial, but still great inspiration! Found you on the IMM blog hop.
Diane
Awesome! Thanks for sharing the tute!
*hugs*Deb
I think you did a great job with all the desings you came up with!!!
All three of these are so pretty and so amazing! You are one talented girl!
Thank you for sharing how you make them!
Wow! so very cool! Do they bend out of shape easily when wearing them?
Thanks so much to all for your lovely comments!
Shiloh – if you hammer the finished ring very well on your mandrel, it will become quite sturdy.
Rena, they are all truly lovely!
Another great post! I can’t believe how creative you are. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and coming up with an awesome tutorial every week! Do you have a facebook page or something that I can follow! Or I guess I can see you each week on the link parties. I look forward to seeing what you have!
These are beautiful! I have just recently learned a little about wire wrapping, and I really want to try doing some of these, great tutorial! Thanks for sharing!
Do you start with dead soft or half hard wire? I have been making rings with dead soft and even with hammering ( work hardening) I’m concerned that the rings are too easy to bend out of shape. I have not had any complaints but I’m wondering if half hard would be better to start with.
Thank you for the article.
Jennifer
I love these! They are simple, artistic, comfortable and elegant. I used to wear lots of rings but now I find them uncomfortable. Working with wire all the time and arthritis have taken their toll. Rings like these are so easy to wear and look great on the hand. I’ve sold similar rings right off my hand so people do respond to these designs very well.
Rena – I love, love, love these! Thanks for sharing.
I love these. I am going to try and make napkin rings with this design. I haven’t worked with wire so this wil be a starter for me. Thanks for sharing.
Great designs.
Love these. I know what I’ll be doing this afternoon!! Thank you.
All the shapes are really cool. I am definitely going to start working with wire now.
Thank you all so much for your generous comments!
Jennifer, I have used both soft and half-hard wire. If you can form the wire into the shapes you want with the half-hard wire, that’s probably a sturdier choice. But if the half-hard is too difficult to shape, then I’d go with the soft wire.
Zoraida, I love hearing about your experiences with making, selling, and wearing rings like this. One thing that I love about these is that they’re totally adjustable. My fingers tend to be different sizes throughout the day (swelling / shrinking a bit), and I find adjustable rings so much more comfortable than ones that are just one size.
I think adjustable rings are also easier to sell, because they can fit a variety of fingers!
Thanks for posting this. I recently started making wire rings, They are quick, fun, cheap and best part my customers love them! This has just inspired so many more ideas! YAY!
I love this site and just told my friend about it.
Rena, I know you are a marvelous blessing to many of us for sharing such beautiful creations. Truly you are a jewel, I hope you know this. The Tutorials inspire me to do even more… Thank-you much!
LOVE them! So pretty and so simple – now I have another idea(s) to add to my huge “I want to try that” list. Thank you for the great tutorial and the follow up comments to clarify things.
Love this tutorial – thank you! The rings are so great and I’d love to make some for gifts.
What beautiful rings. Super tutorial. I would love to try this one. Thanks for sharing at DIYbyDesign.
Rena thanks so much for sharing, I have a show in less than two weeks these would be perfect….take about timing!! I still needed some quick and easy items for the table.
I so enjoy this newsletter each month thank you for all your hard work
These are gorgeous! I love them all! Not sure if I could make them but they sure are beautiful
What beautiful rings! Seems easy enough to give a try, thanks for sharing at tip toe thru tuesday!
xoxo
kim
Beautiful!!!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this tutorial, Rena. I have had so much fun this morning playing around with the ring and variations.
I love these rings. I have some spare wire, too. They are on my list of things to do now.
Thanks for the tutorial, and for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday. Have a great week.
These are so simple yet so beautiful!
Wire is probably my favourite jewellery making medium and I can never go past a tutorial about wire rings. These are totally gorgeous! I read something really interesting somewhere that I thought I might share. Because our fingers are not round, a nice round ring is sometimes difficult to get on over the knuckle if it has to then fit your finger. To remedy this, squeeze it so that the ring becomes slightly oval. When you put your ring on, turn it 90 degrees so that the longer oval part fits over your knuckle (which is usually wider than it is high). Once past the knuckle, turn the ring back 90 degrees and it will fit on the skinny part of your finger but won’t slip off over the knuckle. So simple, but so effective!
Wow! You are talented! Thanks for linking up! So excited to have co-hosted with SPARK today! LOVD tidings, Lilly
They are beautiful! I want to make some of these, my college kids would love them.
OMG!!!! they are awsome… too good…
Wow! Those are so pretty! I’m pinning them!!
Oh my gosh, these are beautiful! The tutorial is wonderful and I would love to make some of these at home. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you share next week! Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle
Very interesting and very beautiful! Thank you so much for making and sharing your tutorial!
Just plain gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
These are beautiful. Great tutorial
Debi
Hi Rena! How pretty! I especially love the pic of the first ring. I love the flow of the open ended swirls. Thanks for sharing, you rock =) Kathy
I LOVE these folded rings! I’ve made a few wire rings and they have sold well, and are somewhat adjustable – but if stretched larger, they would get somewhat out of symmetry. What I love best about these is that if they need to be adjusted larger or smaller, the design will still look just right. DEFINITELY going to try these out this week! Thank you Rena for another fabulous idea, and for sharing it with us! Great designs!
Your rings are beautiful. Thank you for sharing them at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.
Love your folded rings and your really shared a great tutorial. Very lovely and like how they are adjustable without losing integrity. Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
Very funky. I actually like all the styles. Thank you for the tutorials – I’ll have to dig out the wire some time – it’s been too long!
I can’t wait to get started!
I love this! I am saving it to feature!
What can I say that hasn’t already been said. Coming up with these simple and clever designs and then sharing them with us makes you and your newletter such a success! People love rings, especially inexpensive rings. I can’t wait to try this and incorporate them into my product line. I never make rings small enough for very young girls and I see that I will be able to do this with this style. As always…AWSOME!
What a great tutorial. Love all the different looks of these rings!
You really have such a neat blog! Your posts really make jewelry-making seem doable for those who have never done it. I love it…had to ‘pin’ it! Thanks for sharing your great idea with the ‘Or so she says…’ readers! The newest link party just kicked off today (every Sat. – Tues), I would love to have you back!
Rena,
Again these are beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesdays Adorned From Above.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
Wow… great rings… every time I think I have seen all the ring styles there is to see someone comes up with a new idea.
Can’t wait to make some.
Just fabulous… I really enjoy your web-site Rena!!!! Thanks for sharing!
Wow. Rena, these are excellent. Thank you so much for this really wizzidiwaow tutorial. I’m all inspired! And thank you for linking it up at our party also.
creative,feminin,beautiful!
I made those rings. THANK YOU for this page. Keep doing fabulous jewlery! You helped me a lot!
Yuupiiii! Hugs!
Rena, I’ve been making very similar rings and found a supply of pretty colors of aluminum wire in the floral section of craft departments. I’ve used purple, red, turquoise and gold colored wire. I have added charms, beads and such. They are so much fun to make. Thank you for your designs. I love the folded wire design. Love your stuff!
Gorgeous! Pinning. THanks so much
Fantastic tutorial! Thank you so much. I tried one of these with 14ga wire, easy by no means, but was pleased by the results (now, if I can only learn how not to mark the wire)!
I love the folded wire ring. I have always admired handcrafted jewelry but found it too intimidating to give it a try. I thought it was very complex and I would not be able to achieve the desired results w/o allot of equipment and supplies. But to my surprise, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought…It is just setting your mind that u can do is the battle…If I could do the basics anyone can…
I have been making jewelry for awhile just using accuflex wire from Fire Mountain Gems (I love this place) and beads. I have been wanting to start working with wire but I really don’t know where to start. I can’t wait to try this! Is there a book for beginners that you would recommend?
I can’t express how much I LOVE these! This is exactly the type of jewelry I love. I really don’t get into jewelry making…but this might hook me. Thanks for bringing this to the Oldie’s party! Hope to see you back there next week.
Thanks for bringing this to the Oldies party last week–you were featured!
Rena, thanks again. You have simplified this wire folding/bending for rings where it makes such good sense. I tend to make everything so difficult. Now as I am learning I can teach my sons. Thanks again.
Have a lovely day too.
Hi Rena,
What a clever idea. I was really looking at your rings and first thing that popped into my head (I know, smell the smoke)…… wait for it….. wait….
NAPKIN HOLDERS/RINGS!!! If some are not jewelry ring wearers, they could still be a great seller. Make just a little more large, to fit around folded cloth napkins, I think they would look great!
Gorgeous! You make it look so easy to make!! Thanks for linking this up to my Show Off Your Shell Party!
Hi Rena, could you show exactly how to design the large and small curve? I have practiced ,but just can’t seem to get them right.
Hi Ginger! Are you referring to the brass ring that’s in the third photo down from the top of this page, with the blue background?
On that ring the large curve is basically an open wire spiral – see my 3-minute video on that here: How to Make an Open Wire Spiral.
The small curve is just the beginning part of an open wire spiral.
I hope this helps – and that you have as much fun with this folded wire ring technique as I have!