I know for a fact that Molly McAleer (rad Giggles co-honcho) loves the Mr. Kate Neon Braid jewelry, which I’m very flattered by ‘cuz she’s uber stylin’!!! I promised her eons ago that I would do a DIY for these fun pieces (I wear mine all the time)… so here it is!
The Neon Braid jewelry design I came up with randomly when I was styling a Mr. Kate jewelry shoot with my friend Rachel Specter as the model… she’s so purdy! I wanted to pair some of my organic-textured metal jewelry designs with some pops of almost-tribal colors. Hence, I came up with the Neon Braid jewelry after a quick trip to the fabric store for some hideous bathing suit material which, I fishtail braided. Watch the video for the DIY and check out my other jewelry designs here!
What You’ll Need:
- Stretchy, colorful bathing suit fabric, some solid and some patterned, cut in 3/4″ to 2″ strips, depending on how fat you want your piece.
- Wire – I like to use 18 gauge, half hard brass wire. Get it at your local bead store.
- 1 clasp and 2 or 3 jump rings, depending on if there is a jump ring on your clasp.
- Wire cutters
- Pliers
- Scissors
Do It:
- Cut your 4 stripes of fabric.
- Knot them together and fishtail braid them until you have your desired length. Watch my fishtail DIY video here. I recommend 7.5″ for a bracelet, 20″ to 22″ for a necklace and 35″ to 38″ for the long rope. Make sure you have excess to end it, about 6 inches extra length.
- Cut about 4 inches of your wire and wrap around the end of your piece, leaving about 3 inches in unbraided tails of fabric. Cinch the wire with the pliers to seal the braid.
- Put a large jump ring around one of the center tails of fabric and fold the fabric over to create a loop around the jump ring. Then seal the loop by continuing to wrap with the wire.
- Cinch your wire wrap, trim your ends and tamp down the ends into the fabric with the pliers so there are no sharp points.
- Open your jump ring and place your clasp on one side.
- Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 on the other end of your bracelet, necklace or rope and use a jump ring instead of a clasp to finish the piece.
Ta da! Watch the video above for a detailed example and as always, let me know if you have any questions!
photos via 
I almost died when you held it in your toes… I do the same thing!! I thought I was alone in that method, so I’ve hidden it in embarrassment my entire life. I don’t have to be ashamed anymore!!
L-O-V-E-!!!!
YAY!
this is awesome. thank you!
Thank you! Good luck with your neons!