Tapestry Needle — I like using tapestry needles for hiding the ends of my wire, although there are other acceptable ways to accomplish the same task. Please note that my photo shows me using a large tapestry needle, which is not ideal; ideally, you’ll want to work with the smallest needle that will comfortably get the job done.
Gather your supplies and let’s get started!
The first step is to string your beads onto your wire. I recommend stringing more than you think you’ll need, because you never know exactly how many you’ll need. After you begin crocheting, it’s not all that easy to add extra beads to the end of the work. It’s not totally impossible in this case, but it’s a pain in the neck.
Next, pull out a length of wire. Leave a comfortable amount, at least 5 or 6 inches, because later after you’ve finished the crocheting, you will need to have enough wire to work with in order to hide the ends successfully.
Next, you want to make a slip knot, which is the correct method to use for getting this project (and most crochet projects) started. If you don’t already know how to make a slip knot, or you know how but you need a quick refresher, you can find a free slip knot tutorial at Crochet.About.com.
Important Note: Before you proceed any further, you should be aware of one important thing: it’s extremely difficult to correct mistakes in wire crochet. Some crocheters even say that it’s impossible, although that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve been able to correct quite a few of my mistakes in the past, but I can say this: you can’t ever, ever take it for granted that you’ll be able to fix a mistake in wire crochet. Sorry, I know that’s not the news you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth.
So, with that in mind, here’s some advice.
As you’re working in this technique, you’re likely to make some places with odd spacing. It’s going to happen. If you’re used to traditional crochet with yarn, you might be in the habit of just pulling the oddball stitches out, redoing them and then getting on with the rest of the project.
With wire crochet, that habit is going to have to change. Unless something is really, totally, completely, unbearably wrong, just leave it and keep going.
Like I mentioned before, this project is forgiving of odd spacing, and most of the time it won’t make a bit of difference in the finished project. So don’t worry about it, and just keep going.
Okay, so after you’ve made your slip knot, the next thing you want to do is grab the first accessible bead and push it along the wire to get it right up close to your slip knot. Then you’re going to grab the wire with your crochet hook and pull it through the loop on your hook, essentially working a chain stitch with a bead stuck inside of it.
It will look something like this when you’ve completed the chain:
Now just keep working beaded chains, just like the first one, until you have a length of beads crocheted using the wire. Push another bead up the length of wire…
…and grab the wire with your crochet hook.
Pull it through to form the next stitch. Repeat over and over and over and over again until the piece is the length you want it to be.
How Long a Length of Beads and Wire Do You Need to Crochet?The finished size of your napkin ring depends entirely on the length of the piece you crochet here. My sample napkin ring is small, with an outside diameter of about 2 inches and a circumference of about 6 inches.
To achieve that size, I crocheted a beaded piece that measured about 19 inches long.
That might or might not be the best length for you to make yours. If your napkins are really big or thick, you might want to make a larger ring.
You can visually estimate whether you’ve got the right size by coiling the piece into three loops and stacking them on top of each other as pictured (although you probably want to put a safety pin in your active loop to keep from losing it, which I did not do in the photo.)
This will be just slightly larger than the approximate size of your napkin ring; you’ll lose a little bit of circumference because the strand will be twisted together, but this will at least give you an approximate idea of the size your napkin ring will end up if you stop crocheting at your current spot.
If you’re uncertain of how your napkins will fit inside the ring, you can grab one and try it before you proceed. Again keep in mind that the finished ring will be a little smaller than your 3 stacked-and-coiled loops.
My theory is this: if there’s any uncertainty about whether your napkin ring will turn out to be too small, go ahead and make it a little bigger by crocheting a few more beads at the end of the piece. Most of the time, a too-big napkin ring holder won’t be unusable, but a too-small napkin ring holder will be useless.
What to Do If You Didn’t String Enough Beads, and You Run Out: If you somehow manage to run out of beads and your piece is too short, DO NOT END OFF YET. Here’s how you can attempt to fix this problem. I make no guarantees that it will work, because there is some guesswork involved. But, you can try this, and maybe it will work.
Try to guess at the amount of wire you’ll need to work with to finish up the project. Pull out this length of wire and perhaps a little bit more — just to be on the safe side. Cut this length to detach it from the spool.
Now string more beads onto the newly-cut end. When you’re finished, wrap the end around some sort of stopper like a paper clip or safety pin, to prevent the beads from falling off while you work.
Continue working until you (hopefully) have the length you want.
When you’re satisfied that your piece is the correct length, you’re going to end it off. End off by simply cutting the wire, grabbing the wire with your crochet hook as pictured, and pulling the end through the active loop on your hook. When you cut the wire, remember to leave a length at the end of at least 5 or 6 inches so you have enough to work with when you need to weave in your ends later.
After ending off, the work will look something like this.
How to Make the Napkin Ring
OK, so now we’ve got this piece of beaded crochet chain, and we want to transform it into a napkin ring. Here are the instructions for how to do that.
First, use approximately the first one-third of the piece to form a loop, loosely tying the ends together as shown in the picture below.
Next, grab the longer end of the chain and wind it through the ring, manipulating it and twisting it as you go, with the goal of getting the most appealing twisted effect you can possibly get from it.
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