How to Make a Beaded Ring - Easy Peyote Stitch Ring

Video bySnails and Fairy Dust - Beading Tutorials

Difficulty: Medium
About 1 hour 30 minutes
9 steps

Save keeps your ticked steps. We email you a link, no password.

A beaded ring made in peyote stitch is a flat band of tiny seed beads that you zip into a circle. It is one of the best first projects in bead weaving because it is small, it comes together in an evening and you learn a stitch you will use for years. This tutorial is from Snails and Fairy Dust. She works an even count peyote band eight beads wide, adds a simple chevron in turquoise, coral and gold, then joins the ends so the seam disappears.

How to make a beaded ring: the short version

Add a stop bead and pick up eight beads.
Work the first peyote row by skipping every other bead.
Add four beads per row, each one between two up beads.
Work about 16 rows plain, then add a color design.
Keep going until the band wraps around your finger.
Zip the ends together, then weave in and clip the threads.

Beads and thread

Use cylinder beads such as Miyuki Delica size 11. They are shaped like tiny tubes and sit flat against each other, so peyote looks crisp and even. Round seed beads work too, but the band will look bumpier. For thread, she uses 6 lb Fireline. It is a braided line that does not stretch or fray, and a ring needs that strength because it gets pulled and rubbed all day. Use a size 12 beading needle so it fits through each bead more than once.

Getting the size right

Peyote rings close like a zipper, so the two ends have to fit together. Up beads on one end must meet down beads on the other. That means you always add rows in pairs. Wrap the band around the finger you plan to wear it on, check the fit, and add two more rows if it is tight. A wider band, or a knuckle that is bigger than the base of your finger, needs a slightly longer band so it slides on.

Designing your own pattern

Once the plain rows feel easy, play with color. She builds a diagonal triangle by starting one blue bead at the edge and following where each new colored bead lands, row by row. Graph paper helps if you want to plan ahead. Stagger the squares like bricks, since peyote rows offset by half a bead. Stripes, chevrons and initials all work on an eight bead band. Make a stack of three in matching colors and wear them together.

Common problems

Beads will not sit in line. Nudge them with a fingernail and keep the thread tension steady. Fireline holds them once they settle.
Lost track of the up beads. The up beads stick out a little higher. Always go through those, never the low ones.
Ring will not close. The ends do not mesh because there is an odd row. Add or remove one row.
Thread showing at the seam. Weave back through the join a second time and pull it snug.

More jewelry to make

Use the same beads for a beaded bracelet or a seasonal beaded snowflake. For findings, learn how to open a jump ring and how to use crimp beads.

Quick answer

Learn how to make a beaded ring with even count peyote stitch: an eight bead band, a simple chevron and a zipped seam. A medium project: about 1 hour 30 minutes. Materials cost about $3 to $6. You need 5 things, including 6 lb Fireline beading thread, size 12 beading needle and flush cutters or thread snips. The 9 steps start with add a Stop Bead and Pick Up Eight Beads for the Ring.

What's next