Fish Scale Flower Ring

I like very much floral design. It's pretty natural, isn't it? I wanted to make a ring in shape of a big rose. Flowers are an integral part of jewelry design for centuries and continue to be on fashion in 2020, especially big flowers.

Basically, I try to make not expensive projects, proving that everyone can be creative, regardless of their financial wealth. This time I decided to use an unusual, but very accessible material - fish scales. Of course I'm not the first to use scales in the art, but I’m sure that nobody made such ring like mine. It’s my idea and I want to share it with you. All what you need - fish scales, a piece of wire and instant glue. Let's make this flower ring and see if anyone around you guesses what it is made of.

P.S. I'm tired of fighting with sites that steal my instructables regardless of the license (which is indicated in the upper left corner). Sorry but I decided to add attribution to my photos. I know it looks a little annoying, but it annoys me even more to see my works under someone else's authorship or for sale.

You need:

a big fish - I used ide (orfe, Leuciscus idus),

wire 0.8 mm (I used copper wire),

instant glue,

dye (or dyes if you don't have your favorite color),

water,

vinegar 9%,

a knife,

a bowl,

wire cutters,

pliers,

a hammer,

3 nails 1.5 cm long,

a metal nail file,

a ruler,

a wooden plank,

a towel,

a cup,

a spoon,

rubber gloves,

paper,

plastic wrap,

a pot for boiling water,

a felt-tip pen,

a piece of thick fabric (I used denim).

Remove scales from the fish and put it in the bowl.

Add water and vinegar 1/2 to remove smell of fish. Wait about 1-2 hours.

Then wash very good the scales in water until the slimy substance is removed.

Remove the scales from the water and let it dry on the towel for several days.

To determinate the length of a braided wire strip needed to make this ring, you need to know the inside diameter of the desired ring size:

Ring blank length (mm) = inside diameter (mm) + 2 (thickness of the braided strip, mm) x 3.14

Cut 3 pieces of wire to the following length: (Ring blank length (mm) x 1.1 + 4) x 2.

Bend these pieces in half (see photo).

Insert the nails where the fold is and fix these wire pieces by nailing them to the board as close together as possible (see photo). You will have 6 pieces of wire with which you will braid.

Move the wire pieces along the edges one by one to the middle (see photos).

Braid until you get the length you need.

Remove the nails. At one end of the wire strip you get 3 loops (see photo).

Using pliers press the wire strip. To not damage the surface of wire put between pliers and wire the piece of fabric (see photo).

In the result you will get tight braid wire strip.

Using the felt-tip pen bend the wire strip in the form of a ring. Check if the resulting ring diameter matches the required. If it's necessary, unbraid it a bit.

Now you have to connect the ends of the wire strip. Insert 4 wire pieces from the middle into the middle loop (see photo).

Insert the left wire pieces (on the sides) into the side loops (see photo).

Tighten the ends of the wire (see photo). Try on or check if the ring matches the required size.

Measure 0.5 cm from the ring and using wire cutters cut off the unnecessary ends of the wire.

Twist the ends (see photo). Round the edges using the file.

Now you have to make flower gluing the fish scales to this twisted end. But first decide when you will paint the scales. If you like my result, when there is a slight gradient in coloring, then go to step 6 - first glue the scales in the shape of a flower, and then paint the finished flower. If you do not want to get such a gradient, then go to step 7 - paint first the scales, and then go to step 6.

Bend the smallest scale in a semicircle. Apply some instant glue to the bottom of the scale and glue it to the left ends of wires (see photo).

Glue in the same way one by one several small scales, then the larger scales to form a rose (see photos). Do not confuse the top and bottom of the scales. Try that the top of the scales does not adhere tightly to the previous scales.

The size of the flower depends on the size of the fish scales. The diameter of my flower is 4 cm.

Heat water to near boiling and pour into a cup. Shake the dye, add it to the water and stir. The more dye you use, the darker and more saturated the color will be. Be sure to read the coloring guidelines for your dye.

If you don't have your favorite color like me, then mix several dyes. Mix blue and red for violet/indigo.

Soak the fish scale flower in the dye solution (use rubber gloves). Let the rose sit in the solution for 5-10 min.

Then remove the colored flower and let it dry well on a paper or hanging it.