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How To Make a Rosary
Assembling the Bits
The first task in making a Rosary is assembling all of the necessary parts. You will need:
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59 beads
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59 "Eye" Pins
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3 Small Rings
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1 Crucifix (with ring)
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1 Center Piece
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8 inches of chain
The only tools you will need are a pair of pliers, the slim Round-Nosed type, and a pair of sharp scissors.
Step 1
Pick up one of the eye pins and insert it as far as it will go through one of the beads. Then with your fingers or pliers (whichever is easiest for you) bend the straight portion of the wire over at right angles as shown in the sketch.
Note that the bend must be as close to the bend as you can make it and it it is made at right angles to the eye on the opposite end of the pin.
This bend you have just made is the beginning of the new eye. The two eyes should be at right angles to each other to avoid "kinking" of the finished chain of beads. |
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Step 2
With the pliers in the right hand, grip the bent over section of the pin (now pointing to your right) near the nose of the pliers and near the end of the pin. Circle your thumb toward you and put a little bend in the end of the pin.
Since the human wrist is not constructed so that it will make a complete circular turn, it is now necessary that you make two grips or "bites" of the work. The little bend mentioned above is the beginning of the "eye" you are making. To complete the "eye" and make it into a perfect circle, you now grasp the jaws of the pliers with your LEFT HAND. This will keep them tight on the eye pin. Then circle your RIGHT HAND to the right as far as it will go and take a fresh grip of the pliers. Now when you turn the pliers towards yourself, you will form as almost complete circle in the wire like the one already formed on the author end. This eye should be not quite closed. Leave it open a little so that you can later on close it around the next pin in the chain.
This is the basic process in making a Rosary. It should be practiced until you can form an eye on one end of the pin almost identical in size and roundness with the original one. |
Step 3
Pick up two of the beads and hook the new eye of the one through the original eye of the other. This is the first step in assembling the Rosary.
Grasping the pin with your pliers in the manner shown in the sketch, close the eye. DO NOT squeeze the eye close by pressing on the sides - doing this is sure to spoil the roundness of the eye. Also, do not press on your pliers any tighter than necessary. It is very easy to mar the pins. |
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Step 4Cutting the chain is the next step. Fourteen pieces are required, each four or five links long, as you prefer. These are easily snipped off with a pair of scissors, but in cutting the chain, be careful to have exactly the same number of links on each of your fourteen pieces. |
Step Five
Open one end of the small "jump" rings by bending the prongs sideways. Opening the ring in this manner makes it easier to close without losing its shape. Slip the ring through one of the upper openings in the center-piece and a piece of chain to close it. |
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Step Six
The final Assembly consists of joining together the various parts of the rosary in the approved manner as shown in the picture. In connecting it is necessary to slightly open the closed end of the last eye pin of each decade, in order to attach the chain.
Before making the final assembly of the long string of beads and the centrepiece, hold the string up up by one end and let it dangle freely. Then when you attach the free end of the centerpiece, see that there is no "twist" in the string. Even a light twist will cause the Rosary to kink, something easily avoided with a little extra care. |
Cautions
Use as little pressure as possible on the pliers while forming and closing the eyes. The wire is delicate and too much pressure will make marks which cannot be removed.
Be sure when you are assembling that EVERY eye is closed. No one wants a Rosary which comes apart. | | | |
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