How to Make a Catholic Rosary

A Catholic rosary, or the "Crown of Roses," is thought to be the most important of all devotionals. Each time a person says the Hail Mary, they are, symbolically, giving the Virgin Mary a rose. Make your own, personal rosary by choosing the beads, centerpiece and crucifix yourself. Making a rosary can be a satisfying hobby, a comfort in time of need or a meaningful gift for others.

Things You'll Need

• 8 inches of jewelry chain
• Wire cutters
• 59 eye pins
• 59 beads (6 large beads, 53 small beads)
• Round tipped pliers
• 3 jump rings
• 1 centerpiece
• 1 crucifix with ring

Instructions

1. Cut the chain using your wire cutters. Carefully snip every fourth chain so that you end with fourteen pieces with three links each.

2. Insert an eye pin completely through a bead. Hold the eye of the pin and using pliers bend the straight portion to a 90-degree angle.

3. Wrap the bent portion around the tip of the pliers to make a new eye. Make sure the 2 finished eyes are at right angles to one another so that the finished chain doesn't kink. Leave the new eye slightly open so that you can insert the next pin. Continue this process with all 59 beads.

4. Connect the beads to one another and to the chain pieces. You will be making five rows of ten small beads, one row of three small beads and will leave the 6 larger beads free. Connect the beads by slipping the closed eyes through the open eyes and closing with pliers. Following the same procedure, connect a link of chain to each of the 6 loose beads.

5. Assemble the rosary. Connect a row of 10 beads to a link of chain. On the other end of the link, connect a large bead. Using the chain link already connected to the large bead, repeat this process until you have connected all 5 rows and 4 large beads. Attach a link of chain to the beginning and end of the row.

6. Take the row of 3 small beads and connect the chain links of the 2 remaining large beads. Finish the row so that there are chain links on the beginning and the end of the row.

7. Open a jump ring and slip it through the top of the centerpiece and both chain link ends of the long row. Open another jump ring and connect the short row to the bottom of the centerpiece.

8. Twist open the final jump ring and connect the crucifix to the end of the short row. Finish the rosary by double-checking all of your loops to make sure they are tight.