Did you know that you could reduce the size of your ring using a piece of string? Oftentimes when we approximate the size of the rings, we fall in love, especially when shopping online; we face the risk of choosing a ring that runs a few inches bigger than the size of your finger.
And since wearing an oversized ring is more like signing up to lose the ring the moment you walk out of the day, the smart thing would be to leave the ring at home until the day you can send it back to the seller for an exchange or even take it to your nearest jeweler for resizing.
But these options aren’t open to everyone, and you may have to settle for the next best alternative, especially if you have to wear the ring soon. This might not be the most convenient solution, but it works. We are talking about the option of using a string to make the ring smaller and snugly fitting.
To find out how it works, keep reading.
How to make a ring smaller with string (with detailed steps)
To use a piece of string to reduce the size of the ring and to stop it from slipping from your finger, you will need a thread/ string about 0.5mm or 1mm, the ring, glue, and a pair of scissors.
With the essentials assembled, you will need to follow the following steps.
Step 1:
Take your thread. This thread can be a .5mm or a 1mm piece of thread, depending on how small you’d like the ring to be reduced.
Step 2:
Use the pair of scissors to cut out about 20 inches of the thread, then tie one side of the cut thread to the ring’s bottom side.
Next, grab the thread’s long end, and start making the overhead knots, adding the string layers until your ring fits perfectly.
More specifically, you’ll use one head of the string to tie to the bottom of the ring, which will leave you with one head of the string being short while the other end remains long. As you work overhead knots, keep them towards the ring’s right side, making sure to pull the string out for those tight knots.
You will need to create about 20 overhead knots. Once you have finished making the knots, try the ring to see if it fits. If the ring still doesn’t fit, you’ll need to tie a few more knots to the ones already tied to create another layer of the knots.
When you are finished making the knots, you’ll grab the string knots using your fingertips, then turn them all so that they face inward.
Step 3:
Once the string/ ring feels safe and comfortable, you’ll cut the remaining part of the string.
This is where the glue comes in – while some strings stay in place even without any adhesives used on your ring, the rings often fall apart soon after, which is why you need the glue.
The glue will keep the knots from falling. But you also need to make sure that the string’s knots are tightly held in place.
And just like that, you have a smaller ring that fits well.
So, why use a piece of string or thread to make the ring smaller?
For starters, the ring used is readily available.
It is an environmentally-friendly option. While the next best alternative would be the use of reducing agents like nail polish or silicone, these options/ agents contain harsh chemicals that are not only unsafe to your skin but could also damage the ring.
The thread, on the other hand, is safer, with no harsh components, which makes it safe to your skin, and it also has no damaging effects on the ring.
Unfortunately, using the piece of thread to reduce the size of the ring isn’t a perfect, foolproof remedy, first because you need to tie the thread correctly, and also because of the risk of the thread sliding off, which can be very embarrassing.
There is also the fact that the thread can be very uncomfortable, especially if the knots are too tight.
How to tell that your ring is too big?
While a ring falling or sliding off your finger is easily the biggest sign of a ring that’s too big, this isn’t the only indicative sign. Often, you know that the ring you are wearing is too big if it spins around your finger. In worst-case scenarios, the ring could fall off, and you could lose it.
Besides these, the other signs of a big ring include:
- A ring that you can take off very easily and without any effort.
- Someone else can pull off the ring easily from the finger, without causing you harm.
- The ring spins around the base of the finger easily and constantly.
It’s important to keep in mind that a ring that has a perfect fit will be easy to out on but a little hard to remove.
And though it may spin occasionally, say in colder weather, it will always sit upright on your finger.
The ring may also be difficult to remove if you don’t put in some extra effort, but it should feel comfortable when it’s on the finger.
So, when shouldn’t you resize your ring?
Although your ring feels big, there are cases when resizing it isn’t the best approach. For example, if you are still losing weight or in winter.
In the latter case, you need to remember that your fingers shrink automatically in cold weather, but it is not a reason for you to resize the ring.
The other times that you shouldn’t resize the ring include when the ring is susceptible to damage, if it’s impossible to resize the metal, if you are susceptible to swelling in the fingers, and if the ring fits too big on your finger’s base, but it will not fit over your knuckle once you reduce the size.
Conclusion
If you were looking for a simple DIY on how to make your ring smaller, we hope that this article answers your questions. Guys, for more useful tips, please visit this page for more or visit this page for our latest posts.

Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.