OK! Quick lesson.....
First, you need the right connectors. There are four basic types (I'm talking RJ45 here): For Round cable (Solid or Stranded) and Flat cable (solid or stranded). Under NO circumstances do you want any connector made for flat cable. None, Nil, Zero, Zip, Nada...flat cable connectors are evil!Evil!!EVIL!!!.
OK, so now you have connectors for round cable types: the next step is to make sure they are Category-rated for your intended use (presumably data networking). If you are going to run 100BASE-T, then you should have AT LEAST Category 5 rated connectors (for either solid or stranded wire whichever you intend to use).
Now you got the right connectors, time to start.
Strip off about two or three inches of the outside cable jacket. Now you are looking at four twisted pairs: orange, green, blue, and brown. If you have any other colors, throw away the cable; it's evil and wants to make you frustrated and mad....it doesn't want you to communicate at full speed....it wants to make you look foolish in the faces of your peers....bad cable....send it away.
Untwist the first pair back to the edge of the outer jacket. Lightly pull and straighten the individual wires, holding them in order between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand (they are nice & straight & parallel, right?).
Continue by untwisting the next pair, straighten and order them next to the preceeding pair(s) in your left hand.
Do the next two pair (one at a time), same way. Untwist, straighten, order, and hold 'em.
When you got 'em all done, hold the collection of straight & parallel wires such that they are perpendicular to the tip of your left index finger (which, in the average adult American, averages one half of an inch) with the inside aspect of your index finger touching the edge of the outer cable jacket.
Using any suitable straight cutting device (diags, scissors, crimper cutter...) cut off the extra length (that would be the outside edge of your finger). Now you have straight, parallel wires, properly ordered, about a half of an inch long (exposed from the cable jacket).
Pick up your properly-classified RJ45 connector with the clip down, ass-end facing you, and gently insert and push the straight, parallel, properly-ordered wires into the connector until you see "eight bright copper dots" on the nose-end of the connector. You do not have to strip any of them. RJ45 is an "Insulation Displacement Connection (IDC)."
After confirming the vision of eight copper dots, carfully insert the properly-classified connector, complete with the straight, parallel, properly-ordered-wires-fully-inserted into the crimping device. Check at this time to see that the outer cable jacket is also inserted into the connector far enough that the "Dent" in the top of the connector will crimp the outer jacket (this is for strain relief).
Crimp it.
Now go do the other end.
OR, you could just go buy some pre-made jumpers....stranded is recommended for jumpers, and it's the hardest to do 'cause the lil' wires are so whippy...I hate stranded. I'll eat liver before I do stranded. It sucks.
So there ya go. Sorry for the verbosity, it's been kinda slow at work lately.
Have fun, good luck
Scott