Confessions of a crafty mind

Wire wrapping is a popular style of making jewelry. It may sound intimidating, but basically, it’s just playing with pliers and wire. Wire wrapping is also a very versatile craft because after you’ve learned the basics, you can make much more elaborate designs. Some people who get bitten by the wire wrapping bug even continue to working with silver and designing their own jewelry parts.

But before that, the basics. The first bit of wire wrapping I ever did was to learn to make a loop and connect beads to make a long chain suitable to be a necklace or a bracelet. And man, did I send pics of that wonky necklace to everyone…
Anyway, here’s how it’s done.

There are two ways to make a loop. One is easier and works well with light beads, and the other one is a bit more complicated and works well with almost any kind of bead.

You will need…

Craft wire.

Craft wire is different from beading wire. Beading wire is much flimsier, and it is made of tiny strands of stainless steel inside a nylon coating. Craft wire is all metal, meaning it stays bent when you bend it. Craft wire comes in different sizes that are called gauges. Gauges are kind of funny because the smaller the number, the thicker the wire. Thus, 24-gauge wire is thinner than 18-gauge wire. If you’re unfamiliar with gauges, get two types of wire at first: 22-gauge wire for basic wire work and 20-gauge wire for making clasps and for heavier beads.

Wire is made out of different materials, too, and in different colors. If you’re making fine jewelry, get sterling silver wire. It’s a bit softer and obviously more expensive. However, if you’re just starting out or mostly making relatively inexpensive costume jewelry, get what I use the most: copper wire. You can get copper wire in natural copper color, silver plated, and in a range of cool colors. Copper wire is affordable, too, so you can easily try different types. The photo above shows a spool of silver plated 18-gauge copper wire.

You’ll also need pliers.

Yes, this is the same pic as in nearly all my tutorials, but why mess with the good stuff. You’ll need cutting pliers (bottom), roundnose pliers (right), and chainnose pliers (top). You can get all of these in any hardware or craft store. Just make sure the jaws of your chainnose pliers are smooth; if they aren’t, they will leave marks on the wire.

You’ll also need beads. Don’t use delicate crystals when you’re practicing because they could break (not that I have ever broken any crystals…).

First, the simple loop.

I recommend using heavier wire for this, either 20 or 18 gauge. Cut a couple of inches of wire and position the end between your roundnose pliers like this:

Then, bring the wire over (or under) the jaw of the pliers to make a loop:

Bend the wire below the loop to make sure the bead will fall directly on top:

Feed a bead onto the wire. Bend the wire slightly so that the loop will again sit straight on the top:

Make another loop and cut the extra wire:

And you have a wire-wrapped bead! Now you’ll simply connect another wire-wrapped bead to this one by opening one of the loops and slipping the loop of the other bead in (and then closing the loop again, obviously). Make sure all loops are tightly closed in your finished product!

Next, the wrapped loop.

This is a more secure loop, but it may take a bit more time to master. Start by making a loop just like in the simple loop, but don’t start at the end of the wire: start a couple of inches from the end.

When the loop is formed, don’t cut the extra; instead, start wrapping it around the stem of the wire this way:

Hold the loop with your chainnose pliers and wrap the wire around the stem. Cut the possible extra and tuck the end down with your chainnose pliers. Note: don’t make too many wraps because it won’t look pretty. Two to four wraps should be enough.

Add a bead and start another loop. This time, don’t start directly on top of the bead; leave a bit extra for the wraps:

Make another wrapped loop, and tuck down the end. You’re finished!

You can attach these to each other with jump rings. Or, you could attach them straight to each other before you wrap the wire around the stem. That is, when you’ve formed the loop, slip in the loop of another wire-wrapped bead and only then wrap the wire around the stem.

I bet you’re dying to start wire wrapping right away (yes? yes?), so go ahead and go wild with wire!
PS. You can see more pics of making loops in my other jewelry tuts, for example the Charm bracelet one!

Posted under Crafty Chat, Tutorials

Charm bracelets are always popular because they are so versatile. You can collect meaningful charms to mark special moments in your life, or you can do what I do: make them to fit your moods and outfits. Here’s a tutorial on the basics of making a charm bracelet.

What you need:

Firstly, a chain bracelet. These come in many styles and sizes, and craft stores usually have different varieties for you to choose from. I have two to show you here:

As you see, the bottom one is more bulky and urban, and the other one is neater and smaller.  A good thing about chain bracelets is that they usually come with the clasp attached, so you don’t have to fiddle with that.

The prices vary; if you want a real silver one, prepare to pay a bit more. If you want a golden one, prepare to pay through your nose. If, however, you’re a jewelry junkie like me, get a basic metal chain (you can probably get a pack of five or ten for $10 or less – do pay attention to the quality, though; you don’t want something so flimsy it breaks if a dog licks it).

Next, you need headpins. These are just straight pins with a little stopper at the end.

You need some tools…for this project (clockwise from the top), chainnose pliers, roundnose pliers, and cutting pliers:

And of course, you need beads.

I love the combination of crystals and metal beads, so I’m using Chinese crystals with African trade beads (bottom & top right corner) and some cool metal donuts.

Step 1.

Make a charm by feeding your choice of  beads onto a headpin. Here’s my first charm – how cool is that?

Then, grab the pin with your roundnose pliers just at the top of the beads:

And bend the headpin horizontally (left or right, no matter). Now, because I’m an airhead, I forgot to photograph that moment, but do check the Basic earrings tut to see a pic. For now, I’ll assume you did bend the pin. Then, reposition your pliers this way, so that the bent pin goes through the jaws:

Bring the pin over the top jaw like this:

And wiggle it further down so that it crosses to the other side and you have something like this (you may have to reposition your pliers a bit):

Step 2.

Add the charm to the bracelet…

Step 3.

Then, grab the half-made loop with your chainnose pliers like this:

And wrap that remaining pin around itself between the loop and the beads (tuck the end down with your chainnose pliers so that it won’t scratch). You have your first charm!

Make many more. If you have beads with such large holes that they will eat the headpin, use a smaller bead as a stopper:

You can fill your charm bracelet as much as you want to, or just have a few danglers, whatever you prefer. I usually make my own charms, but you can also get readymade charms in craft stores.

Here’s my result, a sparkly spring bracelet:

Now, go charm your family and friends!

Posted under Crafty Chat, Tutorials