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Project:
Wire-wrapped loop bracelet using lampwork beads, daisy spacers, and a toggle clasp.
Materials:
1. 22 gauge wire - for main body of work, about 4 feet, cut into approx. 3" lengths
2. toggle clasp to match the type of wire
3. 7 – 10 beads - glass pearls, gemstone beads, or crystals, etc. between 5mm to 8mm in size
4. daisy spacers (optional) – to place on each side of a bead for decoration or to cover large holes
5. wirework tools: round-nose pliers, flat nose pliers, bent-nose pliers, and flush cutters
Step 1:
a) cut a 3" piece of 22 gauge wire (the length of the wire will depend on the size of the bead you want to use, but for now, use a bit more wire than you think you need until you get the 'feel' for how long your piece of wire needs to be with more practice)
b) pick up your round nose pliers in your right hand
c) hold them up in front of you so that they are horizontal
- you will see just the tops of the pliers in front of you, instead of seeing the two long round noses facing you
d) hold your wire vertically in your left hand, and then put the wire in between the two parts of the pliers, about halfway down the length of the pliers, so that your loop size will be about medium
e) leave about 1" of wire (short part) sticking out above the tops of your pliers (the long part hangs down under the pliers).
Step 2:
Now, here comes the fun part :)
a) with the fingers of your left hand, push the 1" top wire back and away from you, until you almost reach a 90 degree angle
- the top part of the wire (the short part) should now be bent away from you, level with the horizontal line of the pliers
b) now, hold onto the bottom of the wire (the long part) with your left hand
c) with your right hand, without moving the pliers too far away from the wire, but without touching or bending the wire (leave it in the 90 degree bent position), use a slight twist of your wrist motion to 'flip' the position of your pliers up vertically
- the metal nose that was closest to you when it's horizontal should now be up, so that now you see both noses facing you -- the one that was closer to you before is now on 'top' of the other
- your wire should still be in the same place that you used when you bent it before.
Step 3:
a) tighten your right-hand grip on the wire between the plier noses, and with the fingers of your left hand, take the short part of the wire and bend it towards you over the top of the top of the pliers and down, all the way until the wire lies almost flat against both round noses
- the top, short wire should now be parallel to the long bottom wire
- there is now a loop over the top plier nose and the two parts of the wire (short top and long bottom) should now be parallel to each other
b) now, with your right hand again, without moving the pliers away from the wire, and without bending the wire, use a slight twist of your wrist motion to 'flip' the your pliers back to the original horizontal position
- the plier nose that was on top should now be closest to you and you should be able to see above the tops of your pliers
c) with the fingers of your left hand, push and bend the short piece of wire back and away from you at a 90 degree angle, behind the long piece of wire, under both of the plier noses - this part forms the last step of your actual round loop
- when you take the round nose pliers out of the wire loop that you just made, you should see a perfect loop with a little piece of wire sticking out
Step 4:
The loop now needs to be wrapped closed:
a) pick up your flat nose pliers, and hold the head of your round loop flat in between the flat nose pliers, just above the junction where the two wires cross below the loop
b) with your fingers (and/or with bent nose pliers), wrap the short piece of wire sticking out at 90 degrees
- make sure you have tight coils, close to each other around the long piece of wire until
you have two or three turns of wrapping
c) cut off the excess little bit of wire
d) you might then want to use your bent-nose pliers to 'squish' down the little wire end at the bottom of the wrapped loop that might otherwise catch and poke you when you’re wearing your jewelry.
Step 5: a) slide your bead onto the wire, and working right down next to the
bead, repeat the same steps to make a wrapped loop on the other end of
this first link b) since you're making a necklace or bracelet and joining your loops,
don't forget to put the previous loop onto the new loop to connect them
BEFORE you close the new loop :) c) don't forget to attach the toggle clasp parts before closing
the last loop on each end. Take your time, practice, have fun,
and GOOD LUCK!!!
