How to Make Jewelry by Hand

Making jewelry by hand is rewarding, fun and not as complicated as you may think. If you have ever wanted to custom make jewelry to match a specific outfit, or you would just like the satisfaction of creating wearable art, it's time to learn how to make jewelry by hand. In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a simple beaded necklace.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Jewelry wire (49 strand, .019 gauge)
• Beads
• Crimping tool
• Crimps
• Clasp

1. Get all of your materials ready. Each one of these materials can be purchased at a craft store or online. For this project, you will need to purchase beads in the color and material of your choice. Try using different sized beads to create a more polished necklace. This project also uses small metal spacer beads, but you can let your imagination decide which beads to use. You will also need beading wire, small beads called crimps and a clasp.

2. Prepare your wire. Cut your beading wire to the appropriate length. When you are trying to make jewelry by hand It is a good idea to cut off a little more than you need, to allow room for the clasp.

3. Attach the clasp. Once you have the wire cut, you will need to attach one end of the clasp. Take one crimp bead, add it to the wire--but do not crimp it yet. Now, take the wire and thread it through the clasp, leaving a tail. Slide the crimp bead back up to the wire, and over this tail. You should have what looks like two pieces of wire coming out of the crimp. Leave a small space between the crimp and the end of the clasp. Use your crimping tool to crimp this bead, or you can simply close the crimp using pliers.

4. Trim away the excess wire. You should still have a small tail of wire at the end of your crimp. Trim this flush to the crimp. There is an alternative method to crimp when you make jewelry by hand. You can leave a small end to the tail and simply slide the first bead over it.

5. Add beads to your wire. Now, you should have a piece of wire with a clasp attached at the end. Start sliding beads onto the other end of the wire. Use any configuration you like. The picture above used the following format: metal spacer bead, large bead, metal space bead, small bead, metal spacer bead and large bead--until complete.

6. Finish the necklace. Once you have all of the beads on your wire, it's time to add the other end of the clasp. Repeat Step 3 above to attach the clasp to this end of the wire. That's all there is to it! You can now make jewelry by hand.

Tips & Warnings

• This technique can be used to make your own anklets, bracelets and even rings. Experiment with different bead materials, sizes and colors to completely customize your jewelry.