How to Make Wire Beaded Christmas Ornaments

Wire beaded Christmas ornaments can brighten up a tree.

Wire beaded Christmas ornaments can add a homemade touch to your tree this year. Craft wire comes in assorted colors---not just silver, gold or copper---so you can coordinate with your beads and other tree ornaments. A wire jig makes designing and forming the ornament easier with its peg system. The only other technique to learn is making simple wire loops. These join beads to your wire ornament that look like baubles on a Christmas tree.

Things You'll Need

• 18- to 22-gauge craft wire
• Ruler
• Wire nippers
• Nylon-jaw pliers
• Round-nose pliers
• Wire jig
• 6mm to 10mm beads in assorted colors
• Head pins
• Needle-nose pliers
• Ribbon or string for ornament hanger
• Scissors

Instructions

1. 

   Cut a piece of craft wire approximately 12 inches long. Straighten the wire to remove any curves by pulling it through the nylon-jaw pliers.

2. Place the pegs on your wire jig board in the design your want for your ornament. The examples shown in these photos demonstrate an ornament in the shape of a Christmas tree.

3. 

   Grab the end of the cut piece of wire with the round-nose pliers and turn the pliers to create a small wire loop.

4. 

   Place the loop on the top peg of your jig design and wrap the remaining wire around the pegs you placed on the board until you have the ornament design you want. If the end of the wire comes back to meet the starting point, create another small loop on the end of the wire with the round nose pliers, and link the starting loop and ending loops together for support.

5. 

   Remove your wire design from the jig by removing the pegs.

6. Insert a head pin into a bead and create a simple wire loop on top with the round nose pliers. See Resources for a tutorial on simple wire loops if this is a new technique for you.

7. Attach the simple loop on the bead to one of the loops you made on your ornament with the wire jig.

8. 

   Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you have all the beads you want for your design attached to your ornament.

9. Cut a piece of string 8 to 10 inches long, then insert one end through the top of your ornament to create a hanger. Hold the two ends of the string together and knot to form a loop.

Tips & Warnings

• If the hole in the bead is too big for a head pin, try placing a seed bead or 3mm bead on the head pin first. Experiment with wire colors, beads and jig patterns for different ornament designs. For an ornament with lots of sparkle, try Swarovski crystal beads or pearls. Create simple loops on the top and bottom of beads, then join the loops together to form chains for longer dangles on your ornaments. Create wire spirals on the end of your head pin before adding the bead for a different look.

References

• Simple Loop Techniques

Resources

• Using a Wire Jig
• How to Make a Simple Wire Loop
• How to Make a Wire Spiral