How to Make Simple Handcrafted Wire Jewelry

Creating your own handcrafted jewelry pieces from wire is an art form that anyone can easily learn. You need a few tools, wire and glass beads to make a beautiful necklace, earrings or a bracelet. Once you learn one simple wrapping technique, you can make a variety of different jewelry designs. You can find everything you need for this handcrafted wire necklace at your local craft store.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 20-Gauge wire
• Wire Cutters
• 18-mm to 30-mm Glass Pendant
• (20) 10-mm glass beads, any shape
• 22 Jump Rings
• Necklace Clasp
• Round Pliers
• Needle Nose Pliers

1. Cut 12 inches of wire and hold it 1/2 inch from the end with the round nose pliers. Fold the short end over the pliers, creating a loop. Thread the pendant over both wires. Separate the wires after the exit from the pendant and fold the shorter end upward with your fingers. Fold the loop upward and wrap the short wire around the base of the loop, securing the pendant. Your loop should be facing up so that you can add the pendant to a necklace.

2. Hold the pendant by the loop and spiral wrap the wire around the pendant. Cut the wire if the spiral is longer than you like for your design. End with the wire in front of the pendant, facing downward.

3. Cut 8-inch lengths of wire for the remaining 10-mm glass beads. Hold the wire 1/2 inch from the end and create a loop with your round nose pliers, the same as for your pendant. Thread the bead over both wires until it stops at the loop. Make another loop at the other end of the glass bead and wrap the loose wire around the end of the loop. Continue spiral wrapping the wire around the bead until you meet the first loop you created. Wrap the wire around the base of the loop to secure it. Wrap all the remaining beads with wire.

4. Connect 10 wire-wrapped beads to each side of the pendant with the jump rings. You can easily open and close the jump rings with your needle nose pliers. Add the jump rings to the loops you created at the end of each bead.

5. Add 1/2 of the necklace clasp to each end of your necklace with jump rings.

Tips & Warnings

• To make a handcrafted wire bracelet, join fewer wrapped beads together. For earrings, make two wrapped pendant-style beads and attach them to earring wires.
• Do not leave wire cutters accessible to children.

Resources

• Local Craft Store