How to Make Bails for Jewelry
If you make jewelry, you probably have an assortment of beads of all shapes, sizes and colors. Beads look wonderful when combined with each other and strung together to make jewelry. But you probably also have many beads in your collection that, if suspended on their own from a single chain, would make great pendants. Pendants typically hang from necklaces by a simple mechanism called a bail. A bail is essentially a metal or wire loop through which a necklace can be strung. By making a bail, it is easy to convert a bead into a pendant.
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Things You'll Need
- Bead, pierced vertically from top to bottom
- 22-gauge jewelry wire
- Round nose pliers
- Wire cutter
Instructions
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Making a Bail for Jewelry
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1
Select a bead with a hole that runs all the way through, from one end to the other.
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2
Cut a piece of wire three times as long as your bead.
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3
Insert the cut wire into one hole of the bead and push it through until it comes out of the other hole.
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4
Determine which end of the bead will be the bottom of the pendant, which will point toward the floor.
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5
Pull the wire through the bead so that only about ¼ inch of wire - more if the bead is large or heavy - emerges at the bottom end.
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6
Grasp the wire emerging from the bottom of the bead with your round nose pliers. Use the pliers to curve this portion of wire up until it meets the bottom of the bead and presses firmly against the wire coming out of the bead. You have now made a small wire loop at the bottom of the bead, which will prevent the bead from slipping off the wire.
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7
Use your pliers to grasp the wire emerging from the top of the bead. Position the pliers 1 inch below the tip of the wire. This top inch of wire will form a tail that you will wrap around the base of the bail.
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8
Keep the pliers in their current position and form the wire into a closed loop slightly larger than the one at the bottom of the bead.
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9
Pinch the tip of the 1-inch tail of wire with your pliers, and tightly wind this portion of wire around the base of the loop you have just made. Wrap it around 3 to 6 times, forming a snug neck just above the bead and below the bail.
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10
Clip off any wire remaining from the 1-inch tail with wire cutters.
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11
Refine the shapes of both the top and bottom loops with your pliers.
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12
String a chain through the top loop; you now have a pendant with a bail.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Experiment with different gauges of jewelry wire. For large or heavy beads, use a heavier-gauge wire, so long as it can fit through the hole in the bead. Remember that the smaller the number, the bigger the gauge.
Make the wire loops at both the bottom and the top of the bead bigger if the bead is large or heavy. Wrap the wire around neck of the top loop a few extra if needed.
If you plan to wear your pendant on a sterling silver or genuine gold chain, make the bail using sterling silver or genuine gold wire.
