How to Make a Wire Heart Necklace
Creating a heart necklace with wire requires the right tools and some knowledge about working with wire. Your wire needs to have the right temper, which refers to the pliability of the wire and how easily you will be able to bend and shape it. Choosing the right gauge and metal are important as well. For sterling silver wire you should use 18 gauge. If you are using nickle wire, 20 gauge would be better. You don't need to spend the money on a wire heart necklace if you take the time to make it yourself.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Purchase wire that is 18 gauge and has a half-hard temper. Eighteen gauge is strong enough to make a necklace, and half-hard is the best temper to use when making wire shapes in jewelry. If you only have dead-soft wire, you can bend it and work it until it gets harder.
-
2
Measure a piece of wire at 1 1/2 inch and cut it. If you want to make a chain of hearts, you will want to cut your wire no more than 1 1/2 inch in length to make each heart. If you are hanging only one wire heart on a chain, you can make it as large as you want.
-
-
3
Bend the piece of wire in half and pinch the middle slightly with your fingers. Make sure the two ends stay parallel with each other and do not cross.
-
4
Grip the two ends of the wire you folded in half with your round nose pliers and start rolling the ends down to make a spiral around the end of the pliers. Stop coiling the wire about half way to the middle where the bend is.
-
5
Pull the two sides of the coil apart as if you are opening a book. You will see the heart shape. If you need to perfect the shape, you can pinch the two sides of the heart together or pinch the point at the bottom.
-
6
Repeat steps 1 through 5 to make another heart if you are making a chain out of wire hearts. Connect your wire hearts together with open jump rings. Open a jump ring and feed it through the top of the loop on one side of the heart and do the same on the top of the other loop. Position the bottom of the next heart so that the point at the bottom sits on the top of the heart below it, feed the two jump rings on either side, and close the jump rings. Add as many hearts as you will need for the length of your necklace and attach a clasp at the end so you can close it.
-
7
Create a single wire heart necklace by placing an open jump ring on either side of one heart. Feed the two jump rings on the ends of two pieces of chain that will make up the rest of your necklace, and attach a clasp at the other ends of the chain.
-
1
