How to Bezel Sea Glass
Sea glass is glass that has been naturally smoothed and frosted by the action of the ocean. It can make a beautiful feature for your handmade jewelry. There are lots of ways to bezel sea glass; one way is to solder a bezel from sheets of metal, but this can be rather daunting unless you already have a lot of experience. You can make a simpler bezel from crocheted wire; this showcases the transparnecy of the glass, and it's flexible so you can easily shape it around the organic form of the sea glass.
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Things You'll Need
- Sea glass
- 26- to 28-gauge wire
- Size 4 crochet hook
- Clear laquer (optional)
- Needle pliers
Instructions
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1
Tie a slip knot in the wire, leaving a 3- or 4-inch tail. Slip the crochet hook through the loop. Wrap the wire once around the hook, and draw this loop of wire through the the slip knot. With the new loop still on the hook, wrap the wire around the hook again. Pull this loop through the last one. This is chain stitch. Make a length of chain stitch a little shorter than the width of your sea-glass at its widest point.
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2
With the last loop still on your hook, push the crochet hook through the first loop on the chain. Make a loop of wire around the hook and pull this through both loops to make the chain into a circle.
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3
Pass your hook through the next loop on the chain. Wrap the wire round the hook and pull this through both loops, the one you made in the previous step and the one you've just picked up. Pull a new loop of wire through this loop. Repeat all around your chain.
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4
Crochet a new row, beginning as in step 3. Keep the tension a little looser than the first chain stitched row so that the row you are working now opens out a little. When the row is finished check the fit of your sea glass. Your first row should be small enough to hold the glass in place, with other rows open enough to go around the glass. Work in single stitch until your crochet bezel comes just over the edge of the glass. Work the final row at a tighter tension, and make the final few stitches with your sea glass in place.
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5
Cut the wire so as to leave a tail of 3 or 4 inches. Slip the tail of the wire through the last loop and pull taut. You can use needle pliers to make a bail (loop for a pendant) from the tails of wire, if you wish. If you've used copper wire a coating of clear laquer will keep it bright.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't pull the wire too tight as it can easily snap. You also can't unpick wire crochet. If you want to include beads in your crocheted bezel, simply string the beads on the wire before you start. You can also make bezels for sea glass from beadwork and polymer or precious metal clay.
References
- Photo Credit sea glass image by Patrick Moyer from Fotolia.com
