Part 2 Wire Bead Necklace

Welcome back for part 2 of our wire bead necklace. I hope you have practiced making a few wire beads. 

                                                         Wire Bead Necklace
supplies needed:

wire- any type or gauge. I used 20 ga. artistic wire (hematite), 20 ga. artistic wire non-tarnish (silver).
small round mandrel- any round, long item will do; knitting needle, wooden dowel etc.
flush cutters
bent needle nose pliers



 nylon tipped plierslat nose pliers
painters tape
jump ring
clasp
small chain





**Note** I used two wires side by side, not twisted together.  You may do this if you wish or just use one color of wire. The steps are the same for two wires as it is for one.



Insert wire tip(s) into mandrel and fold over. (blow left)   For this project we will leave the wire on the spool, do not cut. (below right)











Hold wire in your right hand on, top of mandrel, and handle in your left, opposite if you are left handed. Slowly turn handle toward you.  Wrap wire around mandrel, laying the wire snugly beside the other wire. (below left)  After I start the wrapping it is more comfortable for me to move my hand under the mandrel. and allows me to see better. Do which is more comfortable to you.

Wrap the mandrel about 8 inches. (below right)




Cut wire from spool as near to end of coil as you can get. Remove coiled wire from mandrel.  Lay aside. Do not cut wire that was wrapped around handle. ** At this point I made a mistake which I corrected. Read my Mistakes section below to see how I corrected it.**

Measure chain to size you want, then add about 1 or 2 inches to it. Then cut a link using your flush cutters. If you have bought a pre-measured chain with clasp already attached ignore this step.

Next we need to find center of the chain. Before you do that we need to prepare the mandrel. Lay your mandrel flat on your work space. Take a small piece of painters tape and stick it to the top of the mandrel. Do not fold it in half. Let it lay opened sticky side up. Have another small piece of tape ready. Now fold chain in half, grasp the bottom at the fold then slide your hand up about 1 1/2 inches. Drop one side of chain but keep a hold of the other side at this mark. Lay chain beside mandrel over the tape. Where your hand is holding the chain should come to just below the tape line. This is where we will start wrapping wire. Now you may fold the tape over both the mandrel and chain thus securing them together.  Next gently tighten your chain and secure it to the end of the mandrel using your other piece of tape. (below right)

Now insert one end of wire from the spool into the long coil you made, the end that you cut the wire off of. If you were using two wires to make the first wrap choose one wire to use now.  I chose my silver wire. Again we are going to be working from the spool so, do not cut.  After you have inserted the wire push it until several inches of wire are sticking out the top. How much extra wire you need at the top will depend on the size of your chain. Mine was just slightly wider then the mandrel. (below right)











Insert your wire into the hole of the mandrel handle. Then start to wrap the wire as before in step one.
Stop after 5 or 6 wraps. (below left)  Now slide first coil as far up the wire as you can and wrap the long wires over handle. Turn handle toward you and coil first coil over the mandrel and the chain. (below right)  If your chain gets to loose with coiling just gently tug it from the bottom and it will tighten up. Once you get to the end continue wrapping the single wire around the mandrel and chain 5 or 6 wraps. Then cut wire only.











Finished bead will be about 3 inches long. (below left)  Next we will gently bend the bead into a gentle curve shape. (below right) Once you have the curve you want then pull each chain side up.  If one side is longer then the other then cut chain to match shortest side.

 

Now it is time to finish the necklace. You will need your clasp and at least 2 jump rings. If you want to make your necklace more adjustable you may add more jump rings to the non clasp side.  I have chosen to use a lobster claw clasp. (below left)  Take a pair of needle nose pliers and grasp the jump ring near the cut. (below right) Take another pair of pliers and grasp the other side also near the cut. We want to keep the shape of the jump ring so gently pull apart going from side to side.

 

 



 

 Keeping the jump ring held in one set of pliers slip the last link of the chain over the opened jump ring. (above center) Twist Jump ring closed to cut end meets cut end. try not to leave a gap.  Do the same on the other side except you will need to also slip the bottom of the clasp onto the jump ring as well as the last link of the chain. Then close the jump ring.  Here is where You can make it adjustable. On the side opposite the clasp add as many jump rings as you want.

 

 

 

 

Mistakes I Made

 

At the beginning of this blog I said I would be working right along side of you. And its really, truly true. I did not practice this piece ahead of time. I had the idea in my head and started working on it. No notes either. As I worked, I took photos each step of the way. I even have photos of my mistakes. And so, I will share them with you.

 

My mistake happened after I took the first coiled wire off the mandrel. I forgot to tape the chain to the mandrel. I was about half way done wrapping the second coil when I remembered.  I was afraid that I would have to start over.  Fortunately that didn't happen. I carefully unwrapped the second coil and the single wire. Then I straightened out the coil as much as I could trying not to stretch it out. That is when I noticed that the single wire that is used to thread everything onto was to short. I removed it from the coil. Don't worry it won't go to waste. I'll use it later just not in this project. The remedy to that problem was to not cut my next wire but work off the spool. After a bit of finagling I manged to thread  it through the center of the coil. Everything after that went smoothly. The photo of the finished necklace looks great. Can't even tell I made a mistake or two.

 

So if you make a mistake don't despair. Even if it seems like a major one. Most things can be fixed.

Happy wrapping.



 

 

 

 



Part 1 Simple Wire Bead Necklace

At the request of Peanut I will do a tutorial. So today we will learn how to make a couple of simple wire beads. We will use the technique that I show you to make a necklace. The necklace that I will make today I have not seen in any book or tutorial. So we shall learn this together.

If there is a word that I use and you don't know what it is please go to the Unfamiliar Words tab at the top and click on it. Scroll down until you find the word. This list will be updated with definitions and pictures so check back often.

Simple Wire Beads
  supplies needed:

wire- any type or gauge. I used 20 ga. artistic wire (hematite), 20 ga. artistic wire non-tarnish (silver).
small round mandrel- any round, long item will do; knitting needle, wooden dowel etc.
flush cutters
nylon tipped pliers

also needed for necklace:
  small chain and clasp- I bought mine for a few dollars at Wal-Mart. Made by Cousins with a 90 inch chain, several jump rings and several lobster claw clasps.
Flat nosed pliers







Cut a length of wire at least 18 inches long.  If you are using a larger wire cut about 24 inches.

Take your nylon tipped pliers and run them along your cut wire. Do it in sections. this will help straighten it as well as harden it. (below left)

 

Insert about 1 to 2 inches of wire in hole of mandrel handle. (above right)

 

(below left) Then fold wire over handle so it is out of the way. Holding handle in your left hand begin wrapping wire around the mandrel, starting on top and bending wire down and around. *For left handers do the same thing except hold the handle in your right hand. Continue wrapping, making sure wire is snugged up against the first wire wrap. (below right)

 



 

Continue wrapping until you run out of wire. (below left) The last quarter inch or so may not wrap easily. Don't try to force it. That end will be cut off later. Next unwrap wire from handle, remove wire bead and lay aside. (below right)  ** This is how you make a simple wire bead or coil. If this is the type of bead you want then you would trim off the end wires, turning the flush side of pliers toward your bead**  We are going to make a slightly more complex bead so Do Not cut any wire ends off at this time.

 





 

Cut a piece of wire approxamately 6 inches long. If using a bigger wire cut your wire a few more inches longer. You will insert the wire through the hole (see first step) then wrap wire about 5 or 6 turns around the mandrel. (below left)  Now Stop. Remember the first bead you did and laid aside? Pick it up and thread it onto the wire, not the mandrel, that you are now wrapping. Make sure the end with the longest piece of wire goes on first. (below right)

 

Wrap the end of the first wire bead (coil)  around the handle also. Then take your first bead and begin to wrap it around the mandrel, just like you did the wire. (below left)  Wrap until you run out of coiled wire. (below right)

 





 

You will have a single uncoiled wire sticking out the end. Wrap this around the mandrel 5 or 6 times, then stop. This is what your bead should look like. (below left)  Remove your bead from the mandrel. (below right)

 

 

Clip off the ends of the wire and if needed gently adjust the small end coils. (below)

 





 

 

You did it! Give yourself a pat on the back and find someone to celebrate with. These wire beads can be used like regular beads. Either the single coil or what I call a double coiled bead. This is what our necklace will be based on with a small variation to accomodate the premade chain.  Look for Part 2 tomorrow.

 

Challenges

Give a group of people the same materials and tell them what to make and not one finished piece will be like any others.  That is why I love arts and crafts.  It is so interesting to see what everyone comes up with. 

A Day of Experimenting

I spent my day experimenting with 12 gauge wire. This is a good thing to do if you  are new to wire wrapping.  I know you don't want to experiment with the good stuff. I suggest you go to the

floral section of your store where they carry the cheap stuff in several different gauges.

 

First Steps

I first came across wire wrapping back in May while doing research for another craft on You Tube.  My insatiable thirst for learning new crafts led me to look at one video after another. I was hooked. I