Exquisite Wire Wrapping Tutorials

© Copyright 2008

Contents: 1. Introduction……………………………………….………3 2. Safety…………………………………………………….…..4 3. Wire working tools…………………….……………….4 4. Wire information……………………….……………….8 6. Tutorial 1: Egyptian coil necklace………………10 7. Tutorial 2: Wire fan necklace…………………….17 8. Tutorial 3: Spiral pearl elegance………………..24 9. Tutorial 4: Conical briolette wrap necklace 34 10. Tutorial 5: Red coral S-link necklace………….41 11. How to oxidize jewelry……………………………..52 12. About the author………………………………………53 12. Disclaimer………….………………………………..……54 13. Contact info………………………………………………55

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Introduction Making wire jewelry is one of the most creative and rewarding forms of jewelry making. This timeless craft has been evolving and adapting to suit fashions since pre-Roman times. Beading and jewelry making are some of the fastest growing hobby pursuits in the world and the essential wire techniques you will learn, will take your beading and jewelry making to a new level. Each tutorial lists the equipment, wire sizes and wire lengths that you will need. You will have to practice most of the techniques first before making your final piece, therefore it’s always a good idea to buy more wire than the length the tutorial requires. You will find valuable wire information below that will help you to make a decision of what type of wire to use. This e-book was born out of the many requests for more beginner and intermediate wire techniques and tutorials that I have received from the visitors to my free jewelry making website http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com . I hope you are excited and ready to start! Marlize Kasselman

Basic wire techniques I will refer to some wire and jewelry making techniques on my website, in some of the projects. If you are already familiar with the most basic techniques, then you don’t have to follow the links to my site. If you are a complete beginner, then it would be useful to go through the wire and jewelry making technique links listed in the projects. It is of great importance that you don’t miss out on a step. If you would like to have a quick look at the basic techniques then click on the following links: http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/wire-wrapping-techniques.html http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/jewelry-making-techniques.html

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Safety It can be dangerous working with wire if you don’t take precautions.  Always wear your safety glasses when working with wire, especially if you are cutting and hammering wire.  Look after your fingers and fingertips. The edge of cut wire can be as sharp as a needle. Be cautious when hammering, you don’t want to walk for weeks with a nail that turned blue.  Store all tools, wire, equipment and materials out of reach of children.  Clean up after every work session, especially those flying bits and pieces of wire.  Use good lighting to prevent eyestrain.

Wire working tools Round nose pliers: These pliers have conical prongs that taper down to the tip. They are for shaping and making loops in wire. This might be the tool that you will use most of all when working with wire. Just note that mini pliers will not be suitable for the projects in this book.

Chain nose pliers: These pliers have a flat surface that narrows down to the tip. The narrow tip helps you get into small spaces. You will use these pliers for everything else, from holding and opening jump rings to shaping wire.

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Flat nose pliers: These pliers have a flat surface with an even width. They are great for holding pieces, making spirals, and for opening and closing jump rings.

Wire cutters: They are used for cutting wire sizes up to 15 gauge with ease. There are many types of wire cutters available today which makes it hard to choose one. The best wire cutters for wire projects are flush cutters with one diagonal side and a straight side.

Steel bench block (flat plate): A bench block is a small steel block which supports your wire while forging (hammering) it. You don’t need a big block. A 2” x 2” block will be more than sufficient for the projects in this book.

Chasing hammer: This hammer has a round, flat face for flattening wire without leaving marks on the surface of the wire. You can also use a flat-faced hammer if you have one at home.

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Needle file/s: They are used for filing rough edges on wire, and smoothing out scratch marks made on the wire. Make sure you buy jewelry making files, and not hardware store files. The needle files I use are Swiss Vallorbe® files as shown in the photo. You only need one file with a flat side, so it’s not necessary to buy a whole set. Most jewelry files need to be attached to a handle for ease of use. Silver polishing cloth: This anti-tarnish cloth is used to polish and wipe away any signs of tarnish.

Steel ruler: This is great for getting your measurements precise. You will use this in every project you’ll be working on.

Measuring tape: A tape measure is essential for measuring longer pieces of wire as well as necklace lengths.

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Wire jig: Another way of working with wire is using a jig. Jigs are aluminium or transparent boards with little holes for pins. Jigs are used for making patterns and repeatable shapes to get uniformity in your design. You can arrange the pins in any pattern of your choice in order to create your own designs. You can make a variety of designs with a jig including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, clasps and many more. Wigjig® is the most well known manufacturer. I use their Wigjig® Delphi with the small pegs as well as the super pegs. They have a whole range of jigs available. Thing-a-ma-jig® is another brand.

Safety glasses: This is essential to protect your eyes from flying bits of metal when cutting and hammering wire.

Steel wool: If you would like to oxidize* your jewelry pieces, then you will need size 0000 steel wool for some polishing.

*Create an aged look through chemical treatment.

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Wire information

Wire will be the main material used for the projects. Most of the projects will require some practice before making the final piece. Buy yourself some inexpensive wire to practice the techniques, before creating the final piece. Many people use copper wire to practice with, but I prefer silver plated wire. My final pieces are usually made from sterling silver wire.

Wire hardness: Jewelry making wire comes in three hardness categories: dead soft, half-hard and full hard.  



Dead soft wire is very flexible and you can manipulate the wire easily. It is mostly used for sculpting projects. Half hard wire is a bit harder than dead soft. It is still easy and flexible enough to be bent by hand. Half hard wire holds the shape it’s formed in. I’ve used half hard wire for all the projects in this book. Full hard wire is extremely stiff and not flexible enough to be bent by hand.

Types of jewelry making wire: Copper: This is a great inexpensive practice wire. Plated wire: Gold or silver plated wire can wear off easily. This wire is great for practicing your techniques and an economical alternative to sterling silver wire. Coated colored wire: This wire has a layer of enamel color over the base metal. It is available in a range of colors. Galvanized: It has a dull silver color. This wire is available in hardware stores and it is an economical practice wire. Sterling Silver: It is 92.5% pure silver. Sterling silver wire is the most popular wire for wirework. It is easy to coil, texture, hammer and bend sterling wire in many ways. I prefer making my final jewelry pieces with sterling silver. It is durable, economical and looks fabulous in beaded jewelry. Fine silver: It is softer than sterling, but it is 99.9% pure silver. Gold-filled: This wire has a thin layer of karat-gold over brass, copper or silver wire. Goldfilled wire gives you the choice to work with gold in your design at a fraction of the cost. Gold: This is the real thing! Few people can afford to work with real gold wire.

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Wire sizes: Wire sizes are measured in gauge. Here is a conversion table of the wire sizes.

gauge sizes

approx. diameter

26g

0,4mm

25g

0,45mm

24g

0,5mm

23g

0,55mm

22g

0,6mm

21g

0,7mm

20g

0,8mm

19g

0,9mm

18g

1,0mm

17g

1,2mm

16g

1,3mm

15g

1,5mm

14g

1,6mm

12g

2,0mm

You don’t need to buy all the different sizes. I’ve used the following sizes for the projects in this e-book: 26g, 22g, 20g, 18g, 17g and 15g. You can buy wire at many online jewelry making stores. I purchased my wire from www.wires.co.uk .

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Tutorial 1: Egyptian coil necklace

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This is an ancient design that is still as fashionable today as it was thousands of years ago. I’ve added a beautiful lampwork focal bead purchased from http://www.aspenhotglass.com to the chain. This design looks beautiful without a focal bead too. What you need: 



      

18 gauge silver wire (5-6 meters long). The length will depend on the size of your necklace. I’ve used approx. 5 meters for a 16” necklace. any 2” (5cm) focal bead of your choice , as well as bead caps or small beads which you would like to add to the focal bead. 3” (7.5cm) headpin 10mm jump ring (18 gauge) round nose pliers flat nose pliers wire cutters measuring tape or steel ruler safety glasses

Steps for making the chain: 1. Cut off a piece of wire 6 ½” (16,5cm) long. 2. Grip one end of the wire with the tip of your round nose pliers. 3. Start making a loop by moving your pliers away from you. Release your pliers when you’ve made a loop. 4. Grip the loop with your flat nose pliers and use your free hand to bend the wire around the loop to make a spiral effect. Adjust your pliers as you go along.

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1. Make another spiral on the other side of the wire. The length from both ends of the spirals must measure 1 ½“(3,8cm). Make sure your spirals are evenly matched. 2. Grip the centre of the wire with the thickest part of the conical prongs.

3. Use your free hand to bend one of the spirals downwards, followed by the other one. 4. Grip the link with your flat nose pliers as shown in the photo on the left.

5. Bend the looped part back over the 6. Do not bend it too closely against the back of the spirals, because you need to thread one through the other and link them up to form a chain. 7. Your link will look like the one on the far right.

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8. Link them up, with one loop going through the next one. If you only want to make a single chain without attaching a focal bead, then you can continue this way until you reach the desirable necklace size. You will find a description below of how to make the clasp.

If you want to attach a focal bead, then you need to make two separate chains.

Steps for making and attaching the focal bead: 1. Slide your focal bead and bead caps onto the headpin in the desired order.

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2. Grip the end of the headpin with your round nose pliers, and form a loop. 3. Coil the headpin around the pliers by moving and adjusting your pliers as you go along. 4. Align the coiled loop centrally to the bead by bending it slightly.

5. Open the 10mm jump ring with your flat and round nose pliers. 6. Slide the loop of the focal bead onto the jump ring. 7. Slide the first link of the chains onto the jump ring, on either side of the focal bead as shown in the photos below.

8. Close the jump ring. Your necklace will now look like the one in the photo below.

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Steps for making the clasp: 1. Cut off 7 ½“(19cm) piece of 18 gauge wire. 2. Make a spiral on both ends of the wire. Keep coiling both spirals until the piece is 2 ½”(6,3mm) long. 3. Grip the centre of the wire with the tip of your round nose pliers. The spirals must face upwards.

4. Bend both ends downwards with your free hand. 5. Use your flat nose pliers to press the top of the wire to make it thinner.

6. Grip the spirals with your flat nose pliers, and bend the tail of wire backwards so it’s behind the spirals.

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7. Grip the tail of the clasp 8mm from the tip, and bend it upwards. Remove your pliers and press it down as shown in the photo below (right).

8. Attach the clasp to one end of the chain. 9. It will now look like this:

This Egyptian coil design looks stunning after some oxidization is done. The oxidization gives the necklace more depth and definition. Here is an example of the necklace before and after oxidization. Oxidize or not? It is a personal preference. Some people prefer the plain shiny color of silver wire, while others prefer the aged look of an oxidized piece of jewelry. See how to oxidize your necklace on p. 52 of this e-book.

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Tutorial 2: Wire fan necklace

Hammered pieces of wire create the fan-shaped look in this striking necklace.

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What you need:          

    

15 gauge (1,5mm) silver wire – at least 20” (51cm) or longer. 20 gauge (0,8mm) silver wire – at least 20” (51cm) or longer. black leather cord – 3mm thick 2 silver coil crimps (also called cord ends), big enough for the 3mm leather cord 1 silver lobster clasp round nose pliers chain nose pliers flat nose pliers wire cutters wire jig with super pegs (I’ve used the Wigjig® Delphi with its super pegs for this technique) bench block chasing hammer or a flat faced hammer jewelry needle file (one with a flat surface) measuring tape safety glasses

Steps for making the pendant shape: 1. Cut off a 7” (17,8cm) piece of 15 gauge wire. Grip the end of the wire with the tip of your round nose pliers. 2. Make a loop by moving your pliers away from you. 3. Grip the loop with your flat nose pliers. 4. Use your free hand to start bending the wire around the loop to form a spiral.

5. Make another spiral at the other end of the wire. The total length of the spiraled wire must be 4 ½” (11,5cm).

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6. Place a 6mm super peg in the jig. Hold one of the spirals below the peg as shown in the photo below (left). 7. Hold the spiral firmly with one hand and bend the tail of the wire around the peg using your free hand. 8. Do the same for the other end of the spiral, but place your spiral to the opposite direction below the peg. It will be a mirror-image of the other end.

9. Your wire will now look like the one in the photo below (left). 10. Use pegs with a diameter of 15mm. Place the wire below the peg, with the spirals facing downwards.

11. Hold the wire firmly with one hand and bend one of the ends upwards. 12. Do the same for the other side. 13. Your pendant shape will then look like the one in the photo below (right).

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Steps for making the fan-shapes: 1. Use your 15 gauge wire and cut it into 7 pieces, each piece measuring the following:

convert to metric: 1” = 2,5cm 1 ¼ “ = 3,2cm

1 ½ “ = 3,8cm

1 ¾ “ = 4,4cm

2. Grip one of the pieces with your round nose pliers and make half a loop (see below). 3. Do this for all 7 pieces of wire.

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4. Place a piece of wire on your bench block with the loop hanging down the edge of the block. 5. Hold the loop firmly with one hand, and hammer the rest of the wire with even strokes using your chasing hammer. 6. The wire will be flattened and widened by the strokes. The hammering will result in the edges being a bit rough.

7. You will need to file the rough edge of the wire to leave a smooth curved edge. Files usually cut in one direction. So it is important to file only in one direction, using stroking movements. Hold the half-looped part of the wire in one hand, and use your free hand to file the edge of the hammered part of the wire in one direction only. 8. After filing, your piece of wire will look like the one in the photo below (right).

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9. You will need to file the edges of all 7 pieces.

Steps for coiling the pendant and attaching the fan: 1. Use your 20 gauge wire, and wrap one end around the 15 gauge wire, next to one of the spirals. 2. Grip the coiled wire with your chain nose pliers while making the first few coils. 3. You can cut off the excess tail when you’ve coiled about 10 times. Press the scratchy end down with your chain nose pliers. 4. Continue the coiling process until you reach the other spiral. Cut off the excess wire. Your pendant will now look like the one in the photo below (right).

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5. Take the longest hammered piece of wire, and attach it to the bottom of the pendant. Use your chain nose pliers and gently close the loop.

6. Attach all the pieces of wire according to size, long at the centre to short on the sides.

7. String your leather cord through the loops of the pendant. Attach your coil crimps to the leather cord, and add your clasp as well. There is a detailed explanation for how to use coil crimps on the page http://www.how-to-makebeaded-jewelry.com/coil-crimps.html . 8. Use your polishing cloth to remove any unwanted fingerprints on the pendant. You can also oxidize your pendant to give it more depth. You will find step-bystep instructions how to oxidize your jewelry on p.52 of this book.

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Tutorial 3: Spiral pearl elegance

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What you need:                 

30 to 40 small white pearls (2-3mm in size) 43 or more white pearls (6-7mm in size), I’ve used 43 pearls for a 16” necklace silver tube spacer beads 10mm long 9 small round silver spacer beads (3mm) 20 gauge silver wire, at least 18” (46cm) 26 gauge silver wire, approx. 3,7 ft ( 1m) 3 headpins 3 bead caps to fit the larger pearls 3 clear color bicone crystal beads (4mm) clasp of your choice, I’ve used a pearl clasp and hook bead stringing wire – I’ve used 49 strand Beadalon wire (.015 diameter) round nose pliers flat nose pliers crimping pliers wire cutters measuring tape safety glasses Steps for making the pendant frame: 1. Cut off 9” of 20 gauge (0,8mm) wire. Grip the end of the wire with your round nose pliers. 2. Form a loop by moving your pliers away from you.

3. Grip the loop with your flat nose pliers. 4. Use your free hand to bend the rest of the wire around the loop to form a spiral. 5. Your spiral will look like the one in the photo below (far right).

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6. Make a loop on the other end of the wire as shown in the photo below. The total length of the spiraled wire must be 3 ½ “ (9cm) long.

7. We need to curve the bit of wire in between the spirals. For this you can use anything round with a hard surface for e.g. a drinking glass. Place the wire against the glass and curve it around the glass. Be gentle, you don’t want to break the glass!! 8. Use your round nose pliers to grip the centre of the wire. 9. Bend each side downwards as shown in the photo on the right.

10. Cut another 6” (15,2cm) of 20 gauge wire and make a spiral the same size as the previous two. Bend the tail of the wire so it’s central to the spiral. 11. Place the spiral between the two spirals you’ve made for the frame. Measure 5mm from the spiral and use your flat nose pliers to bend the wire to a 90 degrees angle to the right. 26

12. Hold both wires firmly in place with one hand, and wrap the tail of the wire around the neck of the above spirals. Wrap it 2 to 3 times. 13. Cut off the excess wire using your wire cutters. 14. The frame of your pendant will now look like the photo below (right).

Steps for coiling and attaching the small pearls: 1. You will need approx. 3,7ft (1m) of 26 gauge (0,4mm) wire for the coiling. Use your 26 gauge wire, and coil (wrap) one end around the side of the wire, above the spiral. 2. It helps to grip the first coil with your chain nose pliers while coiling the first bit. 26 Gauge wire is very thin. It is almost like working with thread and is very easy to handle. Just be careful not to bend the wire heavily at the same spot twice, for it can break easily. 3. It will take some time and patience to do the coiling. Try not to leave large gaps between the coils.

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4. Continue to coil the rest of the frame. When you reach the end, cut off the excess wire with your wire cutters. Flatten the scratchy cut wire with your chain nose pliers. 5. Your finished coil will look like the photo below (right).

6. Start another coil at the same place, and in the same way as the previous one. Coil the wire 3 to 4 times and then slide a small pearl onto the wire. Hold it the pearl on the outside of the frame with one hand, and coil the wire 1 ½ times. 7. Slide another pearl onto the wire, and again hold it in place on the inside of the frame with one hand, while coiling the wire 1 ½ times round with your free hand. 8. Continue this for the rest of the frame, until you reach the spirals.

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Steps for making and attaching the headpins: 1. Take three headpins and slide the following onto each headpin: pearl, bead cap, crystal bead, and silver spacer bead. 2. Follow the steps for making a loop on the page http://www.how-to-make-beadedjewelry.com/headpin-loop.html . Make a loop for each headpin.

3. Open a 6mm jump ring as explained on the page http://www.how-to-make-beadedjewelry.com/open-jump-rings.html . Slide one of the headpin-loops onto it. 4. Leave the jump ring open and slide the bottom spiral of the pendant frame onto the jump ring. Close it the correct way, to ensure the round shape of the jump ring is not distorted.

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5. If the jump ring is closed, it will hang like the one in the photo below (left). 6. Repeat the same process for attaching the other two headpins to the left and right spiral.

7. Your pendant will now look like this:

Steps for making the pearl necklace: 1. Cut off a piece of bead stringing wire like Beadalon or Soft Flex wire. It must be at least 3 inches longer than your necklace size. Slide two crimp beads, followed by the clasp onto one end of the wire. 2. Bend the end of the wire back through the two crimp beads.

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3. Place your crimp beads in the bottom slot of your crimping pliers. Press them into the shape of a crescent moon. 4. Use the top slot of your crimping pliers to press them into tiny balls.

5. Pull on the clasp to make sure it’s firmly in place before you continue. Your attached clasp will look like this:

6. Slide 3 small round spacer beads onto the wire. Snip off the little tail of the wire that is left.

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7. You can start stringing your pearls and tube spacers onto the wire in the following order: 3 pearls, one tube spacer, 3 pearls, one tube spacer etc.

8. Keep stringing until you reach the central point of the necklace. It’s time to attach the pendant. String two pearls onto the wire. Then attach the pendant with a jump ring to the wire. 9. String two more pearls onto the wire. You will now have two pearls on either side of the pendant. Continue the normal stringing pattern.

10. You are going to finish off your necklace the same way as you’ve started it, by attaching the hook of the clasp with crimp beads. String 3 round spacer beads next to the last pearls you’ve strung. Slide two crimp beads and then your hook onto the wire. 11. Bend the end of the wire back through the crimp beads, and preferably back through the round spacer beads. Cut off the excess wire.

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12. Your finished clasp will look like this:

13. Use your polishing cloth to remove any unwanted fingerprints on the pendant and necklace. You can also oxidize your pendant to give it more depth. You will find stepby-step instructions of how to oxidize a piece of jewelry on p.52 of this e-book. 14. Your spiral pearl necklace will look like this:

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Tutorial 4: Conical wrap briolette necklace

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What you need:  

          

a large 1” (2,5cm) high, 15mm wide briolette crystal bead two types of ribbon. I’ve used pink organza and silk ribbons. It is your choice as to how narrow or wide you would like it to be. 2 coil crimps (also called leather cord ends) big enough for the ribbon 1 pendant bail one lobster clasp and a 7mm jump ring small round spacer beads (2mm), 20 or more 20 gauge wire (0.8mm) - approx. 39” (1m) long 26 gauge wire (0.4mm) – approx. 4ft (1,2m) long round nose pliers chain nose pliers wire cutters measuring tape safety glasses 1. Insert one end of both ribbons into one coil crimp. 2. Use your chain nose pliers to flatten the last coil of the crimp. Pull on the ribbon to make sure it’s in place. Do this for only one side of the ribbons.

3. Slide your bail onto the open end of the ribbon. 4. Move the bail to the centre of the necklace.

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5. Attach another coil crimp to the other end of the necklace. 6. At the end of each coil crimp is a loop. Attach a clasp to one end by sliding it onto the loop, and a jump ring for the other end.

7. Slide the briolette bead onto the 20 gauge wire. Place it 3 cm (approx. 1 inch) from the end of the wire. 8. Fold both ends of the wire upwards and across to the opposite direction to form a triangular shape. 9. Bend both wire ends so they are vertically positioned in relation to the briolette bead. Cut the short end 3mm above the fold.

10. Grip the longest wire with your round nose pliers directly above the cut. Bend the wire to a 90 degrees angle. 11. Use your free hand to bend the tail of the wire around the tip of your round nose pliers.

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12. Now you need to slide the bail onto the open loop. 13. Grip the loop with your chain nose pliers, to make ready for the wrapping process.

14. Make your first wrap around both pieces of straight wire. 15. Wrap it around the neck of the loop.

16. Keep on wrapping until you reach a third of the length of the briolette.

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17. Use your 26 gauge wire and start coiling it around the 20 gauge wire. Coil it 6 times, and cut off the excess wire. 18. Slide 3 spacer beads onto the 26 gauge wire. 19. Bend the wire with the spacer beads into a crescent moon shape, before coiling the wire again 2 ½ times.

20. After coiling the wire 2 ½ times with the wire facing downwards, slide another 3 spacer beads onto the wire. Coil it another 2 ½ times. 21. Repeat this pattern until you have enough beads onto the wire to cover the circumference of the crystal bead. When you have enough beads, coil the 26 gauge wire a few times and cut off the excess wire.

22. Start folding the beaded wire around the crystal bead, just below the wrapped wire. 23. Pull it tight all the way around the bead.

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24. Fold it around the crystal bead until the two beaded ends meet. 25. Wrap the rest of the wire upwards in a spiral to the top.

26. You can end the wrapping process here, but I prefer wrapping it once more downwards, and then upwards again, to create a chunky ‘messy’ look. 27. Stop wrapping when you reach the neck of the loop on top.

28. Use your wire cutters to cut off the excess wire. Press the scratchy end down with your chain nose pliers. 39

Your briolette necklace will look like this…..

…..or this if you prefer to oxidize it (see p.52).

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Tutorial 5: Red coral S-link necklace

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What you need: 





      

Round red coral disc beads (10mm). You will need 10 or more beads depending on the size of your necklace. I’ve used 8 coral beads for a 14” necklace. 17 gauge wire (1.2mm) : 50” (2,7m) in length, depending on your necklace size. You will need more wire if you are making a necklace size of 19” or longer. 20 gauge wire (0.8mm): 250” (6,5m) in length. You will also need more of this wire for a longer necklace. Wire jig with a super peg of 10mm. 3” (7,6cm) headpin round nose pliers chain nose pliers wire cutters measuring tape safety glasses

Steps for making the chain-links: 1. Cut off 2 ½ “ (6,4cm) of 17 gauge wire. Grip the end of the wire with the middle part of your round nose pliers. 2. Move your pliers away from you to form a loop. 3. Make another loop at the other end of the wire, to the opposite direction.

4. Cut off 14-15” (36-38cm) of 20 gauge wire. You are going to use this to coil between the two loops. For a detailed explanation of how to coil wire see http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/wire-coils.html . When you start to coil, leave a short tail at the end for a grip to hold on to. It can be very tiring to grip the wire with your pliers while coiling, especially if you need to coil all the links as in this necklace.

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5. The easiest way to coil, is to keep the 20g wire in place with your thumb while twisting the loop part (17g wire) with your other hand. 6. When you reach the other loop, cut off the excess wire. Press the scratchy end down with your chain nose pliers.

7. Cut off the excess wire with your wire cutters. Press the scratchy end down with your chain nose pliers. 8. Your coiled link is now ready to be shaped.

9. Grip the coiled wire with the bottom of your round nose pliers next to the loop on the right (the loop must face downwards). 10. Bend the rest of the wire upwards around the upper prong of the pliers.

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11. Grip the wire as shown in the photo below (left), and start bending the left part of the wire upwards. 12. Move your pliers little by little to form the wire into an S-shape. 13. Be gentle when gripping the wire and moving your pliers. If you press too hard you might distort the coiled wire.

14. You will find that when forming the second curve, the other one you’ve made opens up a little bit. Use your chain nose pliers to close the gap. Your finished S-shaped link will look like the one on the right below.

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Making the clasp: 1. Cut off 3” (7,6cm) of 17 gauge wire. Make loops on both ends of the wire. Make the one on the right a little bit smaller than the left one, by using the tip of your pliers. The smaller loop makes it easier to go through the hook. 2. Use 20 gauge wire to coil the part between the two loops.

3. Turn the bigger loop to face downwards. Grip the coiled wire next to the loop with your round nose pliers. 4. Bend the rest of the coiled wire around the upper prong of your pliers.

5. Use a super peg of your wire jig with a diameter of 10mm. Place the piece of wire underneath the peg, and make sure the peg is central to the wire. 6. Curve the wire around the peg as shown below. 45

Making the hook: 1. Cut off 2” (5,1cm) of 17 gauge wire. Make loops at both ends of the wire. The loops must be the same size. 2. Use 20 gauge wire to coil the part between the two loops.

3. Grip the coiled wire exactly in the middle with the bottom of your round nose pliers. 4. Fold both sides downwards to create a horse shoe-shape.

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5. Your finished hook and clasp will look like this:

Attaching a pair of links: 1. You will need 17g jump rings to attach the chain-links together. It is easy to make your own jump rings. Coil a few links around the prong of your pliers. You can find a detailed explanation on the page http://www.how-to-make-beadedjewelry.com/jump-rings.html 2. Use your wire cutters to cut each coil to form a jump ring.

3. Place two chain-links next to each other exactly as you’re going to slide it onto your jump ring. 4. Open a jump ring. It is important to open it correctly otherwise the round shape of the jump ring will be distorted. Click on the link to find a tutorial of how to open and close a jump ring properly http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/openjump-rings.html 5. Slide the two links onto the jump ring, and close it properly.

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Attaching the coral beads: 1. Cut off a piece of 20g wire approx 3 ¼ “ (8cm). Grip the end of the wire with the middle part of your round nose pliers. 2. Start coiling the wire around the prong of your pliers by gripping the wire and moving it away from you. 3. Keep on coiling until you have 3 coils.

4. The shape of the coiled part will look like a P. Use your round nose pliers to position the coiled loop so it is central to the tail of the wire, like a lollypop. 5. Cut the wire 1 ¼” (3,2cm) from the coral bead. Start at the end and coil the wire around your round nose pliers. Again make the loop central to the wire. 6. Your coral bead is now ready to be attached to the S-shaped links.

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7. Open the loop at the end of the S-shaped links. Slide the coiled part of the coral bead onto the loop and close it completely. 8. Do the same at the other end of the attached links.

9. Continue to add two S-shaped links on the right, followed by a coral bead.

10. Do the same on the left hand side.

11. Keep on attaching links and beads. Measure your necklace as you go along.

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12. When you have enough links and beads, it’s time to attach the clasp and hook. Open the large loop of the clasp and slide the last coral bead of the chain onto it. Close it completely. 13. Attach the hook with a jump ring to the last bead on the other side of the chain.

14. Your necklace is now round. You are going to attach more links and beads to give it a Y-shape. Find the central part of the necklace. Open the jump ring and slide a bead onto it.

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15. Attach two s-shaped links to the bottom of the coral bead. 16. Slide one coral bead onto a 3” (7,6cm) headpin. 17. Cut the headpin 1 ¼” (3,2cm) from the end of the coral bead. Coil the headpin in the same way as the other coral beads. Attach it to the bottom loop of the s-shaped link.

Congratulations, your coral bead necklace is now ready to wear!!

See an example of the oxidized necklace below.

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How to oxidize your jewelry: To oxidize your jewelry, means to give it an ‘old, aged’ look and adding definition to the wrapped wire. I just love oxidizing silver wire jewelry to give it more depth. I will show you an easy way of oxidizing your jewelry with only boiled eggs. It is harmless, without any bad fumes and good for nature too. You can oxidize any material including pearls and gemstones with this method. This is especially handy if you would like to oxidize only a few pieces and you don’t want to purchase liver of sulfur, which is highly toxic. I oxidized all 5 jewelry pieces at once, using 6 hard boiled eggs. Crumble the hard boiled eggs into pieces and place it in an air tight container with your jewelry. Place the egg and jewelry in layers on top of each other. Make sure the necklaces are all covered with egg, otherwise the part that is not covered won’t oxidize well. Close the lid of the container tightly. Leave it for approximately an hour or two. When you open it, the silver will have turned black. Rinse your jewelry pieces with water to get rid of the small unwanted pieces of egg. Use your size 0000 steel wool to polish your necklaces. Sometimes little pieces of steel wool might get stuck between the wires. Use a steel brush, or an old toothbrush to brush it off.

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About the Author I was privileged to be born in South Africa where I grew up on a beautiful African farm. I was fascinated by the pattern, design and vibrant colors found in traditional Zulu African art and the landscapes around me. I started painting and drawing, using colors and natural materials found in the African veldt. Several of the small cards I made for people with Guinea fowl feathers still survive and remind me of my roots. After completing my degree at the University of Pretoria, I married my husband and we decided to broaden our horizons by travelling to Taiwan. It was to be one of the most formative years in my jewelry making career. I discovered the joys of hunting for exotic gems, beads and materials that were imported from all the far flung countries on the planet and sold in Taiwan’s Jade markets. A further bonus was the opportunity to learn the skills of the ancient art of Chinese knot tying. There are literally hundreds of different knots that can be carefully woven to form amazingly intricate necklaces and bracelets. This was also where my love affair with pearls started. There were varieties and colors of pearls I had never seen or heard of before. Once our time in Taiwan was over, we decided to travel to Europe, where we spent the next six years of our lives. The opportunity arose for me to study jewelry making at the Redbridge Institute in London. I totally immersed myself in the course and emerged even more passionate about jewelry making than before. My favorite haunts were the quaint little bead shops in Covent Garden where I spent many hours selecting the right beads for my special projects. London was also the first place where I managed to make and sell many jewelry pieces. At times I could not keep up with the demand but that all changed when I had my little girl in Church Langley on the outskirts of London. I was solely focused on my role as mother but I longed to return to my beloved jewelry making. After many dreary days indoors, I decided to share my love of jewelry making with the world and that is how www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com was born. I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support and interest from people from all over the world who share my passion. It seems that our globetrotting has finally come to an end for a while and we are settled in beautiful sub-tropical Queensland in Australia. It is truly amazing for me to sit outside, make jewelry and watch the colorful parrots play in the palm trees outside our house… Thank you for becoming a part of my jewelry making journey and sharing my passion.

Marlize Kasselman 53

Disclaimer: The materials contained in this e-book are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. The author does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information contained in this e-book.  Permission is given for the storage of this e-book for the purpose of viewing on a personal computer. The contents of this e-book are protected by copyright under international conventions and, apart from the permission stated, the reproduction, permanent storage, or retransmission of the contents of this e-book is prohibited without the prior written consent of the author.  Some links within this e-book may lead to other websites, including those operated and maintained by third parties. I’ve include these links solely as a convenience to you, and the presence of such a link does not imply a responsibility for the linked site or an endorsement of the linked site, its operator, or its contents (exceptions may apply).  This e-book and its contents are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.  Reproduction, distribution, republication, and/or retransmission of material contained within this e-book are prohibited unless the prior written permission of the author has been obtained. _________________________________________ See contact info below

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Contact info

I hope you enjoyed reading this e-book! I value the feedback of my customers, and would love to hear from you. Also contact me if you have any questions or comments at [email protected]

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