Daily Blogs : wirework

Design Wire Jewelry with Attitude!

Leslie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:15:00 GMT

Keep it together with wire.

It’s my birthday this week and, according to a friend, I’ve officially arrived to the point in my life where people will start saying “Yes, Ma’am!” when I ask them to do something. Boy, if she’s right, I’m really looking forward to it: “Do your homework.” "Yes, Ma’am!" “I’d like a discount on that, please.” "Yes, Ma’am!" “Rub my feet.” "Yes, Ma’am!" Wow—this is going to be good.

To fully embrace this Yes Ma’am! period, I may need to make myself a bold piece of jewelry. You know, something to go with my new firm attitude and red hat. To design for my new attitude, I planned thoughtfully, with purpose, considering each element for its meaning as I lay them out:

I’ll start by featuring this Steampunk-style heart I just received from polymer clay artist Jeannie Dukic. Even though it’s still sweet (it IS a heart, mind you), all that hardware makes it pretty kick-butt, just like the new bold outlook I’ll supposedly wake up with soon.

Crystal pearls will go perfectly with the heart, and their ageless luster will remind me that getting older is just a state of mind.

I'll incorporate these found objects, not only to reflect the flavor of the focal pendant, but also as a nod to my past years.

I turned to Step by Step Wire Jewelry for a way to tie it all together. Subscribe to Step by Step Wire Jewelry and discover for yourself why I was inspired! As I leafed through my issues I decided to use colored copper wire for my birthday necklace. Colored copper wire turned out to have all kinds of good birthday reminders for women of a certain age:

		It’s available in several different widths and gauges, just like the wide selection of jeans sizes in my closet.
		It's very soft and bendable, but can be work-hardened with a plastic or rawhide mallet. I'm guessing all those upcoming "Yes, Ma'ams!" will be a little like getting work-hardened, at first.
		It can be coiled, knitted, woven, looped, wrapped and bent but still has a good memory; it can still be straighted out with a good pair of nylon-jaw pliers. For a woman, sometimes all you need to get straightened out is a bar of chocolate. Yes, Ma’am!
		Colored copper wire doesn’t tarnish or fade. Aw, now isn’t that the best birthday reminder of all?

Did you find inspiration in Step by Step Wire Jewelry to make a design with purpose, as I did this week? What else about making wire jewelry reminds you to keep a good attitude? Please share your thoughts here on Beading Daily.

2 Free and Easy Wire Projects

Leslie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT

Hook and eye clasp is hardware chic!
Rubber tubing called “spline” is one of my favorite hardware store materials. Commonly used to press around a screen door panel, it’s cheap, easy to cut, comes in a few gauges and shades of gray or black, and (most important) is hollow–perfect for threading wire or beading cord through it. I use it often as a cord by threading it with flexible beading wire and crimping clasps at the ends.

But while playing around with 20-gauge craft wire I saw how easily it fit into the spline, and how the spline held different shapes with the heavier wire inside. This hook-and-eye clasp is one of my results. If you can make a wire wrapped loop with a pair of pliers, you’re good to go!

What You Need:

12” of 20-gauge copper craft wire
14” rubber tube (hollow spline)
2 pair round-nose pliers or round-and chain-nose
wire snips
craft knife to cut spline
ruler

Cut your materials
1: Use the wire snips to cut a 4” piece of the wire for the eye, leaving 8” for the hook.

2: Hold your tube alongside a ruler on a cutting board. Use your craft knife to cut the tube in two pieces, keeping the ends as straight across as possible: 1 piece 2” for the eye, 1 piece 4” for the hook.

Make the eye
3: Thread the 4” piece of wire through the 2” piece of tube so the wire protrudes evenly out both ends. Make a wire wrapped loop on both ends, keeping the wrapped loops snug against the rubber. Bend the wired tube into a simple U shape for the “eye."

Make the hook
4: Thread the 8" piece of wire through the 4" tube, and make wire wrapped loops at each end as in Step 3. Bend this piece into a U shape, (this one will be longer than the first one) then bend the middle over to make a hook shape.

You can now attach a piece of jewelry in any way you desire—jump rings, crimped wire, linked wrapped loops. Of course, you can make this hook-and-eye without the tube, using 20 or 18 gauge wire for sturdiness. For some great inspiration on ways to try this clasp technique on other designs, the 2009 issue of Easy Wire is a must-have for your library. Enjoy!

FREE Easy Wire project!
The style of my clasp may not be your cup of tea, but you'll find plenty of other styles among the 45 projects in the new issue of Easy Wire–like this gorgeous copper wire and lampwork bead Caramel Swirl Bracelet, for instance. Spiral copper wire in a unique pattern, and pair it with delectable lampwork beads.

Download this free Easy Wire project here!

Have you played with wire in rubber tubing? Tell us about it in our comment boxes below!

How to Make a Wire Bead Chain!

Leslie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:51:00 GMT

Great Wire Jewelry Deserves Perfect Loops

I was doing some domestic spelunking and found a rosary I made before I knew much about wirework. It was a gift I'd made for my son when he was little. I'd invested in stone beads, made the cross in metal clay, and chained it all together with silver wire. My son loved it because it made him feel like a big boy to have such a special, non-plastic gift. I was very proud of it at the time. But now when I look at it, I’m more than a little embarrassed. The loops are all so uneven!

I know our learning curves all start somewhere, but that “somewhere” usually has better results if it begins with instructions in a class, book, or magazine. For instance, I could have learned how to make consistent loops in a magazine like Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry. Beading Daily is a good place to learn, too, of course. Here’s how to avoid my beaded chain-making mistakes and learn the proper way to do it.

1. Use a permanent marker to draw a line on one of the jaws of your round-nose pliers. This will help you make all bends in the same spot, creating equally-wide loops.

2. If necessary, use nylon-jaw pliers to straighten the last few inches of wire on the spool or roll. Don’t trim any wire off the spool yet. Flush cut the end of the wire, then slide on a bead. Grasp the wire end with the round-nose pliers at the spot you previously marked on the jaw.

3. Roll the pliers until the wire touches itself, forming a loop. The wire will be shaped like the letter P.

4. If your wire is 20-gauge or thinner, you can just press your thumbnail firmly into the base of the loop and pull the pliers back against your nail, so the wire looks like a balloon on a string. If your wire is thicker, you’ll probably want to grasp the wire at the loop base with chain-nose pliers instead.

5. Snug the bead against the loop and flush cut the wire 3/8" from the

top of the bead.

6. Grasp the wire end with round-nose pliers at the marked spot. Pull the wire against the top of the bead at a 45° angle.

7. Roll the pliers to form another simple loop. The loops should be even and scroll like the letter S. Set the link aside.

8. Make another link. Use flat- or chain-nose pliers to open one of the loops as you would a jump ring. Connect the loop to one of the loops of the previous link.

So, there it is–consistent and clean work, so you’ll still be proud of it years from now.

Got any other tips for making beaded chain? Have you made some great jewelry using this technique or fashioned your own prayer beads? Share your thoughts and comments below!

How to Use a Coiling Tool

Erin Carey — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:00:00 GMT

Scenario #187 in the life of a busy, creative (somewhat forgetful) person: Go to the fabric store to pick up buttons, wander over to the tools section for a look-see, find a tool I know I’ve lost, purchase, bring home, and… place it next to the one that has magically reappeared. Ah, yessiree… I seem to be a one-woman economic stimulus package with all the tool doubles I have around here. Why don’t I return them? Well, like my Irish father used to say you never know when guests will show up. Geez… I could throw a raucous jewelry-making party with the number of oddball wire jigs, hammers, and pliers I have laying around here!


		The most recent tool I doubled up on is this handy little crank shaft mechanism used for coiling wire. It’s a simple tool, but so handy. In the old days I formed wire coils by wrapping a thin-gauge wire around a thick-gauge one, but this is faster and easier. It comes with two rod thicknesses, 2mm and 3mm, allowing for different-sized coils. Here’s how you use it:

		1) Wrap 20-gauge or thinner wire around the crank’s loop. Here I’m using 24-gauge; I keep it attached to the spool as I work to reduce flying wire and to give me the option of forming a longer coil if I like.

		2) Slide the shaft into the bracket through the holes that correspond to the shaft’s thickness. Hold the tool so the thumb of your non-dominant hand pins the loose wire against the bracket. This will add tension to ensure a neat, tight coil.

		3) Use your dominant hand to rotate the shaft, turning it slowly to get the coil started.

		4) Keep turning the crank, with your thumb in place to ensure the wire revolutions touch each other, to form as long a coil as you wish. Remove the shaft from the bracket.

		5) Remove the spiral from the shaft. Now the fun begins! You could cut this coil up into tiny spacer coils... or longer cylinder beads... slide a wire through it to make links... use it to embellish a handmade S clasp... there are many possibilites.

		6) Here I wrapped the straight wires at the ends of the coil around the wider coiling shaft, then wrapped the coil around the shaft, too, to make a spirally thingamabob.

		7) Then I wrapped the thingamabob around a big resin bead and locked everything in place with a steel wire with simple loops at each end.

Excited about this technique, but wondering how to use it? Get an eyeful in the bead and jewelry section of the Interweave Store. You’ll find dozens of innovative projects like Sara Graham’s Vineyard Coils Bracelet, Marie Carter’s All Wrapped Up ring design, or the Sandy Lanterns Bangle by Kerry Bogert.

Do you have any coiling tips or ways you use coils that we might all like to know about? (And come on…tell me which tools you have multiples of!) Share your comments below!

Guide to Color Wire Jump Rings

Leslie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:14:00 GMT

Dream it in color? Make it in color! Many jewelry artists search for the perfect way to use color wire in their work. My solution: colored jump rings! I’ve been working with anodized aluminum jump rings for almost two years now. I love the fact that I can put the burst of color in my chain maille, and even match it to the beads I use. Colored jump rings are becoming very popular, especially because they are a bit more affordable than sterling or gold-filled. But there are so many different kinds of rings out there... which ones should you choose? Here's a quick guide to 5 types of affordable and available color jump rings.

Anodized aluminum: These jump rings are super lightweight to work with, and are colored with an electrical current. Different colors are achieved based on the amount of electricity used. But since the electricity can make the aluminum porous, they also can be dyed and sealed to reinforce the color. And they’re inexpensive, another bonus.

Charlene Anderson made these striking blue earrings with anodized aluminum rings in the Palau Reef Set in the Fall 2009 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. Photo: Jim Lawson

Anodized niobium: These rings are colored in the same way as aluminum, but the extra dyeing isn’t required. The quality of niobium is comparable to that of sterling silver, so they cost a little more than aluminum. Niobium is great to use in combination with sterling.

Shelley Hubbs made her Olivia bracelet with anodized niobium rings in the Fall 2009 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. Photo: Jim Lawson

Anodized titanium: Colored in the same way as the first two, these rings are best known for their strength, and they are the heaviest out of this group. Titanium, like niobium, is hypo-allergenic, so it's great to use if you have allergies to base metals. Titanium rings are the most expensive of the colored jump rings.

Titanium Rings shown in a Byzantine chain maille pattern. Photo courtesy of www.metaldesignz.com.

Enameled copper: A durable plastic enameled coating is added to the copper wire before they’re coiled into rings. The colors are plentiful and the rings are inexpensive. Silvered enameled copper is made by plating the copper wire with a layer of pure silver before adding the enamel to give it a shinier appearance.

Enameled copper rings are mixed with stainless steel. Photo courtesy of www.metaldesignz.com.

Rubber: A fun and inexpensive type of jump ring, rubber rings make your piece more flexible. They’re made of soft, non-latex rubber, often silicone.

Susan C. Thomas creates wonderful pieces like this one using rubber rings. You can purchase this Rainbow Wristband project by Susan in the Interweave Store. Photo: Jim Lawson

TOOL TIP! No matter which kind of ring you choose, a well-used pair of pliers can easily scratch the color off of the ring. Dipping your pliers’ jaws into a coating like Tool Magic™ helps to alleviate the problem, but always use care when opening and closing any jump rings.

In the Fall 2009 Step by Step Wire Jewelry find even more expert tips on using colored jump rings, in a special featurette called “The Rainbow Connection.” Put your new-found knowledge to work making three colored chain maille projects yourself! Don’t be afraid to take that extra leap, and explore your options. Experimenting is half the fun…if you dream in color, do it in color!

You'll want to see every issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. We have an expert advice column by renowned wire artist Connie Fox, and reviews of the hottest products: from wire, to beads, to tools, to books and DVDs, and so much more. Best of all, you’ll find several projects on the hottest wire working techniques, from wrapping to chain maille, knitting and crocheting with wire, texturing, and embellishing wire jewelry with beads. There’s something for every skill level. Why not subscribe to Step by Step Wire Jewelry now?

FREE PROJECT for a limited time!
Download Sara's Foxy Roxy necklace and see for yourself how much fun it is to make jewelry with color jump rings!

6 Tips for Successful Hammered Wirework

Michelle M. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:35:00 GMT

Months ago, I got so excited about advancing my wireworking beyond wire-wrapped loops that I had a big success-turned-failure. I didn’t have a mandrel or some of the other cool (and necessary) tools it takes to do slightly more advanced wirework, so I rummaged through the garage toolbox to figure out how to improvise....(read more)

Create Chain with Wire, Beads, or Yarn: 10 Ideas

Michelle M. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:40:00 GMT

I like chain so much that back in April I spent a full day making my own in a wireworking workshop. Using steel wire, I made my own jump rings, formed my own links, hammered them, joined them, and polished the finished piece. The best tip I learned: once you've figured out the size of wire you need to make your link, use one piece of wire as the "master" to measure the others. If you keep measuing new pieces based on the last piece you cut, you'll gradually end up with a links that are noticeably larger than the original....(read more)

Jewelry Design Ideas for Briolettes, Plus Free Project

Michelle M. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:39:00 GMT

As a teen, I routinely stuffed my size 9 feet into size 8 shoes, trying to deny that my feet would never be small again. The same kind of denial recently led me to try stuffing a piece of 22-gauge wire (my favorite size!) into the tiny, delicate drilled channel at the top of a lovely Oregon sunstone briolette. Guess what happened?! The pointed top of the teardrop-shaped briolette broke right off, leaving me with that same old feeling of dejection....(read more)

Make Your Own Spiral Head Pins

Michelle M. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:58:00 GMT

Working as a freelance writer and designer has its perks. For instance, right now I’m still in my pajamas, my hair looks like I’ve been on a G-force machine, and it’s 11:00. The commute is very eco-friendly, and the commissary is about ten steps away from my office. ...(read more)

Intermediate Wire Tips from Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Michelle M. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:40:00 GMT

Recently, I chatted with Dale "Cougar" Armstrong about her new book, Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping. It's packed with step-by-step photos and solid, classroom-tested techniques for making custom wire jewelry with faceted stones, cabochons, and beads. Dale's signature designs have appeared in Step by Step Wire Jewelry and Jewelry Artist. Today she offers some tips for intermediate-level wire workers....(read more)

7 Tips for Using Steel Wire in Your Jewelry Designs

Michelle M. — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:33:00 GMT

Does this ever happen to you? You wake up and feel the sudden need to start adding, say, starbursts to your designs. So you do. But then the weird thing is you start noticing starbursts everywhere. In other people’s beadwork . . . on T-shirts . . . wrapping paper . . . on the sides of buses . . . It’s like your great idea blossomed with everyone else overnight! We were talking about this phenomenon in a class I was teaching in Michigan recently and one of the students, Pam Nichols said, “Well, it’s just the Hundredth Monkey thing, right?” ...(read more)

Transform an Ordinary Wire Bracelet into a Pretty Pendant

Michelle M. — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:25:00 GMT

Have you ever used one of those wire bangle bracelets with loops around the edges? They're usually silver and come in several diameters with 16 rings or loops. Typically, people will attach beads or charms to the rings using wrapped loops. I did this myself with my Gypsy Magic project for Creative Jewelry last year. While I liked my finished bracelet, I felt that the bangle form was rather limiting. Other than attaching wrapped loops or wrapping wire around the bangle form, there really wasn't much else you could do with it, right? ...(read more)

How to Make Your Own Jump Rings

Michelle M. — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:49:00 GMT

More than once this week I’ve run out of a certain bead at the end of a piece. And I don’t mean three-quarters of the way through. I mean I literally need just one or two more beads to finish. It’s a situation that’s not quite worth making an extra trip to the bead store, but surely warrants a full-scale tear through my studio and couch cushions....(read more)

New: Free Wire Jewelry Ebook

Michelle M. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:03:00 GMT

A Lifetime Supply of Wire

When I started working with wire, my local bead shop talked me into a 20-foot spool of silver craft wire for practicing wrapped loops. I left there convinced that I had bought a "lifetime" supply of wire. It took me forever to make a single wrapped loop--I was always pausing and hesitating, trying to figure out if I was holding the pliers correctly and making the right motions with my hands.

What I didn't realize is how quickly things would change. I became obsessed with making simple and wrapped loops, working on them nearly every evening. As you might have guessed, my "lifetime" supply of wire quickly disappeared and now I have a whole drawer packed with all different kinds of wire.

If you're obsessed with wire too or just want to learn more about it, you'll want to take a look at our newest free ebook, Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily. Here's a glimpse of what you'll find inside:

• If you are new to wireworking or want a quick project: Cerulean Falls by Danielle Fox. You just need to know how to make 6 wrapped loops and open and close 4 jump rings.

• If you want to learn to make beaded chain or practice your wrapped loops: In Full Bloom by Ricky Talmage. This pearl and aquamarine necklace has 30 wrapped loops!

• If you want to practice a lot of skills in one project (coiling, hammering, forming a bangle, making a clasp) or want to use up a bunch of leftover beads: Gypsy Wire Bangle by Janice Berkebile. This fun bracelet has a little something for everyone.

• If you want to use up short scraps of wire or learn how to twist wire with a pin vise: Dancing Spirals by Heather Trundle. What a fun way to "go green" and recycle those 1" and 2" scraps!

• If you want to do your own thing: Freeform Wire Earrings by Leeza Khoury. Learn to frame gemstones with wire and add crystal embellishments.

• If you want to practice wirewrapping or learn to use a ring mandrel: Ring-a-Ding Rings by Martha Umberger. Experiment with using 2 different colors of wire for a modern look.

Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily

You can download this whole set of free wire projects in Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily.

Don't forget to tell your friends, so they can download their own copy of this new wire jewelry ebook!

Michelle Mach shares free projects every Friday on Beading Daily. If you have comments or questions for Michelle, please post them on the website.

Six Steps to Perfect Wrapped Loops

Michelle M. — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:43:00 GMT

Memory Tricks for Beading

Like you, I’ve taken classes of all sorts over the years. Most teachers use memory techniques to help you remember lists or a process. For instance, my piano teacher used the acronym (E)very (G)ood (B)oy (D)oes (F)ine so I could remember the lines of the treble clef; in 10th grade typing class I learned the pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog;” when my daughter learned to tie her shoes we sang SpongeBob’s "Loop Dee Loop" song; and in college the ne’er-do-wells who tore me away from my studies taught me “Over the lips and through the gums, watch out stomach, here it comes.”

These learning techniques are beneficial in jewelry-making, too. I remember walking down a hallway at Interweave’s BASH beading retreat in Estes Park, Colorado a long time ago and listening to wireworker Mark Lareau (author of All Wired Up and Getting Started Making Metal Jewelry) do the same thing—as I recall, he was using sound effects to the great delight of his students. And I know Joyce Scott has some pretty colorful imagery to explain peyote stitch increases and decreases.

This is what’s great about taking classes, isn’t it? Gathering tips and techniques from the pros--things you might not run across when working on your own—helps eliminate little technique obstacles so you can move on to bigger and better things in the future.

The Wrapped Loop Doo-Wop

Many of my class projects include both bead stitching and wirework and I find many off-loom-centric students aren’t that confident about their wirework skills. Most beadworkers could benefit from attending one of the many classes at Bead Fest Wire in Pennsylvania May 1-3, 2009. (I don’t even have to mention how much fun it would be for a wireworker; there are classes for every level of jewelry maker!) One technique that’s especially troublesome is the wrapped loop, so I think it’s high time we come up with a little memory technique for it, don’t you?

Make an L . . .
(Use chain-nose pliers to make a 90˚ bend about 1/4" from the top of the bead.)

And make a C . . .
(Using round-nose pliers, shape the wire over the top jaw to form a partial loop.)

Swing it under, tweedly dee . . .
(Move the pliers so you grasp the loop with the bottom jaw, and swing the wire under the loop so it crosses the neck.)

Wrap it tight all down the neck . . .
(Use chain-nose pliers (or your fingers) to wrap the wire in a tight coil down the neck.)

Trim it close . . .
(Flush cut the wire close to the coil.)

And squeeze like heck!
(Use crimping pliers to round out the coil, tucking in the tail wire.)

What do you think of that? Let me know on the website, and while you’re at it, share your bead-technique rhymes, ditties, and acronyms.

Free eBook
Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily

Create 6 stunning wire jewelry projects (2 wire necklaces, a wire bracelet, 2 pairs of wire earrings, and a wire ring) with this free eBook that contains step by step wire jewelry instructions for each project. Jewelry designs range in difficulty from beginner to intermediate and use a variety of wire work techniques, including spirals, coiling, wirewrapping, hammering, and twisting wire. Download Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily

Jean Campbell writes about beading and life every Wednesday on Beading Daily. If you have comments or questions for Jean, please post them on the website.