Okay, so I've been slacking off on my blogging duties lately, but it was the holidays and a lot was going on. Between Christmas shopping, visiting family, New Year Eve and my birthday there was a lot to do. Anyway, back to it....
This is one of my first wire projects! For Christmas my Mom got me a book by Linda Jones, "Making Beautiful Bead & Wire Jewelry" and this is where I got the idea for this project. This book was a great purchase! There are 30 step by step projects and I can't wait to try them all!
Well for this project you'll need the following tools...
- 20 Gauge Wire (I used navy blue)
- 26 Gauge wire (I used gold)
- Wire cutters, round nose pliers and flat nose pliers
- Jig and 6 pegs
The first step is to setup the jig. A jig is a metal or plastic plate that has a grid of holes and comes with various sized pegs. For this project we're going to need 6 pegs and I used the second to smallest ones that came with my jig. You can use any of the sizes for a different look. Mix and match and see what happens.
Place one peg in any spot. For the next two pegs you're going to skip a row and place the pegs one column to the right and one column to the left of the original peg. Skip another row and put two more pegs in the same columns as the last two. That pattern will be finished with the last peg in the same column as the first and again a skipped row between the last set of pegs.
Next we're going to setup the gold coil for the center of our piece.Cut a piece of the 26 gauge wire about 6 - 8 inches long. Next you're going to take your round nose pliers and wrap the gold wire around the nose of the pliers. You're going to want to keep the wire at the front of the pliers creating a consistently sized coil.
One you've got your coil to about 1/8 of an inch in length cut off the tail end of the wire and form the end of the wire around the nose of the pliers as well. Now onto the main part of our piece, back to the jig...
Cut about an 8 - 12 inch piece of 20 gauge wire, I used navy blue. I start by placing one end of the wire in the hole next to the first (top) peg. This just helps anchor the wire and makes it easier to wrap around the pegs.
Wrap the wire clockwise around the first peg, bringing the wire under the second peg (down and to the left). Next, wrap the wire around the second peg clockwise bringing the wire under the third peg (to the right of the second peg).
Next you are going to wrap the wire CLOCKWISE around the peg to the right. Make sure you pull the wire tight so it's flush against the pegs. Now you're going to thread your pre-made coil onto your wire form. Don't worry if the coil is moving around a little bit.
Once you have the coil on you're going to complete your wire piece by repeating the steps above. Remember to go counter clockwise around the pegs to the left and clockwise around the pegs to the right!
Now that you're done forming your wire piece, gently remove it from the jig. Cut the excess off of both ends and form complete circles with round nose pliers at both the top and bottom.
You can use jump rings to attach multiple pieces together to make a bracelet or attach beads at one end and earring finds to the other for a nice set of earrings! Mix and match colors for different creations!!
