Top Tip Tuesday ~~ Tutorial ~~ How to make Wrapped Loops

How to make:  Wrapped Loops

You will need:

Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers
Chain nose pliers

Head pin
Beads


1.  Onto a headpin place on desired bead(s), do not trim headpin as you did in the turned loop.

2.  Grasp the headpin with round nose pliers, approx. 4mm above the bead

3. Start to pull the wire around the blade of the round nose pliers, using your fingers or chain/flat nose pliers, to form the loop.

4. The wires should cross over

bend back the upright wire to centralise the loop (as in the turned loop)             

    

Tip: At this point you need to attach to the chain and/or earwire, if do not want to use a jump ring to attach the bead component.



5. Now take the chain nose pliers and hold the loop,

Grasp the loose end with a second pair of pliers (I use flat nose pliers but you can use whatever you have), pull this wire around the upright wire; ensuring this wire is perpendicular to the upright wire.



Tip:  If the wire is not perpendicular you will get sloping or diagonal wraps and they may not be neat and tidy. Using the flat nose pliers, straighten this wire so it sits perpendicular.

  

6.  Continue to wrap the wire around the upright until you get to the bead, the usual amount of wraps is 3 but it can be any number you want it to be, you are only limited by the length of wire left on the headpin.

Tip: While winding take the wire to the top (still holding the loop with the chain nose pliers), let go with the flat nosed pliers and reposition your hand by grasping the wire from the back and carry on by pulling the wire round and towards you 



and up 

let go again and reposition as before to pull upwards to the top once again

Don’t try and complete a wrap all in one go!

7.  Take the cutters and trim off the wire end as close to the base wire as possible.

Tip: You may need to straighten the loop after the wraps are complete as it can sometimes tip over slightly. Put the round nose pliers back into the loop to do this, as if re-turning it again.

 

Also the base wire can bend over slightly, just use your flat-nose pliers to straighten the loop so it becomes upright again.  

    

8.  Take the chain and/or flat nose pliers and tuck the end in by squeezing it down

slowly moving round the wire so no more wire is sticking out, until it is neat.

A Wrapped Loop

The wrapped loop is a little difficult to get right but with practice will become easier.


I hope you find this tutorial helpful and if you have any difficulties or any questions please contact me, I am happy to help.


Once you have mastered the wrapped loop, it is a very useful skill to have and can be used in many different ways within different types of jewellery making, earrings are a very common use but can also be used in bracelets, pendants/necklaces for linking or connecting components together, maybe in brooches and even in other types of accessories.

 

Bangle on a wire, connection to chains.

 

Beaded Finial on the clasp of a bangle

 

 

 

Necklace - Beads on a wire, connection to chain

 

Bookmark -  Connections between beads

Next time I will cover Coiling (I do not use a Gizmo) all done by hand.


Until then lots of practising required.  80))

E x

Top Tips Tuesday ~~ Working with Wire ~~ Wire Gauges and When to use them!

Now Blogtoberfest 2013 is over I will be continuing with my Top Tips Tuesday spot.  

There will be a mixture of tutorials, information of jewellery making techniques and Top Tips!

I do hope this will be a very helpful resource for the beginner of jewellery making or maybe even for the intermediate jeweller. 



Working with Wire ~~ Part 2

 

Here is my table of wire gauges' information of when to use them and what to use them for!

Wire Gauge	What and When to use it
0.2mm (32g) or 0.3mm  (28g)	Very Fine wire, suitable for Crochet or Knitting with wire
0.4mm  (26g)	Mainly used for wrapping, coiling and weaving, all metals
0.5mm (24g) & 0.6mm (22g)	Used in wrapping or coiling, great for twisting in Tiara making.  0.5mm in colour coated wire is great as decoration in weaving and coiling sometimes comes in 0.56mm
0.7mm  (21g)	Tends to come in the colour coated wire mainly. Not always strong enough on its own and can still be a bit weak if used as a base wire for coiling or wrapping.
0.8mm (20g)	Very versatile. Good for making earwires, can be used as a base wire if wrapped/coiled in earrings or rings. This size is used in headpins and eyepins but has been stiffened, so will be great for making your own headpins, must be hammered to strengthen it.   Will pass through most bead holes (pearls would have difficulty as they have very small holes)
1.00mm (18g)	Versatile like 0.8mm, similar uses too.  Good base wire can be used on its own without being wrapped/coiling but will need to be hammered to strengthen it. Possibly will not pass through smaller holes in beads.
1.2mm or 1.25mm (16g)	Good as a base wire for most jewellery items ~ rings, bangles/bracelets, pendants, necklaces, brooches/fibulas/scarf rings, etc. Can be wrapped with larger wires such as 0.6mm as well as smaller wires, would  be strong.  Can be more difficult to work with as stiffer but can be an asset but tougher on your fingers.
1.5mm (15g) or 1.6mm (14g)	Good base wire for larger jewellery items ~ such as bangles/bracelets, wire necklaces, brooches/scarf ring base/fibulas.  No wrapping necessary. Can be hammered but if finding difficult to do so may need annealing first to soften the wire so will make it malleable while working, then hammer to strengthen and stiffen again once finished manipulating wire.
2mm (12g)	Very large and stiff wire, will need annealing first before manipulating.  Self supporting,  good for bangles or bracelets maybe neckpieces ~ hammer to add decoration or manipulate it.

 

I do have more tips on the boil but please do leave any comments of things you would like to see me cover!  I do love to get comments so please do say hello!

 

See you next time.

 

 

E x

Top Tip Tuesday ~ Working with Wire

Working with Wire

What you need to know about working with wire!

Here is the first in my new series of Working with Wire.  It will include Top Tips on Tools and Wire Gauges ~ What to use & when and how to use it.

Top Tips    ~~  Stretching/Strengthening Wire

Before starting to work with wire it needs to be stretched or straightened, this strengthens and hardens it slightly, it also takes out a lot of the bends and light kinks it may have.

To stretch the wire, depending on the gauge -I will base it on 0.8mm (20g) wire, a pair of nylon coated jawed pliers are invaluable but you can use your own fingers (which is what I did for a number of years before getting my first pair of pliers).

Place the wire between the jaws of the pliers, starting nearest your hand, squeeze pliers and pull along the full length of your wire as far as your arms reach will allow. Now move the pliers to that position and carry on until the end of the wire. Repeat this action 2 or 3 times.

NB:  It is advisable to use around a 1m to 1.5m length of wire if you are using it for wrapping or coiling, if you use longer than this it is more likely to get tangled and kinked, plus can become difficult to handle and a possible chance of injury!



Wire makes a wonderful whipping noise through the air while working with it ~~ Love the sound but eye protection is necessary! 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Top Tips  ~~ Hammering Wire

 

When you have made your item, say for instance, a clasp/hook with a loop to connect a bracelet or necklace, you will need to strengthen it to stop it from bending or distorting.  Hammering the item will give it stability and strengthen it to stop it from doing this.

There are a couple of ways of hammering wire, it will depend on your chosen effect of the finished look to the piece!

Firstly, you have to decide if you would like a flattened look or a rounded look to your wire item:

Flatten Look ~ you can use a ball pein hammer on a steel block hitting the wire many times on the circular area of the clasp/hook or loop. You will also get hammering marks appearing which gives a slightly faceted look to the piece, this can enhance the feel of the piece and give it a more rustic effect.

NB:  Do not hit any wire areas where they cross over each other!

If you have a chasing hammer and prefer a much smoother feel to the piece then because of the lovely smooth, domed head of the hammer, it will not facet the item as much as the Ball Pein hammer. You can also use the round (ball end) head of the chasing hammer, this will leave slight indents in the wire and give a different type of finish altogether, to the wire.





Rounded Look ~ if you prefer to leave the wire in its natural rounded shape then the Rawhide Mallet is the hammer to use or a rubber mallet if you have one!  This hammer should not leave any marks on the wire or flatten it but it will still strengthen it.

Hope this is helpful.

Please comment if you would like any further advice!

I will come back when I have some photos to add, I couldn't find the photos I thought I had for this posting.


Next time ~ will be on Wire Gauges and when to use them.

 

E x

Top Tip Tuesday ~ DAY 8

DESIGN TIPS ~ PART 1    

 

INSPIRATION  

 

Sometimes your mojo (inspiration/motivation) can leave you and you get despondent, not sure what to make or where you can get inspiration from. We all have those times and I am definitely no exception!!

From time to time I have a jewellery crisis and just don't want to make anything at all or worse don't know what to make or even what colours to use! 

And yet I may feel the need to make some new jewellery for myself, as my design ideas keep changing and evolving, I wanted, no needed something new to wear especially when adding new items to my wardrobe, if I had a special occasion looming like a family wedding, a christening or maybe a special party or two ~ just a for instance.  You MUST have something to go with your new outfit that co-ordinates, of course!  And ultimately to show off new creations and new found technical prowess! 

 
There’s nothing like a bit of self advertising is there!!!

 
So what to do???
 

So I would get out my sketch book and then look down at the blank page, rack my brains for ideas to come to me!! No joy!!  I would just put unfinished items to one side after getting beads and materials out but can’t seem to find anything to work with!!  Inevitably, I didn't make anything!

I have to say, I am lucky in some respects as I have more than one hobby/craft that I love to do but each one is linked to the other which can be an asset or sometimes a hinderance because my mojo is connected to both of them.
 
Right then, how about I make some beads instead! So off to my workshop to practice my beadmaking, maybe improve on my skills (which only practice will do!)  My lack of confidence heightens when I am not at the torch very often, I do lose the will to try new things out but I need to go have a play!!!

It has been of great benefit to play, new shapes, what colours to try, shall I make sets or focals, or maybe some special designs like flowers or butterflies for instance! What glass to use, how about trying out some of the new glasses I just purchased, especially the Double Helix Silver rich glasses (oooohh LOVE them!!) so many new types coming along, I am getting behind the times!!

 

OH NO now I have a new mojo crisis, what BEADS to make!!!!


HA!! 



So here's the crunch question 'Where do I get my Inspiration from'????

 

Well this is a good place to start ~~~

 

1. Other peoples work ~  No, its not right at all to copy others work or 'nick' it as it were but it can inspire you to create your own ideas to work from.

 
For instance, colours they have used, the type of materials or their design style which could be very different from your own but you could see potential from it for your own work.

My Boho Bridal Neckpiece a tutorial piece for Beads and Beyond magazine, this was inspired by one of Lilian Chen's designs I had seen in a US jewellery magazine.

I made it my own by adding beads and little tendrils and adding chain to it too

These ‘work in progess’ Earrings were also inspired by some of Lilian Chen's work and cultural background ~ Oriental/Asian

I have now scrapped this design as it was not working successfully ~ don’t be afraid to

change the design if elements are not succeeding, I felt this design was not stable enough

and maybe a little dangerous to the wearer!

 

2. ART Inspiration is a good tool to inspire those creative juices! Go to the Library for art books, check out some of the famous artists ~ that you like or know of and just LOOK!!!! Doodle in a sketch book, what colours have they used ~ together, have they come from a design era that inspires you ~ Victorian, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Pop Art, The Impressionists, Surrealists, the list goes on.

Just have some fun with it!!

This era of the early 20^th Century still had Victorian influences but you can see some current trends taking on this style today but with a modern take on it.

At college we were told to brain storm ideas on a big piece of paper ~ put in a central idea/theme/word/historical era.

So say, for instance, we decided to use the words Art Deco we would then just throw down words that just come to mind, creating bubbles linked to bubbles to build up anything to do with Art Deco ~~




ie:  Clarice Cliff ~ bright colours ~ stylised ~ trees ~ strong lines ~ plates ~ jugs ~ glasses
and so on...........

Love the geometrical shape to the cup handle

And the hexagonal plate shape is fab

 

it can then spark off other words/ideas from these!

I love bright colours so Cliff has often come into my mind just because of the colours she used in her designs.

The Art Deco period had very geometric lines, I have some Art Deco Lamps for you below the bottom left lamp is so typical of Art Deco.

Here is some Art Nouveau jewellery, this era is very recognisable for its lovely curvy style, flowers and clean lines.

 

Here you will see some jewellery by Murrle Bennett ~ gorgeous!

 

Sorry it was scanned on the skew

 

  

And this is an ornate buckle by Liberty

 

©These pages were taken from a book of Vintage jewellery of the 20^th Century but I can’t remember its actual name



'Charles Rennie Macintosh' is another favourite of mine I love his stylised rose designs and when I started to make stained glass he was a very big influence.

 

3. Things around you that just jump out and grab you because you ~ like it!!

Everyday things in the street, in the park, driving along and what passes you on your travels and even things around your home or maybe something your children may be doing at school, history project, art project, even what they made in cookery class!! Who knows when inspiration can strike!

Historial ~ Cleopatra and her Asp - inspired by arm cuffs worn by the Ancient Egyptians

4. Finally Nature, this is a very popular inspirational tool with many facets from seasons ~ colours to plant life ~ trees, leaves, flowers, etc., ocean/marine life ~ shells, fish to all sorts of organic shapes like rocks and mountain ranges, shapes, textures, smells, the list again goes on and on!! I just love to use this one and most people love these themes too.

colours a superb

 

I Love Trees

 

 

 

great textures

 

steampunk influence in what seems a tree/root structure

  

My Autumn Sunshine set was inspired by the colours of the season

So what it really boils down to is ~~ don’t give up, don't be afraid to experiment, find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, believe in yourself and do some research, do some doodling and go do some footwork then ……

 

THINK ~  What’s next!    NOT ~  I don't know what to do!!!



I hope it has been of little help if your mojo has gone walkabout, the up and coming season is a busy time of year when you really don't want it to wander off!!!!!

 

Have Fun!!

 

 

E x  ♥

 

NB: Some of the photos are my own work, some are of other designers work or sourced from books.

 

Next time I will be covering:    Part 2  ~~  Interpretation