For many of your bead patterns, you will need to know how to make a wrapped wire loop. A wrapped wire loop is medium thick wire wrapped to form an enclosed loop that you use to string beads and dangles. To create a wrapped loop you should use 20 guage wire or a head pin. You would use a head pin if you only need one side of your bead(s) to have a loop. You would use the wire if you need to create loops on both ends of the bead. As you can see, a head pin is perfect for creating dangles for earrings and for dangles to hang off your necklace. A loop on each end of a bead allows that bead to be hooked on both ends for creative design purposes. The instructions here for a wrapped loop will show a 2" head pin... but you can use this method on your wire of choice. Step 1. With your flat-nose pliers, grasp the wire at least 1" from the end. Step 2. Using your finger, press the wire over the pliers creating a 90 degree angle Step 3. With your round-nose pliers, grasp the wire close to the bend, with the wire close to tips of the pliers. (Where the wire is located on the round-nose pliers will determine the diameter of the loop. You should have the wire where the arrow is pointing in the photo.) Step 4. Roll the pliers toward the bend... use your finger to press the wire around the pliers to form a loop... with the tail of the wire laying at a 90 degree angle across the bend. Step 5. Grasp the loop with your flat-nose pliers, so that the intersection of the wire on the bend is inside the pliers... and the nose of the pliers is pointing in the same direction as the tail. Step 6. Using your finger, bend the tail tightly around the wire. Vist http://www.beadpatternsonline.com to read this article with detailed photos and diagrams. Happy Beading! Jennifer Thoden |
