Wire jewelry is made by wrapping or attaching beads or gems to wire links. Different gauges of wire are used, and tools such as cutters, jigs, and pliers are used to create intricate designs. Beading wire can also be used to make beaded jewelry.
Wire jewelry is essentially jewelry made of wire. Beads or gems can be wire wrapped or attached to wire links to create necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. The wire used for jewelry making varies in gauge, or thickness, with higher numbers indicating thicker wire. 24, 26, and 28 gram gauges are popular sizes for wire jewelry making.
While silver and gold are the most commonly used colors to create wire jewelry, copper, black, and brown wire are also sometimes used. Wire in colors like green, purple, pink, and blue is used less often, but it can add interesting accents to wire jewelry pieces. One technique for making a wire ring, bracelet, or choker is to take several lengths of wire and place them side by side. Shorter lengths of the same colored or contrasting colored wire can then be wound horizontally through a few different sections of the wire lengths to form an interesting two-way look.
Tools used for making wire jewelry include cutters, jigs, and pliers. A wire cutter has a cutting edge for cutting or cutting pieces of wire into pieces. A jig is a flat, rectangular piece of plastic or wood that features rows of pegs. When the wire is wound around jig pegs in different patterns, many possible designs can be created. These intricate wire jewelry pieces can be used as pendants or links for bracelets and necklaces.
Pliers are tools with handles at one end and an opening called a “nose” at the other end. The nose end holds, bends, and shapes the wire. Different shaped noses on the pliers create different shapes in pieces of wire. For example, needle nose pliers have a long, narrow end and are used to make small, precise bends in wire. Round nose pliers help create curves and loops, while flat nose pliers have straight edges that straighten bent wire and create angles.
Split ring pliers are designed to separate the loops on a split ring so that the ring can insert a wire jewelry finding and then clamp it in place. A split ring is a type of jewelry finding that is basically a smaller version of a key ring. Jewelry findings are any type of connecting piece used to make jewelry. In addition to split rings, other common jewelry findings include back earrings, pins, and necklace clasps.
Beading wire is a very fine wire that can be used to make beaded wire jewelry. Glass and ceramic beads are popular types of beads used with wire beads to create beaded necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Beading wire can also be used alone to make hoop earrings. Different thicknesses or gauges of beading wire create different thicknesses of hoop earrings. Hoop earrings usually have smooth circles of a single wire, but the wire can be hammered, bent, or twisted to add texture.
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