Michon Jewelry Blog

Jewelry 101 - Making a Wrapped Loop

Posted by Leah on Aug 3, 2008

Wrapped loops take a bit more work than simple (open) loops, but are much more secure, especially if you work with thin wire. The tools you need are the same:

• Piece of wire about 2″ long (or a head pin
• Flat or chain nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Wire cutters

And here is my photo tutorial:

In the photos, I made my wrapped loop on a head pin strung with a handmade felt bead and a small garnet bead. It made a nice dangle which I used for a pair of earrings.

Jewelry 101 - Making a Simple Loop

Posted by Leah on Aug 2, 2008

One of the most basic techniques for making jewelry with wire is a simple loop.

What you need:

• head pin, eye pin, or about 2″ long piece of 22g wire
• flat or chain nose pliers
• round nose pliers
• wire cutters
• bead(s) that fit on the wire

Here’s how you do it:

1. Using the flat or chain nose pliers, make a not-quite 90 degree bend in the wire/head pin/eye pin, a half inch or so from the end
2. Using the round nose pliers, grasp the wire near the bend and wrap the wire around one jaw of the pliers
3. Using the wire cutters, snip the wire end off so there is just enough to close the loop
4. Using your flat or chain nose pliers again, bend the end of the wire in just enough so that it touches the bend, and you have a loop that is closed

That’s it! With a little practice, you’ll be making lovely round loops in no time. Tip: string a bead or two onto a headpin, make a simple loop, and you have a homemade charm. If you are more of a visual learner, here are a couple of pictures of me making a loop. I actually ended up making a wrapped loop so there isn’t a picture of me snipping the wire end, but I think you can get a basic idea from seeing the first two steps demonstrated. In the photos, I am making a loop on a head pin that has one of my handmade felt beads on it.

My how-to articles

Posted by Leah on Jul 7, 2008

I thought it might be useful to post links to some of my past how-to articles for any new readers to my blog. Now that I’m looking at the list, I can think of a bunch more to write - so check back soon if you want more jewelry and craft tutorials. Is there a basic jewelry technique you want information about? Leave me a comment & if I can, I’ll write up a how-to for you.

Jewelry Making Info, Techniques, and Projects:
Tools for Wirework
Pickle
Wire Gauge
Making Headpins
Seed Bead Sizes
Finishing Wire Ends
Flux
Felt Bead Earrings

Crochet Projects:
Bobble Cuff
Easy Crochet Flower
Easy Crochet Pendant
Crocheted Mesh Scarf

Jewelry 101 - Soldering

Posted by Leah on Jun 27, 2008

I could write an article on soldering, but there’s already a good one with basic info over at H. Palleiko Designs blog.

One thing I would add to her directions is this: wear a ventilator mask and work in a well ventilated area. Fumes from flux, solder, and your torch are things you probably don’t want to be breathing. You can find ventilators at hardware stores. At my local hardware store they are right near the torches - very convenient!

Jewelry 101: Tools for Wirework

Posted by Leah on Sep 19, 2007

Wirework is a fun way to get started working with metal, and I have continued to use basic wire techniques in my jewelry making even after learning other metalsmithing techniques.

You can make beautiful jewelry using only wire and beads, but it helps to have the right tools.

In a previous post I talked about finishing wire ends. It is important to have files or another tool, such as a sharpening stone, for smoothing out wire ends. This makes the work look much more professional, and also makes the jewelry more comfortable to wear. Imagine trying to put on an earring that had a sharp or jagged wire end - ouch - so if you plan to make your own earwires, this is doubly important.

You also need some wire cutters. I use cheap wire cutters for all my wire up to about 18 gauge, and for wire thicker than that, I use metal snips. After cutting the metal, I always smooth the ends quickly using a file.

Finally, you need tools for forming the wire into the shapes you want. Two pairs of pliers are enough to get started: flat or chain nose pliers and round nose pliers. You can use the round nose pliers to form loops, and the flat or chain nose pliers to make 90-degree bends in the wire, as well as to grip the wire firmly while wrapping. I sometimes use two pairs of flat nose pliers at once - one to hold my work and the other to wrap.

Some other tools that are nice to have include mandrels and/or jigs for making shapes, a bench block and a mallet for hardening wire, a metal hammer for texturing/flattening, and a torch (plus soldering block, flux, and pickle) if you want to start making ball-end headpins or soldering things like jump rings. A jeweler’s saw is also nice if you want to cut your own jump rings. However, you can definitely get started with just the pliers, wire cutters, and a file or two.

Jewelry 101: Pickle

Posted by Leah on Sep 6, 2007

Pickle is used to clean oxidation and flux residue off of metal. It is an acidic solution that you can buy from a jewelry supply store, or you can make a do-it-yourself version at home. Pickle can be stored in a glass jar or a ceramic crock pot. It works faster if it’s heated up, which is why a lot of people use a crock pot. It helps to keep pickle in a closed container so that the liquid doesn’t evaporate as quickly.

I use a product called Ph minus for pickle, which is an acid that lowers the Ph level in pools and hot tubs. I dissolve a little of this in water, and it works well for me. I don’t bother heating it, since it works fine cold, just takes a bit longer.

Other DIY versions of pickle that I’ve heard of include using Simple Green (the household cleaning product), lemon juice, and vinegar. I can’t vouch for how well these work since I’ve never tried them, but they are all inexpensive and safe, so they might be worth a try.

To use pickle, drop your oxidized metal in and wait for the oxidation to come off. Avoid touching the pickle in any way with steel (such as steel tweezers) because this will automatically copper plate everything you are trying to clean. Copper tongs are available for dropping items into pickle and then fishing them out later. Since pickle is an acid, even if you use one of the milder at-home versions, you might not want to get it on your skin, so copper tongs or even some wood chopsticks are useful to get your jewelry in and out of the pickle.

Jewelry 101: Seed Bead Sizes

Posted by Leah on Aug 24, 2007

Seed beads are the small glass beads people use in intricate beadweaving projects. They come in various sizes which vary slightly by manufacturer, but in general, the larger the number, the smaller the bead.

One of the most common sizes is size 11. If you look at the wall of seed beads at your local bead store, there will probably be more size 11 beads than anything else (if your local bead store is anything like mine, anyway).

As the number gets bigger, the bead gets smaller. Size 12, 13, 14, and 15 are fairly easy to find, and although sizes smaller than 15 exist, they are not nearly as common. In my experience using seed beads, you need an extremely small needle or very find beading wire to work with size 14 and smaller seed beads. Size 15 beads are maybe half the size of 11s.

As the number gets smaller, the bead gets larger. Size 8 and 6 are common sizes. A size 6 bead will be much larger than a size 11, with size 8 being somewhere in between.

Combining different size beads in a beadweaving project can create very interesting textures. I used to make bracelets and necklaces using peyote stitch (a kind of needle and thread method of weaving seed beads together) and by using a variety of beads from size 8 down to size 15, I was able to get interesting textures and sculptural details on my beaded fabric.

Jewelry 101: Wire Gauge

Posted by Leah on Aug 16, 2007

Metals like silver and gold can be purchased for jewelry making as wire. Wire comes in different sizes, and the size of the wire is called its gauge.

There are different systems, so I’m just going to talk about the gauge system commonly used by U.S. jewelry supply companies, since that is the system I’m familiar with.

The bigger the gauge number, the thinner the wire. 14g (g = gauge) is thick, sturdy wire. 24g is thin, and 30g is so thin it’s almost hair-like. The thickness of wire normally used for earwires is usually between 22g to 20g. Really small gauge numbers, like 3g, are more like dowels than wire.

Obviously, a variety of gauges of wire can be useful for different aspects of jewelry making. I use very thin wire if I’m wrapping around a frame of some sort, and I use much thicker wire to form the frames of my wire pendants. 20g is my favorite for earrings. If I’m making headpins with wire, the gauge I use is usually the thickest gauge that will fit through the hole of the beads I’m using in my design.

Jewelry 101: Making Headpins

Posted by Leah on Aug 8, 2007

I enjoy making my own silver head pins by melting a ball of metal at the end of a piece of wire. It’s fairly easy to do, and enables you to always have the length you need in the gauge you need for a project.

I use a slightly different technique depending on which type of silver I’m using - sterling, fine, or Argentium. Whichever metal you use, you will need a torch. I use a propane torch, but butane torches also work, although for thicker wire it can be hard to get the flame of the butane torch big/hot enough. Other options are acetylene/oxygen and oxygen/propane, but butane and propane torches are cheap & available at the hardware store.

Using fine silver is the easiest, because you don’t need flux or pickle, just a torch and some tweezers to hold the wire. A heat-resistant surface to let your headpins cool is desirable, and always be safe and use proper ventilation and eye protection when using a torch. Cut a piece of wire slightly longer than you want your headpin to be - maybe 1/2 inch longer. Hold one end of the wire with the tweezers, with the other end of the wire pointing down. Point the torch flame at the end of the wire that is away from your tweezers, and watch a little ball of metal appear! The longer you keep the torch there, the bigger the ball will be - but if it gets too big, it might fall off, so be careful.

I like to use Argentium silver for making headpins. With Argentium, I use basically the same process, except I used the tiniest little bit of flux on the wire end where I’m making the ball. If you use too much flux, you’ll have flux residue, which has to be removed, but if you use just enough, you’ll end up with a nice looking head pin that doesn’t require clean-up at all. If the wire above the ball gets slightly discolored, quickly passing the flame over the discolored part will usually turn the wire silver again.

With regular sterling silver, there is always some clean-up involved, unless you are going for the oxidized (black metal) look. I don’t bother with flux, and start by following the same process as for fine silver. You end up with a head pin that has a very blackened end. This can be cleaned up by soaking in pickle, or by using an abrasive to polish off the oxidation. I like to use a piece of a green kitchen scrubber sponge to polish off most of the oxidation, leaving a slightly rough look. If I want my headpins to be perfectly shiny, I don’t usually use sterling, since it’s easier to get nice shiny head pins with fine silver or Argentium, but if you want clean and shiny sterling head pins, use pickle to remove oxidation, and then toss the finished head pins in a tumbler with stainless steel shot and water for a few minutes.

You can also make head pins by bending the end of a piece of wire into a nice looking shape, such as a spiral. All you need for this method are some pliers and a little practice bending the wire into the shape you want without marking it. When I make head pins this way, I like to lightly hammer the shape I’ve made to harden the wire a little bit.

Jewelry 101: Finishing Wire Ends

Posted by Leah on Jul 31, 2007

I make a lot of jewelry using wire - in fact, nearly everything I make incorporates wire in some way, even if it’s just a wire head pin or an earwire.

One problem beginning wireworkers have is that when you cut a piece of wire, the ends feel sharp and jagged. To make wire jewelry look and feel smoother and more finished, it is necessary to smooth out the ends of the wire.

Luckily, this is not difficult, it just takes a little bit of time.

Here are just a few ways I’ve smoothed wire ends:

• Using a cup burr - cup burrs are used with dremel-type machines or flex shafts, and come in different sizes for different wire gauges. If you use a cup burr to smooth the end of your wire, they will become slightly rounded, so this is a good method for finishing ear wires. Cup burrs & flex shaft machines are available through jewelry supply companies - but there are several simple methods that don’t require special eqiupment.
• Using sandpaper - wet/dry sandpaper can bu used to smooth out wire ends. I especially like the sanding pad that are sold at hardware stores. A relatively fine grade - 300-400 - will work well.
• Jeweler’s files or needle files from the hardware store - using files is quick and easy and with a little practice, you can get very smooth, flat wire ends using files.
• Sharpening stones - a lot of wireworkers I know swear by using sharpening stones. There are special stones made for sharpening fish hooks that have a little groove, and you just swipe the wire through the groove a couple of times for a smooth, slighlty rounded end. Flat sharpening stones also work, but won’t automatically shape the wire end the way the grooved stones do.
• Fingernail files - this is one of my favorite tricks, if I’m working away from my studio. Fingernail files are great for smoothing wire ends, and they come in many different grades, and are easy to find at drug stores and grocery stores.