Page 3      Simple Jewelry Wire Chain with Gemstone Pendant Jewelry Making Project

Step 1:  If you decided to make an 18" chain, use your ruler and measure 18" of chain and cut your chain to that length.  It is probably a good idea for this project to have both end links on your figaro chain as the long links.

Step 2:  Now we are ready to add the clasp to one end of your chain.  If you are using jump rings as shown on the left hand side of the lobster clasp at left, you will need to use chain nose pliers or bent chain nose pliers to open and close the jump ring.  It is worth a few words to explain the concept of opening and closing jump rings.  Normally a closed jump ring  is a flat circle of wire with a segment of the wire that has been cut.  An open jump ring is one where the two sides of the jump ring have been twisted apart as shown at right.  The important concept is that instead of pulling the sides apart, you twist one up and the other down.  This preserves the round shape of the jump ring.  The picture at left shows how you grip one half of the jump ring with your bent chain nose pliers as you prepare to open it.  You would use a second pair of chain nose or bent chain nose pliers to grip the right side of the jump ring and then you would twist the left side down while twisting the right side up.  The picture at right shows how the jump ring would appear after you twisted it open. 

Step 3:  With an open jump ring, you would then thread one end of the chain and your clasp on the jump ring, then you use your bent chain nose pliers to twist the jump ring closed.