Step 13A: At this point you could cut the excess wire and
you would have a spiral dangle with an open loop at the top, or you can
grasp the loop that you just made with your bent chain nose pliers and
wrap the end of the wire around the short wire segment between the loop
and the spiral two times. After you have completed the wrap, cut
the excess wire. Because this is soft wire, it won't want to wrap
tightly and so you will need to use a second pair of bent chain nose
pliers to squeeze and twist the wire until you have a tight wrap.
See the picture at right.
Step 14A: The next step in making these earrings is to make the wire component that holds the beads. This component is supported by the center of the spiral dangle. We will call this wire component the dangle component. It is made of 5 inches of 20 gauge soft wire. Start by straightening a 5" segment of wire before cutting it from the spool, then cut the wire. Grasp the wire 3 inches from one end and bend the wire 90 degrees. Following the instructions on page 2, make a small spiral with about 2 1/2 to 3 rotations of wire. This spiral goes on the front side of the spiral dangle that we completed in step 13A. The front side is the side shown above-right. This is the side that will be worn facing away from the human body. Step 15A: From the spiral that you just completed, measure down 1 1/2 inch. At that point, you will need to grip the wire in your bent chain nose pliers and bend the wire 90 degrees. On the short end of the wire, after the 90 degree bend, use your round nose pliers to make an open loop. You can find instructions for how to make an open loop here. Cut the excess wire after you have completed the loop. Step 16A: To complete the dangle wire component, you first need to insert the straight, 2" segment of wire into the hole in the center of your spiral dangle, then, once the spiral is flush with the front of the spiral dangle, bend the straight 2" segment of wire down, flat against the back of the spiral dangle. In essence this forms a "U" shaped bend through the center of the spiral dangle and allows the dangle wire component to hang from the spiral dangle wire component. These jewelry making instructions continue on the following page. |
