Last updated on April 2nd, 2012 at 03:12 pm
Round pliers and wire
A wonderful summer week and although I didn’t touch my jewelry desk once, except to get the photos for this post, I did sketch out a few concepts to play with. As part of my dream process, I officially set up my Twitter account for For Your Adornment. and plan on keeping you up to date on my design, planning, and bead shopping on a regular basis.
Have you played with wire? Anyone who has picked up a pair of round pliers has run into the need to master a loop. I learned a certain technique when I first picked up wire and a pair of round pliers and spent quite a bit of time trying to perfect it. Of course a year or so later, I find this other technique that seems simpler. Here’s the difference between to two versions – do you see a difference?
Version 1
 1. Bend wire about 3/8' from the end  2. Grab the end of the wire with the pliers and roll the wire into a loop |
Version 2
 1. Make a "P" loop (you can see why its called that) by grabbing the end of the wire with the round pliers and creating the loop  2. Now grab the base of the "P" and "break" the neck of the loop to create a centered loop. You may have to tweak the loop section to close it back up. |
Can you tell the difference? I can tell you from experience that the l classic loop in Version 1 does make a tighter loop and seems to close the best. It does take more practice, but for the decorative, quick loop try what works for you.
For a few examples on how wire work can turn into something really fun, check out the wire work detail on my “Down to Earth 2“Â piece on For Your Adornment.
Loop your way around to fun this week – Heather
(Heather’s dream is to have multiple streams of income, starting with launching an e-commerce website that showcases her one-of-a-kind designer jewelry, which are crafted by her. Heather’s post day is Thursday and her soon to be launched jewelry site is For Your Adornment)
Heather Montgomery is a fitness writer, triathlete, and blogger who is devoted to sharing what she has learned about becoming a triathlete after age 40. She uses her Metabolic Training Certification to help other women struggling to get fit in mid-life. She lives and trains in Santa Rosa, California, the new home of the Ironman triathlon. You can find her biking the Sonoma County wine trails.
Note: Articles by Heather may contain affiliate links and 8WD will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
