PROJECTBEGINNER | WIRE

Wire Tendrils BRACELET

R ecently, I attended a class in wire-sculpture jewelry making taught by Diane Mason at

the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Ga. I wanted to find a way

to replicate the tendrils seen on garden vines in gold and silver wire, so I put my newly learned

wire-sculpting techniques to use and created this bracelet. I recommend practicing with craft

wire before committing to precious metal for your final piece.

Use gold-filled and silver wire to replicate delicate

garden vines that curl around your wrist.by Bunie Deyo

facetjewelry.comFCT-

MW

ON

0216

_ART

97

©2015 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

2 2

nent marker to mark the bundle at the center point, 1 in. (25.5 mm) on each side of the center mark, and 3 ⁄8 in. (9.5 mm) in from each end.

Make the final wire bundle. Remove the tape from both wire bundles. Alternat- ing the straight and twisted wires, place three silver wires above and three silver wires below the two gold-filled wires. Align the center points of all the wires [1]. Tape the entire stack of eight wires togeth- er at the ends.

Wrap the stack. At the mark 1 in. (25.5 mm) to the left of the center point, tightly wrap the 10 in. (25.4 cm) piece of 20-gauge (0.8 mm) half-round, half-hard, gold-filled wire around the stack four times. Start this wire on the back of the stack, and wrap away from the center. Trim and tuck the wire on the back of the stack.

Repeat with the remaining piece of 20-gauge (0.8 mm) gold-filled, half-round, wire to bind the stack at the mark 1 in. (25.5 mm) to the right of the center point. Again, wrap away from the center.

Remove all of the tape.Bend the long, square, gold-filled

wires toward the front of the stack, bend- ing them against the wraps you just made. The square, gold-filled wires should stand at a 90° angle from the silver wires [2]. Evenly draw the six silver wires together

Cut and twist the wires. Use a ruler and flush cutters to cut four 71⁄2-in. (19.1 cm) lengths of 22-gauge (0.6 mm) square, half- hard, sterling silver wire. One at a time pull the wires through nylon-jaw pliers to straighten them, and set them aside.

Cut two 71⁄2-in. (19.1 cm) pieces of 22-gauge (0.6 mm) square, dead-soft sterling silver wire. Use an automatic wire twister (or a wire twisting tool) to twist each individual wire. Set the two twisted wires aside.

Cut two 18-in. (45.7 cm) pieces of 22-gauge (0.6 mm) square, dead-soft, gold-filled wire. Straighten these wires only as much as necessary to find the center; use a fine-tip permanent marker to mark the center point.

NOTE: Straightening wire work-hardens it, and the gold-filled wire needs to be as soft as possible to form the tendrils.

Make and mark wire bundles. Align the ends of the two pieces of gold-filled wire, and tape the ends together. (Use the tape sparingly, as you will remove it shortly.) Find the center of the wire bundle; mark the center point with the fine-tip permanent marker. Then, make a mark 1 in. (25.5 mm) from each side of the center point.

As you did with the gold-filled wire, align and tape the six silver wires to create a bundle. Use the ruler and fine-tip perma-

1 2

materialsto make a 71⁄2-in. (19.1 cm) bracelet

■ Sterling silver wire: ■ 22-gauge (0.6 mm), square, half- hard, 30 in. (76.2 cm)

■ 22-gauge (0.6 mm), square, dead- soft, 15 in. (38.2 cm)

■ Gold-filled wire: ■ 22-gauge (0.6 mm), square, dead- soft, 36 in. (91.4 cm)

■ 20-gauge (0.8 mm), half-round, half-hard, 10 in. (25.4 cm)

■ 18-gauge (1.0 mm), round, dead- soft, 41⁄2 in. (11.4 cm)

additional tools & supplies ■ Ruler ■ Automatic wire twister (or other wire-twisting tool)

■ Tape ■ Fine-tip permanent marker ■ 5 mm (3 ⁄16-in.) bail-making pliers or mandrel

■ Round stepped pliers with 3 mm (1⁄8 in.) and 4 mm (5 ⁄32 in.) steps, or equivalent mandrels

■ Bracelet mandrel ■ Knife blade

suppliers ■ Sterling silver wire: Rio Grande, www.riogrande.com; Monster- slayer, www.monsterslayer.com

■ Gold-filled wire: Rio Grande; G&S Metals, www.gsgold.com

■ Automatic wire twister: Wire Sculpture, www.wire-sculpture.com

■ Other tools: FDJ Tool, www.fdjtool.com

3 3

Bend one pair of the gold-filled wire ends tightly down and across the back of the stack, so the wires protrude from under the opposite side of the stack [8]. Trim the ends to approximately 1⁄4 in. (6.5 mm), and use a flatnose pliers to tuck them over the front of the bracelet, underneath the rosette. This anchors the curls to the stack. Repeat to wrap, trim, and tuck the second pair of gold-filled wire ends [9, 10].

Make the clasp eye. Center a 2-in. (51 mm) piece of 18-gauge (1.0 mm) round, dead-soft, gold-filled wire over a 5 mm (3 ⁄16-in.) mandrel or jaw of a pair of bail-making pliers, and bend it into a U shape. Make sure the ends are even. Use a 3 mm (1⁄8-in.) mandrel or the equi- valent step on the jaws of a pair of stepped pliers to form an outward-facing loop on

the nearest wrap toward the center point so they lie along the center of the stack [4]. Use your thumb and index finger to keep the gold-filled wires parallel, and pull the wire ends around to make a small curl over the wrap [5].

Use your thumb and index finger to pinch the gold-filled wires, and continue to add curls until you reach the center point. Do not cut the wire ends!

Turn the wire stack 180° and bend down the second pair of square gold- filled wire ends from the other end of the stack over the nearest wraps. Repeat the curling procedure until the curls reach the center and the ends of the two pairs are pointing in opposite directions [6].

You may need to adjust the curls so they’re even. Wrap the gold-filled wire ends around each other [7]. Continue wrapping them to form a large rosette.

at one end and tape them. Repeat to draw the other wire ends together and tape them.

NOTE: There will be a small gap between the silver wires where the gold-filled wires had been. We will camouflage this later.

Use the remaining piece of 20-gauge (0.8 mm) half-round, gold-filled wire to tightly bind one end of the stack at the 3 ⁄8-in. (9.5 mm) mark. Start the wire on the back of the stack and wrap toward the center. Trim the wire at the back of the stack [3].

Repeat to wrap the stack at the 3 ⁄8-in. (9.5 mm) mark at the other end. Remove all the tape from the stack.

Make the tendrils. Bend one pair of square, gold-filled wire ends flat over

3

6

9

4

7

10

5

8

4

each end of the U. Pinch the ends of the U together to form a teardrop shape [11].

Make the clasp hook. Center a 21⁄2-in. (64 mm) piece of 18-gauge (1.0 mm) gold- filled wire over the tip of one jaw of a pair of roundnose pliers, and shape the wire into a tight U. Make sure the ends are even. Use flatnose pliers to squeeze the wire to- gether just below the U. Place the U on the 4 mm (5 ⁄32-in.) step of the stepped pliers with the tip of the U extending above the pliers’ jaws. Roll the pliers until the tip of the U bend nearly touches the straight end, forming a hook.

Grasp one wire end with the flatnose pliers just below the tip of the hook, and bend the wire end out 90° from the center of the hook. Repeat to bend the other wire end.

Use a 3 mm (1⁄8-in.) mandrel or the equivalent step of the stepped pliers to form a loop in one wire end, rolling the pliers to the inside so the loop sits under the tip of the hook. Repeat on the other wire end [12].

Attach the clasp. Use either your hands or a rawhide mallet to form the wire stack around a bracelet mandrel.

Use flatnose pliers to bend the ends of the two center sterling silver wires on one end toward the inside of the bracelet and over the gold-filled wraps. Trim if needed.

Use your fingers to bend the outer wire pairs toward the front of the brace- let and angled slightly away from the bent-over center wires [13].

Use roundnose pliers or the middle step of the stepped pliers to form each set of wires toward the inside of the stack, making C shapes. Thread each pair of wire ends through a loop of the clasp eye, and use chainnose pliers to close the loop in the wire ends and se- cure the clasp eye.

Repeat to bend the wires on the opposite end of the bracelet and attach the clasp hook [14].

Separate the wires. Slide a knife blade between the silver wires on each end of the bracelet to slightly separate them [15]. This will not only give the bracelet a little extra pizzazz and depth, it will hide the gap left by the gold-filled wires [16].

12

15

13

16

14

11

Process photos by Ed Deyo.