DIY Wedding
How to Crochet a Bead and Wire Bracelet
August 1st, 2008 in patterns & designs, jewelry making, crochet
Diane Gilleland, contributor
10 users recommend
Wire crochet gives this bracelet a light, lacy appearance.
Photo: Diane Gilleland
When I teach wire crochet classes, most of my students want to make this bracelet. It's a wonderful way to use up leftover beads, and it's so quick to do, you can crank out several of them in one sitting.
If you're not familiar with wire crochet, you can learn about it from my basic tutorial. It's helpful if you've crocheted with yarn before but not necessary.
Start with an assortment of beads. I usually pull about 40 beads together in various sizes. It's a good idea to have some larger beads and some smaller. I'm using all one color here, but it's great fun to mix several colors.
What you'll need:
28-gauge craft wire
Assorted beads
Aluminum crochet hook, US size G
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters
The wire you see here is 28-gauge colored craft wire. You can find this online at Fire Mountain Gems.
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String the beads onto the wire. |
Your first step is to string some beads on the wire. Leave the wire attached to the spool when you do this! You'll cut it after you've crocheted it. Always start and finish with two or three of your smallest beads, and string them in random order in between.
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Your strand of beads should be no longer than the width of your wrist. |
You'll need far fewer beads than you think! See how long my strand of beads is compared with my wrist? That's all you'll need for the first strand of your bracelet. When you crochet the wire, this strand will become much longer. And if you begin with too many beads, your bracelet will end up too large.
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Push the beads along the wire out of the way, and then chain four. |
Next, push the beads along the wire out of your way for a moment, and make a slip knot in the wire. Add your crochet hook and chain four.
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Crochet the beads into the chain. |
Begin adding beads with the next chain, and continue crocheting until you've used all the beads. End your strand by chaining four. Remove your hook and cut the wire from the spool with a 6-inch tail.
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Crochet three beaded strands of equal length. |
Then repeat these steps to make two more beaded crochet strands. Looking at them side by side here, we can notice a few important design considerations:
- Each strand is the same at both ends: There are two or three small beads and four chains.
- I've taken care to spread my largest and most prominent beads out among these three strands. See how the red beads are placed so that they won't overlap when I combine all these strands?
- I've also taken care to separate my largest beads with some smaller ones. This helps the finished bracelet have a more graceful shape.
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Gently twist the ends of the three strands together. |
Time to combine those three strands! Start by putting the strands together at one end and gently twisting the uncrocheted ends of wire together.
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Loosely braid the strands together. |
Next, loosely braid the three strands together.
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Twist the other end of the wires together. |
When you reach the other end of the bracelet, gently twist the uncrocheted wires at that end together.
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To begin making a wire loop, bend the wire at a 90-degree angle. |
To finish off the ends of the bracelet, we'll make a wrapped loop. Start this by using needle-nose pliers to bend the twisted wire at a 90-degree angle.
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Loop the end of the wire back around and wrap the end around the bottom of the loop. |
Take the end of the twisted wire in your fingers, and gently wrap it in a loop around the pliers.
Move the pliers so you're holding them flat across this loop. Now, take the end of the twisted wire in your fingers again, and wrap them three times around. Cut the ends of the wire close to the loop, and use the pliers to bend down any wire that sticks up from your cut.
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This is the correct way to open a jump ring. |
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Place half of the clasp and the end loop of the bracelet onto the jump ring and then close it. |
Place the loop end of your bracelet and one half of your clasp onto the jump ring, and close it with the pliers. Repeat this step on the other end of the bracelet to install the other half of the clasp.
And voila! You're done!
After you make this project, show off your work to other members!
Post your project in the gallery
Comments (13)
Posted: 1:10 am on August 15th
Posted: 1:09 am on August 15th
Posted: 11:40 am on August 14th
Posted: 8:10 pm on August 13th
Posted: 10:04 pm on August 12th
Posted: 10:03 pm on August 12th
It's best way to utilized the beads and design a beautiful bracelets.I think that it will be great to create necklace in the same pattern with multiple colors.
Jewelelegance
Posted: 2:23 am on August 12th
Posted: 8:49 pm on August 8th
Purchasing a magazine three years ago featuring crocheted jewelry is what got me interested in crocheting. I love beads and cabochnons, and it knocked my socks off!
Sadly, though it was alleged to have been a "beginner" project, they didn't break the instructions and materials down enough for me, as you have here.
You've done a WONDERFUL job,
and I feel confident that I can actually do this bracelet easily following your wonderful instructions, and having done so, gain the basics so that I can move on. That's truly the sign of a great teacher!
As for crocheting. I seem to have no knack, but did accumulate a room FULL of yarn that I must dig my way out of and make room for things I DO stand a chance of completing!
Thanks again (((Diane)))) , you have a devoted fan here!
Wishing you the best,
Zgirl
Posted: 8:48 pm on August 5th
Posted: 6:30 pm on August 1st
Posted: 4:40 pm on August 1st
Posted: 1:16 pm on August 1st
Thanks for this
Chris
p.s. I'll post a photo when I'm done.
Posted: 12:15 pm on August 1st