Jewelry making basics 2 — How to make a perfect circle with jewelry wire
Today we are going to continue with jewelry making basics and learn how to make a large circle using jewelry wire.
Once you master this technique, you can create countless designs using circle as a framework. To give you a taste, here are some examples I made using the wired circle.
Now you see what magic a simple circle can do. Let’s start making one!
STEP 1
Wrap a piece of jewelry wire (I recommend 20 gauge or thicker) around a ring mandrel to form a circle (picture 1-2). If you don’t have a mandrel, be creative and just find something round! A bottle, a cup, or even a cookie cutter can do!
Different jewelry wire has different flexibility. Generally speaking, gold filled wire will bounce back a little after taking off the mandrel; whereas cheap craft wire is easier to bend and will stay in shape. Therefore, when creating a circle in certain size, you need to take into consideration the kinds of wire you are using.
STEP 2
Bend one end of the wire to an L shape using a flat nose plier (picture 3). Keep this end for now so we can create a loop later.
Using a chain nose plier, bend the other end as shown in picture 4 and 5 to close the circle. Cut extra wire off using a wire cutter (picture 6) and squeeze it tight as shown in picture 7.
STEP 3
To create a small loop at the top of the circle, bend the L shape wire to the other end and wrap it around the round nose plier (picture 9). Again, cut extra wire off using a wire cutter.
Now you have a perfect circle you can use as the base of your jewelry design.
Product Used In This Project
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20-30 gauge (0.25--0.8mm) Half Hard 14k Gold Filled Wire
![20-30 gauge (0.25--0.8mm) Half Hard 14k Gold Filled Wire]()
- Regular price
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$37.10 - Sale price
- $26.12
- Unit price
- per
