Friday, July 24, 2009

beading how-to - WIRE WORK BASICS #1

I had worked at a bead store for a few years,
and I thought it would be nice to share some knowledge and techniques with you!


so, I am going to start with the basics today :)

first of all, these are the basic beading supplies you need for wire work.

left pic: from the most left-designing board(not necessary), beading mat, pliers, and wire(and of course beads!)
right pic: from the left- needle nose, round nose, and flush cutter

for the basic wire work, a lot of people use 24gauge wire.
(the highter the number, the thinner/skinier the wire)
here I used 22g, mid soft craft wire.
it's good to practice with craft wire first, and then move on to sterling silver or gold/fill
so that you don't waste precious metal.

I will start with:
SIMPLE LOOP

cut the wire in about 3" length with the cutter
as you gain experience, you'll know how much wire you need for that particular bead.

using the needle nose, bend the wire at 90°

switch to the round nose, roughly estimate how much wire you need to make a loop
and start 'rolling' the wire towards the 90°-stem
do not over-roll! you want to keep the nice 90° on the bottom of the loop
 
then cut off the excess
(make sure that the end doesn't go flying off! cover with your fingers or cut it under a table)
if it looks like a 'P' shape, you rolled it too far

put a bead on the stem wire, and repeat ①~③ to finish the other end
tadaaaa
here it is!
now you mastered simple loop :)

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