Copper and Wool Bangle
Posted on | April 13, 2011 | Comments Off
I’ve previously posted a tutorial showing a fun way to use up the little bits of especially luscious yarn you may have left over from your fiber projects by incorporating them into fiber jewelry links. Here’s another way to use your precious leftovers. Just 10 feet of special worsted weight yarn is enough for this project. You’ll need a few other things, too:
- Round nose pliers
- Flat nose pliers
- Flush cutters
- chasing hammer or ball pein hammer
- anvil or bench block
- sharp, pointy scissors
- bracelet mandrel
- 10 feet worsted weight yarn
- 20 inches + 8 inches 18 gauge copper wire
- 2 feet + 3 inches 24 gauge copper wire
- 1 10mm round bead
- 1 10mm disc bead
- 1 6mm round bead
Note: The hole of one of the 10mm beads must be large enough to accommodate a double thickness of the yarn plus a double thickness of 24 gauge wire. The hole of the smaller bead must be large enough to accommodate 18 gauge wire.
To begin, use your round nosed pliers to bend the 20-inch piece of 18 gauge wire in half, pinching the two tails together about 3/4 inch from the curve formed by the pliers. This will create a needle-shaped piece of wire, with two long tails held together and a teardrop-shaped “eye” on the folded end. Hammer this piece flat until it is quite sturdy, flipping over several times to hammer from both sides.
Thread one end of the yarn through the “eye” of the frame, pulling about 2 inches of yarn through the eye. Slide the yarn between the two tails just below the eye, allowing the two tails to grip the yarn into place. Arrange the short end of the yarn so that it is lying on top of the wire tails.
Holding the short yarn tail and the wire tails securely in place, begin to coil the long part of the yarn snugly around both wire tails and the short end of the yarn. Each wrap of the yarn should be placed immediately against the previous wrap. to conceal the wire and hold the yarn tail in place. The yarn tail should be completely concealed by the coiled yarn.
When your coiling has progressed about 1/3 of the way toward the end of the wire tails, create a makeshift needle by bending the short piece of 24 gauge wire in half. “Thread” this needle by enclosing the other end of the yarn between the folded wire.
Using the makeshift needle, thread the yarn through one of the larger beads.
Pull the bead down the length of the yarn until it is sitting attractively against the bracelet frame. Continue coiling the yarn until about 2 inches of unwrapped wire tails remain.
Lay the threaded needle against the bracelet frame so that the “point” half of the needle is lying across yarn coils, and the “eye” half of the needle is lying across uncoiled wire.
Continue coiling the yarn for about one more inch, enclosing the threaded needle inside the coils. Because the end of the working yarn is threaded through the needle, you may have to change your coiling method for this final inch of coiling.
Holding the last coils snugly in place, firmly pull the needle through the yarn coils in which it has been enclosed, pulling the yarn through the last inch of coils.
Being careful not to clip any of your yarn coils, trim the yarn tail very close to the work so that the end of the yarn is not visible.
The yarn portion of the bracelet is complete. One inch of unwrapped copper wire tails remain at one end of the bracelet frame.
Mold the bracelet into shape around a bracelet mandrel. Form a circle from the end of the teardrop shape at one end of the bracelet frame all the way to the end of the yarn coils. The protruding 1 inch of wire tails at the other end of the bracelet frame are not part of the circle. When you sit the work down the circle will spring open somewhat.
Insert the wire tails at one end of the bracelet through the hole at the other end of the bracelet. Hold the bracelet in shape so that the end of the yarn portion of the bracelet meets the end of the teardrop hole. Grip the bracelet securely with the flat nose pliers at the place where the yarn-covered portion of the bracelet meets the teardrop hole.
Bend the wire tails back toward the yarn portion of the bracelet by pressing the wires around the edge of the flat nose pliers.
Return the bracelet to the bracelet mandrel, pressing firmly to reshape the bracelet.
Remove the bracelet from the mandrel. With your pliers, bend each wire tail separately around the end of the teardrop so that each wire tail is wrapped in a complete loop around the teardrop and each tail is lying along one side of the teardrop hole.
Holding the bent wire ends securely in place, begin coiling with 24 gauge wire at about the midpoint of the teardrop hole, working toward the ends of the wire tails. When you begin coiling, leave about 1 1/2 inches of 24 gauge wire uncoiled. This will be used later to form a spiral. Continue coiling until the 18 gauge wire ends are completely concealed by 24 gauge wire. Thread the second large bead onto the 24 gauge wire, arrange the bead attractively against the bangle, and continue coiling for at least several coils to secure the bead to the work. Continue coiling with 24 gauge wire until the wire coils meet the yarn coils.
Roll the end first end of the 24 gauge wire into a spiral. Press the spiral against the bangle attractively. Trim the second end of the 24 gauge wire flush to the work and tuck the end neatly into the work. Return the bangle to the mandrel and reshape.
Form the end of the remaining piece of 18 gauge wire into a spiral. Hammer the spiral from both sides to flatten and stabilize.
Thread the smaller bead onto the spiral head pin you’ve just made. Grip the wire tail with your flat nosed pliers about 3mm above the top of the bead. Bend the wire tail at this point into a right angle.
Form a loop at the fold. This loop should perhaps be larger than your usual loops as it will have to accommodate the yarn-wrapped bracelet.
Insert the bracelet into the loop. Gripping the loop with your flat nosed pliers, secure the dangle in place by wrapping the wire tail around the base of the loop, around the bead, then around the wire at the base of the bead (just above the spiral). Trim the wire flush to the dangle.
Return the bracelet to the mandrel for one final reshaping.
Copper and Wool Bracelet
Tags: bangle > copper > fiber > free tutorial > how to make > jewelry making > pictures > tutorial > wire wrapped jewelry > wool > yarn
