All about jewellery making

I have been interested and fascinated by some of the micro macrame techniques that I have seen on the web.  A while ago I experiemented with this technique and yesterday I came across Knotgypsy’s blog where patterns for micro macrame jewellery are available.  I thought it would be fun to give it another go and so ordered a couple of patterns.  The micro macrame beaded bracelet that I am showing here is based on the micro macrame spiral bracelet/anklet pattern.  I chose a colour palette that reminded me of the sea.

Full view showing the lovely blue glass beads I found in my ‘oddments’ bead pot and the grey shiny button incorporated as the clasp.

A portion of the main part of the macrame work.

A close up of the button clasp with beaded tassel.

The days of hairy plant pot holders have truly gone!  (Although there is nothing wrong with them if that is what you like, lol!).

I thought I would add here some good macrame sites for your interest:

http://www.micromacrame.com/ - online micro macrame beading classes, member’s gallery and discussion board.

http://www.elainecraft.com/ - good resource for learning macrame.

http://www.knotgypsy.blogspot.com/ - Knotgypsy sells patterns for micromacrame jewellery in her Etsy shop. 

I have recently updated the tiara making section of my bead shop with some alternative headdress options in addition to the traditional tiara bands.  I thought I would write a small piece about the different types of headdress and their advantages.

Tiara band - this is good for a full-blown tiara with lots of ornamentation - beads, flowers, diamantes etc.  Bands do need to be shaped by hand to ensure a good fit and for extra comfort the ends (or the entire band) can be wrapped with ribbon.  Click here for my tiara tutorial.

Tiara comb - the tiara comb is a good option if you prefer something a little more subtle.  The comb is inserted into the hair so that the decorated band sits like a small coronet on top of the head.

Hair combs - I sell hair combs in two sizes.  You can have any number of combs but usually the smaller combs sell in pairs and the larger ones singly.  These can be decorated as the tiara bands but offer an alternative to the headdress that sits on top of the head.  Hair combs could be used to complement an elegant up-do.

Bridal Alice band - The Alice bands that I sell are covered in plain white cotton ready for decoration.  They can be ribbon wrapped or embroidered.  You can be as creative as you like.  This sort of headdress is particularly well suited for the younger members of the bridal party as it is the most robust and easy to wear!

Also new at Bead Tree is an extended range of paper and ribbon flowers for decorating headdresses and other wedding crafts.

The crystal cluster earrings tutorial should be ready soon and I am planning to write another tiara/bridal headdress tute in the near future.

The All About Jewellery Making Mini-Guide to Wire Jigs

What is a wire jig and how is it used?

A wire jig is a device used by jewellery makers to shape wire.  It enables you to create wire shapes that are the same size over and over again.  This means that a wire jig is particularly useful for creating ornamental links for a bracelet, necklace or a pair of matching earrings.  It is essentially a board with holes into which you place pegs of varying sizes.  The pegs can be positioned in many configurations allowing you to create a wide variety of shapes.  To give you a better idea I have taken a photo of my own wire jig:

Here is a close up of the wire jig pegs - as you can see there are a variety of sizes:

Now for an example of a piece of jewellery made using a wire jig:

 The framework for this pineapple quartz chandelier pendant was made using my wire jig.  For this particular result I used one large peg at the base guiding the wire around two medium peg pegs up to one small peg at the top.  If you have read my post on this pendant you will know that this piece intially started out as one half of a pair of earrings.  I was able to successfully create a matching pair because I used the wire jig.  Unfortunately I over-estimated the size and they were rather enormous for earrings!

Once you have decided on your desired configuration of pegs you can starting creating shapes! A good way to start is to post the end of the wire you are using into one of the holes in the pegboard prior to wrapping it around the first peg.  This helps to create some tension so that you can pull the wire round evenly and it can easily be trimmed off once you have completed your design.  Don’t rush, try and take the wire round smoothly keeping it as close to the board as possible.  Practice is the key here.

What types of wire jig are available and how should I decide which one to buy?

There are a large range of wire jigs on the market from very basic plastic ones to much more sturdy examples such as mine and those produced by the well known company ‘Wig Jig’.  Initially I started with a cheap plastic one but I found this to be inadequate for my needs and actually not terribly effective at creating wire shapes.  The plastic was just not up to the job.  My current wire jig, illustrated above, is excellent as both the pegs and the board are metal.  I got this particular one from International Craft.  

I have never used a ‘Wig Jig’ but my research has shown that their pegs are metal and their bases are acrylic.  They have by far the widest variety of jigs: these include super-size pegs and a spiral maker as well as jigs with boards offering layouts of circular, square and semi-circular holes for the pegs.  Their range can be seen here.

You can of course make your own wire jig.  The easiest way to make a simple model is to hammer nails into a block of wood in the configuration you want to use.  This would be very sturdy but you would have to make a separate jig for each pattern you want to make.  Althernatively you could make an adjustable jig by drill holes to take small dowel.  If you do this remember to not drill all the way through the wood or your pegs will fall out.

What size of wire should I use?

The best thing to do is have a little experiment but here are my guidelines.

I personally suggest that anything finer than 22 gauge is a bit too flimy.  It all depends what you are using it for.  If you want to create links that will retain their shape then 20 or 18 gauge are best.  Anything thicker will probably be a bit difficult to bend round the pegs and anything finer will not hold its shape.  It is advisable to ‘work-harden’ your wire with a mallet after you have removed the wire from the jig as this will strengthen it. 

If you are making wire shapes for card embellishments that do not need to be particularly durable a thinner wire such as 24 or 26 gauge would be ok.  These gauges of wire often comes in a variety of colours and so are particularly suited to this purpose.

See my guide to wire gauges if you need further explanation as to the thickness of the wires mentioned. 

Where can I learn more?

There is lots of information on the internet but the best place to start is the ‘Wig Jig’ website.  Besides lots of information about jigs there are also lots of tutorials for wire components. 

Useful wire jig links

http://www.wigjig.com
http://www.jagwearjewelry.com/wirejig.htm - how to make your own wire jig

I was planning to write a tutorial on making wire wrapped loops as I frequently make reference to them in the instructions I provide.  However there are already lots of really excellent tutorials with clear pictures on the internet.  So instead I thought I would list here some of the ones that I recommend.

How to make wire-wrapped loops is one of the most useful and versatile jewellery making skills you can learn.  They can be used in so many ways and are particularly helpful for attaching beads to findings such as ear hooks so that it is impossible for them to come off (short of cutting through the loop with wire cutters!).  Other applications are to make ‘bead links’ that can be attached to one another to make a chain, to provide a very secure method of attaching clasps to a piece of jewellery, as an alternative to standard pendant bails and for anything that requires a hanging loops.

Some really good wire-wrapped loop tutorials

htttp://www.beadshop.com/learnonline/techniques/wirewrappedloops - this is one of the best tutorials for wire-wrapped loops that I have seen.  It has exceptionally clear photos and provides a link to the article in PDF format for ease of printing.

http://www.beadazzled.net/WrappedLoop.pdf - this PDF document is another really good tutorial for wire-wrapped loops.  Again very clear images.

 http://www.artbeads.com/howtomawrlo.html - this tutorial for wire-wrapped loops explains how to link beads into a chain with this technique.

 http://www.crystalflair.com.au/html/wrapped_loop.html - this lesson on wire-wrapped loops shows how to use them to create a pair of dangly earrings.

Chrysocolla

Lately I have been using chrysocolla in my jewellery making projects (see my mossy glade pendant and chrysocolla wirework earrings) so I thought I would find out a little bit more about this beautiful stone. 

Chrysocolla is predominantly green but often displays many variations in shade and sometimes bears a turquoise colouration.  Chrysocolla crystals are formed when copper is exposed to both air and water and the colour value is influenced by other copper based minerals found to be present within the stone - these can include malachite, turquoise, cuprite and azurite.   High quality examples of chrysocolla show a surface covered by separate areas of blue and green that result in an effect resembling images of the earth from outer space. 

I personally think that chrysocolla is a beautiful stone although from a jewellery making point of view it is quite soft.  If you are using it in conjunction with wire embellishment be careful not to scratch the surface with the wire or your pliers. 

Chrysocolla naturally occurs in the USA, Israel and the UK (Cornwall).