Stringing wire jewelry can be an intimidating task, especially when you’re just starting as a jewelry maker. It’s difficult to find examples of stringing wire jewelry that is both detailed and easy to understand, which makes it seem like something only advanced makers can tackle. The truth is that with the right tools and a few small steps to guide you, anyone can create beautiful stringing wire pieces without too much effort—including you! These three bead stringing wire techniques will help you up to your jewelry-making game, whether you’re creating the perfect handmade gift or adding to your jewelry collection.

1) Simple Wrapping

Wrapping wire around beads can be a bit of a guessing game; your fingers rarely fit between high-quality gemstone beads, and it’s easy to end up with crooked or uneven wraps. The solution? Use simple wrapping techniques that help you secure both ends of your stringing wire so they won’t slip off at either end.

2) Spiral Wrapping

Most people love wrapping wire around a round object. It makes a bracelet that is both beautiful and easy to put on (always a bonus in my book). The technique is identical. Start by taking your spiral wrapping wire and placing it at one end of your rod. Wrap it all the way around until you get close to where you started. About half an inch before you reach your starting point, begin making loops as you wrap back down towards yourself. Continue looping, pushing down each time, while continuing to wrap back towards yourself.

3) Triangular Wrapping

Triangular wrapping is basically a combination of two wrapping techniques. Start with a basic U-wrap, but instead of going around once, you go around twice. Once you’ve wrapped your focal bead, start from one tip and wrap it diagonally across your beads. This looks great on necklaces or bracelets that feature larger beads in addition to smaller ones.

Basic tools for beading

It might be a good idea to invest in some basic tools for beading, depending on your project. With gemstones for jewelry making, you’ll need at least one or two pairs of flush-cut wire cutters and round-nose pliers for basic stringing techniques. And those are about all you need for a long time! If you want to get fancy with weaving or braiding, however, you may want to add specialty tools like flat-nose pliers and crimp beads to your collection. This way, you can use them when it comes time for those techniques instead of relying on makeshift tools that don’t have quite as clean an end result.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve seen three of our favorite beading wire techniques, you have no excuse not to up your jewelry-making game. Whether it’s a simple bangle or a complicated bracelet, these basic techniques will help make sure your next jewelry piece is beautiful and eye-catching. The best part is that they can all be applied to other types of beading as well!