Sunspark sparks!: Wire Twist Bangle Project

Want to make your own jewellery? Don't fancy knitting, or haven't got any pliers, and don't want to invest in anything expensive before you know whether it's for you? Then this is the place to start, because with this lovely bangle, you don't need any expensive equipment.

What you do need is to go to a craft shop (they're all over the place now, or go to the internet) and buy some wire. You'll need a thick guage and a roll of thin - for the thin, I suggest buying one of the lovely enamelled wires that come on spools nowadays, but you're looking for something that's as thin as cotton. Don't try this with anything thicker, or you'll find your fingers will hurt!

You'll also need beads. As many small beads as you want to put on here, but not less than 75 at 6 -4 mm diametre, or a few hundred 'seed beads'. These are the tiny beads that come in tubes from most good habadashery shops. I like to have a good random mix of different types of bead.

Now - first step.

Cut a length of the thicker wire. The length that you're looking for is big enough to go over your hand, with an inch or so longer on each side, because you're going to twist the wire together to make a continuous loop. I've used my pliers here, but you can use the kitchen scissors - it cuts very easily, but DO NOT use good dressmaking scissors!

Twist the open ends together. The sort of wire that you're using should twist easily, and if you twist in different directions for each loose end, it'll hold together. Don't worry if you've left a few loopy turns - that's good to thread the beading wires through for a secure anchor, and you'll be covering the whole thing in thick wrappings of twisted wire, and beads, so it won't show.

Put the 'armature' - this loop of wire, aside for the time being. Get out your spool of thin wire, and thread the beads onto the wire. I like to make multiple strands of different types of bead - you can wrap as many of these beaded strands onto the bracelet as you want.

Remember when you're threading your beads, that the one you put on first will be the last bead you twist - on that thread. The last bead you thread on, will be the first bead that you twist.

Move the last bead back up the thread and make a 'loop' of wire, with the bead at the end - just like in the photo here. You're looking to get a good 'U' shape. Grasp the bead between finger and thumb, securing both wires between the fingers and thumb of your other hand. Twist. The bead will soon be at the end of a little stalk of twisted wire -

Continue along in the same manner for all the beads. It doesn't matter in the least if the little stalks are all on the one side of the wire, or they go either side - just so long as they are firmly, but not tightly twisted. If they untwist themselves, they are very easy to retwist, even when you're wrapping them around the bracelet.

You need to make the stalks of different lengths. You don't need to measure the amount of wire your using to make the stalks - because the stalks with the beads are wound into the bracelet (as you'll see) it's actually quite important to make them of different lengths - but I wouldn't make any shorter than half an inch. (Or a centimetre.)

You might like to twist up two, or three beads together - they make interesting and beautiful shapes!

You end up with a long string of wire, with little stalks full of beads! When you've finished your first, make sure to put it somewhere safe, and stretched out lengthwise. Do not feel tempted to wrap them around your hand to pop it somewhere convenient until you've finished - these are little devils for tangling, and you'll never unravel them. Store them stretched out until you need them to start wrapping.

Make a good number of the strings - for a reasonably fat bracelet, such as this one I've just made, you'll need about five to six lengths of approximately two to three feet.

Now, when you're happy you've enough strings to start, you need to attach a loose end to your armature - the round loop of thicker wire that we started with. It's very simple - loop the loose end through the bracelet, grasp it and the string of beaded wire, and twist them together. If you put a finger in to the loop, you'll be able to twizzle it round very swiftly and smoothly. You'll know when your finished, because you won't have a loose end anymore - just one smooth twist looped around the bracelet, and ending at your first stalk.

Now twist the beaded string through the inside of the bangle, around and around. Don't worry about the little stalks at the moment, and don't attempt to do this so smoothly that ever part of the thicker wire is covered with immaculately ordered wire wrapping. At this point you're aiming for an even distribution of beaded stalks, and that the wire string is firmly wrapped around the bangle. Now, when I say firmly, I mean firmly and not overly tight. If you pull this wire too tightly, it will break - and if it does, then not too worry. Learn from the break that you over twisted, or pulled too hard, and adjust your 'tension', as they say, just like a piece of knitting! The broken bit is easily reattached, in exactly the same way that you started. You really can't damage this, and the very randomness of the piece prevents an error from being seen at all. It's up to you to be happy with what you're doing, and how it looks. This is your piece of creative crafting.

End your wrapping around the bangle by twisting the loose end into a stalk. Now turn to the stalks, and start wrapping them around the bangle, ending up with the bead close against the wire. Continue around, and then when complete, join in your next strand. I usually start off a new strand close to a bead, and wrap the long wire around the bead several times before I start moving off around the circle. You will find it helps to smooth the stalks down in the direction of which you're pulling them through the bangle - don't pull them through overhard now, because they often will get attached to the beads. Simply unhook them, and pull them through.

After you've put three or four strings on to the bangle, it's going to look something like this. Here, I'm wrapping stalks and beads around the bangle. Once you've got your second string on, you can start 'weaving' - that's twisting the beads around each other, so that you've got a tight little knot of beads that are firmly secured. Be careful when you've doing this, don't over do it, or you'll take the beads off. If this happens, don't panic - but you'll need to cover it with a new string of beads.

Have a good look at your bracelet at this point, and even it up. That means look at where there are fewer beads, and wrap a string into that area. You may need to make a further string or two at this point to even the bracelet - I often do, because I mis-judge where I'm putting them, or I like the look of a bunch that's developing and I want to add to it.